Comparison

StoryCorps vs The Great Courses

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

StoryCorps

Record meaningful conversations with loved ones or discover inspiring stories through a vast archive. This app facilitates personal connection and offers a platform for sharing diverse human experiences.

Highlights
  • Record conversations
  • Upload audio files
  • Listen to podcast
  • Watch animations
  • Prepare interview questions
  • Search online archive
Features
Read full description

Record, Podcast, Listen Since 2003, StoryCorps’ commitment to recording local stories, creating award-winning content, and helping illuminate the humanity in each of us has contributed to nearly 700,000 people across the country having meaningful conversations. Get involved by downloading the App today! Here are some of the features to look forward to: - Listen to StoryCorps’ podcast and watch animations all in one place. - Record conversations in the App or upload an existing audio file to your account. - Join an initiative, including Brightness In Black, One Small Step DIY, Military Voices Initiative, or The Great Listen. - Prepare interview questions or use our pre-populated ones. - Search our Online Archive for conversations about the themes important to you. Listen, honor, and share with the StoryCorps App. Major support for the StoryCorps App made possible by Jane Phillips Donaldson & William H. Donaldson. For more information about the StoryCorps App, visit storycorps.org/app.

About

The Great Courses

Access thousands of educational videos from world-renowned professors and experts. Explore a vast range of subjects, from history and science to personal development, with flexible learning options available online and offline. Start your learning journey with a free trial.

Highlights
  • Thousands of educational videos
  • Courses by world-class professors
  • Diverse subject matter
  • Online and offline access
  • Flexible learning pace
  • Free trial available
Features
Read full description

Unlock your potential with The Great Courses, the premier platform for online courses that offers a wealth of educational videos to help you explore, learn, and grow in a wide variety of subjects. The Great Courses specializes in courses taught by the world’s greatest professors and experts covering diverse topics such as history, science, math, philosophy, religion, literature, health, travel, personal & professional development, and more. It’s the place to experience the pure joy of learning—anytime, anywhere. The Great Courses ensures an engaging and enriching learning experience for all. Catering to learners of all skill levels and interests, our platform provides the flexibility to deep-dive into specific topics or explore a variety of subjects at your leisure. The Great Courses grants seamless online and offline access to our extensive library of online courses, empowering you to learn and grow at your own pace. Existing users can sign in to access their purchases and subscription content, while new users can register and subscribe directly within the app to access thousands of educational videos online and offline for one low price. Optimized for iOS 15 and higher, The Great Courses offers a variety of subscription plans, along with a Free Trial to start your educational journey. Payment Details: - Payment will be charged to your Apple account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period - Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period - Subscriptions may be managed or canceled by accessing your Apple account - If you cancel during a Free Trial period, you will have access until the end of the trial period Privacy Policy: https://www.TheGreatCourses.com/Privacy Terms of Service: https://www.TheGreatCourses.com/TOS

Screenshots

StoryCorps4 screens
The Great Courses4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: StoryCorps at none against The Great Courses's 3. StoryCorps also leads on review sentiment (72% vs 40%). The Great Courses's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (17K vs 1.5K). On price, rating, update cadence and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. The Great Courses sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. StoryCorps asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Great Courses holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Great Courses has 17K ratings behind it against 1.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 72% of StoryCorps's written reviews are positive against 40% of The Great Courses's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StoryCorps ships an update monthly, The Great Courses fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
StoryCorps versus The Great Courses: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStoryCorpsThe Great Courses
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (1.5K ratings)4.8 (17K ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.5% of reviews — better39.6% of reviews
Number of ratings1.5K17K — better
Update frequencyMonthlyFortnightly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#88 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB120 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStoryCorps, Inc.The Great Courses

Customer experience

StoryCorps

All ratings1,511 ratings
Positive91.0%
Neutral3.9%
Negative5.1%
Written reviews123 reviews
Positive71.5%
Neutral8.9%
Negative19.5%

The Great Courses

All ratings17,169 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral1.5%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews313 reviews
Positive39.6%
Neutral13.7%
Negative46.6%

User reviews

StoryCorps

From 1.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 💡 Preserves family histories
  • 🚀 Convenient for recording interviews
  • 🔒 Secure storage of recordings

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy app with crashes and lost recordings
  • 🔍 Difficult to find and access saved recordings
  • ⏱️ 45-minute recording limit too short
  • 🔑 Facebook login issues

The Great Courses

From 17K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fantastic, use it all the time
  • 👍 Excellent content and Outstanding Educators
  • 👍 best app you'll ever subscribe to
  • 👍 Math courses are phenomenal!
  • 👍 Loving the content in the app!

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Ok content, weak app
  • 🐛 Broken
  • 🐛 Technical problems trying to cast
  • 🐛 Great content, poor streaming
  • 🐛 Far fewer courses than before? App VERY buggy

Bugs and requests

StoryCorps

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes during recording or publishing
  • Recordings randomly disappear or get corrupted
  • Login and upload issues, especially with Facebook
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Allow re-recording of interviews
  • Improve upload and sharing functionality
  • Add backup and restore options for recordings
  • Extend recording time limit

The Great Courses

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Incompatible with older devices
  • Audio goes out of sync with video
  • App constantly logs users out
  • Downloading content doesn't work offline
Show 3 more
  • Playback issues when switching between audio and video
  • Inconsistent behavior when pausing/resuming playback
  • Poor navigation and course tracking

Requested features

8 requests
  • Can we get a ton of courses on AI please, it's a mite urgent
  • Dark mode option
  • Advanced analytics dashboard
  • Allow audio-only downloads
  • Ability to download an entire course in one go
Show 3 more
  • Ability to browse other content while playing a lecture
  • Note-taking during content and live closed captioning
  • Ratings and reviews for content

In-app purchases

None

StoryCorps

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

The Great Courses

Subscriptions3
  • TGCPlus Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • Quarterly Subscription7 Days trial$44.993 Months
  • TGCPlus Annual Subscription7 Days trial$149.991 Year

Questions

Is StoryCorps free?
StoryCorps is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Great Courses free?
The Great Courses is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, StoryCorps or The Great Courses?
The Great Courses is rated higher. StoryCorps averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while The Great Courses averages 4.8 from 17K ratings.
Do StoryCorps or The Great Courses have ads?
StoryCorps shows ads; The Great Courses does not.
Which is updated more often, StoryCorps or The Great Courses?
StoryCorps ships an update monthly, and The Great Courses fortnightly. Most recently, StoryCorps was updated on October 17, 2026 and The Great Courses on October 20, 2026.

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