# Skillshare vs The Great Courses

Skillshare and The Great Courses both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 62% of Skillshare's written reviews are positive against 40% of The Great Courses's. The Great Courses's advantage is chart position (#137 vs unranked). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Skillshare sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $18.99 per month and The Great Courses sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Skillshare against 4.8 for The Great Courses. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 25K and 17K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 62% of Skillshare's written reviews are positive against 40% of The Great Courses's.

Skillshare ships an update every 10 days, The Great Courses fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Skillshare | The Great Courses |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (25K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skillshare-creativity-classes/id916819843/reviews) | [4.8 (17K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-great-courses/id1017813651/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **25K** | 17K |
| Positive reviews | **61.8% of reviews** | 39.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 10 days** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | **#137** |
| Size | 64 MB | 120 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Skillshare, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/916819842) | [The Great Courses](https://appshunter.io/developer/636818508) |

## What reviewers say

### Skillshare

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skillshare-creativity-classes/id916819843)

Access thousands of online courses taught by industry professionals to develop your creative skills. Learn drawing, animation, design, photography, and more at your own pace. Offers free classes and a premium subscription for unlimited access.

**Highlights:** Thousands of online creative courses, Professionally led lessons, Offline viewing, Progress syncing across devices, Mini viewer for multitasking, Free classes available

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Membership | $18.99 | per month |
| Skillshare Monthly Membership | $19.99 | per month |
| Monthly Premium Membership | $31.99 | per month |
| Monthly Premium Membership | $31.99 | per month |
| Skillshare Monthly Membership | $49.99 | per month |
| Skillshare Annual Membership | $167.99 | per year |
| Annual Premium Membership | $169.99 | per year |
| Annual Premium Membership | $169.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎨 Excellent variety of creative classes
- 🤓 High-quality instruction from industry professionals
- 🕰 Flexible learning at your own pace
- 💡 Inspiring and motivating content
- 📚 Broad range of topics covered

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔍 Lacking search and organization features in the app
- 🖥 Limited functionality compared to the website
- 🔌 Offline viewing issues and inconsistencies
- 🤖 Buggy and unstable app performance
- 🔒 Questionable billing and cancellation practices

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes and freezes frequently
- Video playback issues and syncing problems
- Inconsistent user interface and navigation
- Inability to access class resources and materials
- Account management and cancellation difficulties

**Requested features**

- Ability to sort and organize saved classes
- Offline class downloads and viewing
- Seamless integration between app and website
- More advanced search and filtering options
- Picture-in-picture mode for multitasking


### The Great Courses

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-great-courses/id1017813651)

**Currently charting:** #137 Top Grossing · Education (US App Store)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| TGCPlus Monthly Subscription | $19.99 | per month |
| Quarterly Subscription | $44.99 | per 3 months |
| TGCPlus Annual Subscription | $149.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 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!

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

- 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

**Requested features**

- 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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Skillshare free?

Skillshare is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is The Great Courses free?

The Great Courses is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Skillshare or The Great Courses?

Skillshare and The Great Courses are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 25K and 17K ratings respectively.

### Do Skillshare or The Great Courses have ads?

Neither Skillshare nor The Great Courses shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Skillshare or The Great Courses?

Skillshare ships an update every 10 days, and The Great Courses fortnightly. Most recently, Skillshare was updated on September 25, 2026 and The Great Courses on September 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*