Comparison

TED Talks 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

TED Talks

Access thousands of inspiring and informative videos on a wide range of topics. Get personalized recommendations, watch with subtitles in over 100 languages, and download content for offline viewing. Stay curious and informed with this educational resource.

Highlights
  • Personalized recommendations
  • Subtitles in over 100 languages
  • Browse by topic or curator picks
  • Stream to Apple TV with AirPlay
  • Download videos for offline viewing
  • Watchlist for later
  • Surprise Me! feature
Features
Read full description

Get personalized recommendations that match your unique interests, or browse TED’s library of thousands of inspiring, informative, transformational videos for free. Features on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch: ・Sign in to get personalized recommendations and sync videos across all your devices ・Watch videos with subtitles in over 100 languages ・Check out the newest and trending videos, browse by topic, or select from our curators’ picks ・Stream videos to your Apple TV with AirPlay ・Download videos to watch offline ・Add talks your list to watch later ・Toggle between dark mode or light modes ・Get instant inspiration with the “Surprise Me!” feature Get the TED app to stay curious, informed and inspired.

About

The Great Courses

Access thousands of educational videos taught by world-renowned professors. Explore diverse subjects like history, science, and philosophy with online and offline learning options. Enjoy a flexible learning experience at your own pace.

Highlights
  • Thousands of educational videos
  • Expert professors and specialists
  • 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

TED Talks4 screens
The Great Courses4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: TED Talks at none against The Great Courses's 3. The Great Courses's advantage is chart position (#103 vs unranked). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. TED Talks 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. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10K and 17K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 44% of TED Talks'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

TED Talks ships an update every 2 weeks, The Great Courses fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
TED Talks versus The Great Courses: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTED TalksThe Great Courses
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (10K ratings)4.8 (17K ratings) — better
Positive reviews43.7% of reviews — better39.8% of reviews
Number of ratings10K17K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#103 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TViPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS16.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size112 MB120 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperTED Conferences LLCThe Great Courses

Customer experience

TED Talks

All ratings10,319 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral3.1%
Negative6.6%
Written reviews1,758 reviews
Positive43.7%
Neutral17.4%
Negative38.9%

The Great Courses

All ratings17,175 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral1.5%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews314 reviews
Positive39.8%
Neutral13.7%
Negative46.5%

User reviews

TED Talks

From 10K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great content
  • 👍 Inspiring and thought-provoking
  • 📚 Variety of topics
  • 🎧 Convenient for listening on the go

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and unstable
  • 🔍 Poor search functionality
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🔇 Audio/video playback issues
  • 📥 Download feature not working as expected

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

TED Talks

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes frequently
  • Videos fail to load or play
  • Saved talks disappear from user's list
  • Syncing issues with user accounts
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to create and manage playlists
  • Implement background audio playback
  • Improve Chromecast support
  • Add more customization options (e.g., video playback speed, dark mode)
  • Enhance discoverability of new and relevant content

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

TED Talks

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 TED Talks free?
TED Talks 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, TED Talks or The Great Courses?
The Great Courses is rated higher. TED Talks averages 4.6 out of 5 from 10K ratings, while The Great Courses averages 4.8 from 17K ratings.
Do TED Talks or The Great Courses have ads?
Neither TED Talks nor The Great Courses shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TED Talks or The Great Courses?
TED Talks ships an update every 2 weeks, and The Great Courses fortnightly. Most recently, TED Talks was updated on November 9, 2026 and The Great Courses on November 10, 2026.

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