Skillshare vs Masterclass: Which One is on Top? (2024)

When I was trying to pick between Skillshare and MasterClass, two of the big names in the online learning world, I wasn’t sure which one was best to go with. Like many, I was unsure about their key differences, like; Pricing and subscription plans? Free trial options? Refund policies? And who the instructors would be?

To clear up these questions and more, I’ve put together a detailed comparison between Skillshare and MasterClass. I hope it helps you make an informed decision on which platform is right for you.

Enough hanging around, let’s dive right in to this in-depth comparison, so you can find out for yourself.

Decide Which One Is Best for You in 3 Minutes

MasterClass Vs Skillshare Side by Side

Round 1: Which One Is More Popular?

As you see below in this Google Trends screenshot, when it comes to popularity, MasterClass is clearly more searched than Skillshare.

MasterClass is a stand-out online learning platform, due to the fact it has famous faces like Yotam Ottolenghi and Alicia Keys teaching its classes. It was founded in San Francisco in 2014 by David Rogier, and currently it has thousands of classes across 11 categories. Its classes are highly engaging and really well produced that leaves you with the feeling you are watching a cinematic Netflix show.

The Skillshare platform is a popular online learning platform for creatives and entrepreneurs. It is currently offering 35,000+ classes on topics like illustration, design, photography, video, freelancing and more. Its big pool of classes provide learners with an endless list of classes to enjoy – you definitely won’t get bored.

Even though google trends does give us an indication of which is the most popular online learning platform. It doesn’t answer which one is better for you the learner: Skillshare or MasterClass?

Round 2: Ease-of-Use & Interface

If you are anything like me, then having an online platform that is easy to move around and has an intuitive layout makes the whole learning experience much more enjoyable. So, let’s find out which platform has the easiest system?

Registration

The registration process for Skillshare is really simple. You can create your account by simply adding an email account and a password. On top of that, you are also allowed to create an account using your Google, Apple or Facebook account. Once you are signed up, you’ll need to add your credit/debit card, Sepa or Paypal account, this will activate the start of your free Skillshare Premium trial. You won’t be charged anything until the free trial ends. Keep in mind that if you don’t cancel before the end of your free trial, you will be charged the annual fee.

MasterClass has a similar registration process. To create your account, you will simply add your email address and click on ‘Get Started’. You will then be asked to choose your annual membership: Individual, Duo or Family (see image below). Once you have selected your preferred annual membership, you will be taken through to add your card details. Finally, you will click to PLACE SECURE ORDER and your membership will begin immediately.

Backend & Design

Once you are registered with Skillshare, you can begin enjoying its free trial and the 35,000+ classes it has to offer. Once you have chosen a category, you can begin browsing its classes. It offers a couple of helpful filters where you can pick the class length and sort the classes by most Popular and recently added (see image below).

Skillshare and MasterClass, have a very similar and intuitive interface for its video lessons. The layout of the video lessons from MasterClass are intuitively listed down the right side of the screen, making it easy to find what you want to watch.

To the right of that you can find My Notes, which helps to remind you of what you have learnt during the class and is like a modern-day notebook.

Overall, both Skillshare and MasterClass have a really intuitive and user-friendly platform, not only making it easy to find what you are looking for but also an enjoyable learning experience.

The Skillshare and MasterClass app is available with all paid subscriptions, so you can learn on the go and at a time that suits you.

Round 3: Classes & Programs

When deciding on the right platform, it’s important that you ask yourself some important questions like: What class topics am I looking for? Is it important who the instructor of the class is? Can I read class reviews?

Class Information

With a platform like Skillshare that offers such a wide variety of creative classes (35,000+) it’s hard to know where to begin. Skillshare does try to help you by giving you suggestions of classes from Featured Classes, Popular Classes and Trending Classes to give you an idea of what other learners are enjoying.

As well as Skillshare courses, you will also get access to Skillshare Chroma course, which is an immersive four-week course with a small group of learners. The content is taught by expert teachers and learners will have access to live Q&AS and receive personalized feedback.

My suggestion is to choose a bunch of Skillshare courses that pique your interest and read the Reviews from past learners, as this will give you a real insight into their experience and of what to expect (see image below). You can also read the About tab a detailed teacher profile, so you have an insight into the instructor of the class and links to other classes he/she teaches.

MasterClass offers a smaller number of categories (11 in total), but that definitely doesn’t mean it’s lacking in good quality content. You can begin by selecting the categories which most interest you, and then begin viewing all the MasterClass courses in each of those categories.

Sadly, MasterClass doesn’t have any specific reviews for each class from past learners, which feels a shame and something that is lacking on the platform in general. I know as a user myself, I value reading reviews and opinions (even if some aren’t accurate).

Downloadable Material

Each MasterClass comes with a downloadable class guide, which in most cases is a beautifully illustrated PDF booklet that can include information about the instructor, overview of topics from video lessons, recipes and more. It’s a nice addition and can be handy if you want to go back and remind yourself of topics shared during the video lessons.

Popular Skillshare & MasterClass Classes

I wanted to highlight the most popular online classes published by Skillshare and MasterClass to give you an idea of what other learners have most enjoyed. The classes mentioned are based on reviews, ratings and my own experience.

Popular Skillshare Classes

1. Productivity Masterclass – Principles and Tools to Boost Your Productivity

Ali Abdaal teaches the principles and theories of productivity to help us live a happier and more productive life. This class is 1 hour 55 minutes and made up of 15 video lessons, and throughout the class are reflective prompts and questions to answer. I took this class myself and enjoyed it, you can read about my experience here.

Fundamentals of DSLR Photography

Fundamentals of DSLR Photography is taught by Justin Bridges, Fashion and Portrait Photographer. This class is beginner-friendly, an introductory photography class where you’ll learn how to balance shutter speed manually, aperture, and ISO to achieve perfect exposure. You’ll also learn Justin’s go-to camera settings, must-have gear and recommendations on a budget.

3. iPhone Photography: How to Take Pro Photos On Your iPhone

iPhone Photography: How to Take Pro Photos On Your iPhone – Taught by Dale McManus, a Photographer and Videographer. This class is beginner-friendly and will teach you everything you need to be a professional digital photographer. In this course, you’ll learn plenty of tips and tricks that you can use during every day shooting to make your photos stand out from the rest. Some of what you’ll learn is how to take stunning photos by utilizing shot composition, how to create depth in your photography, how to professionally edit photos in Lightroom and much more.

4. Graphic Design Basics: Core Principles for Visual Design

Graphic Design Basics: Core Principles for Visual Design – Taught by Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips, co-directors of the Graphic Design MFA program at MICA. This class is beginner-friendly and will give you a solid foundation and core principles of graphic design. You’ll learn and define 5 basic design principles, critique your work for effectiveness and balance, and apply each core concept in future projects.

5. Video Editing with Adobe Premiere Pro for Beginners

Video Editing with Adobe Premiere Pro for Beginners – Taught by Jordy Vandeput, a Filmmaker and Youtuber. This class is beginner-friendly, where you will learn how to take your creative ideas into amazing videos with Adobe Premiere Pro. You will learn a solid basis of Premiere Pro which allows you to perform basic edits, create custom graphics and texts, mix audio from speech, music, sound effects and much more.

Popular MasterClass Classes

1. Annie Leibovitz Teaches Photography

Another MasterClass that is popular among users is the Annie Leibovitz MasterClass on photography. In this MasterClass Annie brings you into her studio and onto her shoots to teach you everything she knows about portraiture. The MasterClass begins with her reflecting on her career and the power of telling stories through photographs, it then goes on to discuss Portrait photography, creating concepts, studio vs location. One of the more interesting video lessons is when Annie sits down with students to critique their work and give advice. The MasterClass is 3 hours 4 minutes and comprises 15 video lessons.

2. Gordon Ramsay Teaches Cooking

Next we have Gordon Ramsay teaching you how to elevate your cooking skills, covering key techniques, ingredients, and recipes. This MasterClass starts with an overview of Ramsay’s kitchen and the course outline, followed by 20 video lessons, each concentrating on a distinct topic like kitchen design, vegetables, herbs, fish, and shellfish. The entire MasterClass spans 3 hours and 52 minutes across these 20 lessons.

3. Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting

In this MasterClass, Aaron Sorkin, a celebrated Academy Award-winning screenwriter, imparts his knowledge in screenwriting for film and television, delving into the intricacies of the art. He covers essential aspects such as storytelling rules, dialogue, character development, and the key factors that make a script successful. The MasterClass consists of 35 video lessons, each exploring different facets of screenwriting, from brainstorming story ideas to character creation and audience engagement, cumulatively lasting 8 hours and 1 minute.

4. Neil Gaiman Teaches The Art of Storytelling

Neil Gaiman’s MasterClass takes you on a journey through the Art of Storytelling, revealing his techniques for crafting original ideas, believable characters, and captivating fictional universes. In the opening session, Gaiman expresses his enthusiasm for teaching and encourages you to tell meaningful stories. Subsequent lessons delve into various aspects like Truth in Fiction, Finding Inspiration, Discovering Your Voice, among others, concluding with a lesson on the responsibility of creating art for an audience. This MasterClass comprises 19 video lessons, totaling 4 hours and 29 minutes.

5. Werner Herzog Teaches Filmmaking

Werner Herzog, an acclaimed director with a portfolio of 70 films and 50 awards, offers a comprehensive MasterClass covering storytelling, cinematography, location scouting, self-financing, and other filmmaking aspects. The course begins with lessons on storytelling and scriptwriting, followed by topics such as funding initial films, negotiation techniques, location selection, team leadership, and more. This MasterClass spans 5 hours and 50 minutes, encompassing 26 video lessons.

Round 5: Available Languages At Skillshare & MasterClass

Alright, I promise this will be a short round.

Originally, Skillshare focused on offering its classes in English, but recently, it has localized its platform in four additional languages, including German, Spanish, French and Portuguese.

As for its English-speaking classes it offers subtitles in the localized languages, for anyone that English is their second language it can be helpful.

Like Skillshare, the MasterClass audience is primarily English. It does offer a small handful of classes with Spanish and German subtitles, but when I say small handful I mean less than 10 classes.

Round 6: Production Quality Skillshare Vs MasterClass

If you are anything like me then staying engaged with a video lesson is an absolute must if I am going to continue watching or commit to taking an online course. It goes without saying that this isn’t always an easy task when some online learning platforms offer thousands of courses.

Skillshares video lessons vary in quality as anyone can create and submit a video class. The lower end of the spectrum are video classes filmed on a camera phone without a proper microphone that feel very amateur and hard to watch. But then you have the opposite end of the scale with Skillshare Originals that are well produced and a joy to watch.

Even with some of Skillshares well produced video content it just doesn’t compare to the big budgets that MasterClass has in producing beautifully shot video classes. You can really tell within a few minutes that this is what makes MasterClass stand out from other platforms, and they have done an excellent job at it. I sometimes found myself being completely immersed in a video lesson, and it felt less like learning and more like watching a Netflix series.

To add here, that it’s not that Skillshare has bad video content, it’s just when it’s compared to MasterClass they are next level.

Round 7: How to Watch Skillshare & MasterClass

MasterClass and Skillshare platforms allow you to watch on your browser from your desktop or laptop, plus they both offer mobile apps. If you prefer to use the mobile apps to watch classes, you have the option to download video classes which you can then watch for offline viewing. It goes without saying that you must have a paid annual subscription to get access to both Skillshare and MasterClass apps.

The Skillshare app allows you to browse by category, search for classes, and save classes to watch offline for later. It has a 4.3 rating on Google Play and a 4.8 rating on the App Store, mainly positive reviews but with some mixed reviews.

MasterClass App

Similarly, MasterClass allows you to browse by category, search for classes and save classes to your list to view later. All users can download the class workbooks which come with each MasterClass. Additionally, for users who have the Duo and Family plan they have the option to download video lessons via the Android and iOS apps, which can be convenient for if you’re taking a trip. For anyone wanting to be part of the MasterClass community, you can participate in community discussions with other students and instructors using the app.

Round 8: Completion Certificates

Certificates can be a great way to show future employers of your qualifications. Plus, they can be the motivator to commit and successfully complete the course. It’s important to remember though that not all certificates are verified, as that would mean they need to be issued by a credible institution.

Sadly, neither Skillshare nor MasterClass offer any sort of certificate when you successfully complete the class.

Round 9: Teachers & Community

For many of us, the person teaching the course or class is an important factor for whether we go ahead with it or not. Before making that decision you may have some questions you want answering like:

Does the teacher have qualifications to teach this subject? How many years of experience do they have? Will the instructor be giving me personal feedback?

Skillshare is a platform that allows anyone to teach its classes. So to become a Skillshare teacher, you just need a passion for a creative topic and looking to share that with a creative community. Now this does come with its downside, the fact that anyone can teach a course, meaning: Does my instructor at Skillshare have qualifications? Or How much experience do they really have?

As well as that, Skillshare does produce ‘Skillshare Original’ a collection of classes that are built in partnership with some well-known professionals and entrepreneurs. These classes are well produced and well received by the Skillshare community.

Skillshare does encourage its learners to share their thoughts and work with the community. And it does make a greater effort than other online learning platforms to emphasize the importance of community through learning.

What makes MasterClass a stand-out platform are the famous faces teaching its classes. Its lineup of 100+ celebrities and VIPs is really impressive, you have the likes of Alicia Keys teaching you Songwriting and Producing or Gordon Ramsay on how to cook. If you like the idea of learning from an icon, then MasterClass has you covered.

In all honesty, MasterClass doesn’t have the most active community, it is used more as a place to ask and get answers to questions. If a community isn’t that important to you, then MasterClass would be a good fit.

Round 10: Discounts & Offers

I was curious to compare which platform offers discounted or even free memberships?

When you first sign up to MasterClass you will be given Guest Passes which you can share with your friends and loved ones. The Guest Pass will give them 14-day free access to the platform. They will need to add their debit/credit card details to access the guest pass, but can cancel before the free trial ends if they choose not to continue with the membership.

MasterClass seems to be doing a very active job of it and has claimed to have given out 718 free annual memberships to nonprofits, 150k + to currently or formerly incarcerated individuals and 315k + to underserved communities. You can get in touch and partner with MasterClass if your organization supports one of the communities that MasterClass focuses on helping.

Skillshare offers discounted rates on its memberships for nonprofits and schools or higher education institutions. You can get in touch for a consultation call and discuss with Skillshare how they are able to help.

Round 11: Is Skillshare or MasterClasses Support Better

Let’s be honest, something we all dislike is slow support and bad customer service, right?

Skillshare offers a standard Help Center page where you can find articles on most areas that you would need answers for. It is broken down into Students, Teachers and Skillshare for Teams, so you can easily navigate towards what you are looking for. You have the option to submit a ticket if you need further help.

MasterClass offers a more detailed Support page, plus it offers a chatbot which I know at times can be annoying, but this one is more helpful than others I have used in the past.

After purchasing a MasterClass subscription myself, I requested a refund (within 30 days of purchasing it) as I wanted to see how its customer service was. I must say, I was super impressed with how responsive and hassle-free it was. I submitted a request here and the refund was back in my account in 5 days.

Round 12: Which One Is Better for Businesses

Online learning isn’t just for individual learners, it is for teams and businesses who want to upskill and motivate their team and employees. Skillshare and MasterClass are no different and both offer plans for teams and businesses.

Skillshare for Teams is designed for any team or businesses. Skillshare for Teams offers a couple of different packages. The Team plan costs $159 per user, per year and is designed for a team of 1–19 employees. The corporate plan is for 20 seats or more, and you’ll need to contact sales for a quote.

Like Skillshare, MasterClass offers plans for Businesses, its pricing plans aren’t as transparent, and you will need to contact sales to choose the plan for your business. Depending on the size of your organization, discounts between 5-35% are made when you purchase more than 5+ annual memberships

Round 13: Pricing & Refunds

Now we have come to the final category and the most important for many, pricing. I am sure what you really want to know is: What’s actually included in my membership plan? Or Is there a refund available?

Both Skillshare and MasterClass offer subscription plans, let me explain a little more in the table below;

Skillshare monthly and annual subscription plans come with a 30-day free trial for you to try before fully committing to the platform. If you cancel before the free trial ends, you won’t be charged anything. As well as that, a refund is offered if you contact Skillshare 14 days after the annual membership payment has been processed.

MasterClass offers 3 different subscription plans, which, unlike Skillshare, you only have the option to commit to an annual plan, which means paying the full amount upfront. If you do change your mind and decide you don’t want to continue, you can cancel your membership renewal through your account page, by following the prompts. If you do all this within 30 days, you’ll be guaranteed a full refund. After submitting your request to MasterClass asking for a refund, you should receive a reply from the MasterClass team within 48 hours, if accepted, you should receive a refund within 5-10 business days. In my experience, it took just 5 days to receive the funds back into my account.

Skillshare vs MasterClass Customer Reviews

To give you a well-rounded understanding of this Skillshare vs MasterClass comparison, I’ve delved into the feedback and reviews of customers online. By doing so, we can tap into the experiences and viewpoints of a broad range of users when it comes to these two online learning platforms.

The Skillshare review has gathered feedback from 1,499 users, while the MasterClass review comes from 816 customers. Interestingly, MasterClass has more than 50% of its customers awarding it a 5-star rating, mostly complimenting ‘Content Quality’, ‘User Experience’ and ‘Value for Money’. “As a newcomer to MasterClass, I have been impressed by the range and quality of the classes and sessions available”. a happy 5-star customer said.

It left me curious to explore the 1-star ratings for both platforms. Starting with Skillshare with over 30% of users leaving a 1-star review. Many complained about ‘Billing & Subscriptions’, ‘Technical Issues’, ‘Customer Support’. “No reasonable concept of customer support, no refunds within a reasonable time” a dissatisfied 1-star customer said. The 1-star ratings at MasterClass seemed to face the same issues of billing & subscriptions, technical issues and course quality. “The annual subscription plan is a trap. I received no notice of automatic renewal and hadn’t used it in months”. an unhappy 1-star customer said.

Final thoughts: Skillshare vs MasterClass

Alright, after this long and detailed comparison, I am sure you’ll be able to pick what platform is best for you. To sum up Skillshare and MasterClass, I have highlighted each platform’s strengths and weaknesses for an easy takeaway on which platformmay be right for you.

Skillshare Pros

Skillshare Cons

Try Skillshare for free

Read Skillshare review

MasterClass Pros

MasterClass Cons

Check out MasterClass

Read MasterClass review

There’s a lot to consider when choosing an online learning community, so if you still have some questions, please leave a comment below, and I’ll do my best to help you.

MasterClass Vs Skillshare: FAQs