Despite what movies portray, school and college weren’t glamorous for many of us. After all, who enjoys being crammed into tiny desks, suffering hand cramps from endless note-taking, and juggling fifteen different syllabi? Once we’ve graduated, few are eager to return.
So when it comes to online learning, it’s natural to feel hesitant. After all, our caffeine-fueled, finals-dreading days are behind us—why revisit them? Yet there’s still much to discover and understand. Fortunately, many MOOCs—massive open online courses—have revolutionized the learning experience.
But you lead a busy life. Deadlines loom, projects demand completion, and family responsibilities require attention. You lack time to analyze each platform’s features or calculate which subscription offers the best value. That’s where we come in. The Great Courses Plus provides an excellent option for lifelong learners—without the traditional headaches of formal education.
What Is The Great Courses Plus?
The Great Courses Plus operates under The Learning Company, founded in 1990 by former US Senate Committee Chief Counsel Thomas M. Rollins. The company’s mission is making “lifelong learning and personal enrichment available to anyone, anywhere.” They collaborate with prestigious organizations like National Geographic, Smithsonian, and the Culinary Institutes of America. Great Courses Plus delivers video courses that are “thoroughly researched, extensively examined, and beautifully produced,” designed to be “comprehensive, factual, and fascinating.”
How Does The Great Courses Plus Work?
The Great Courses Plus provides a 14-day free trial. Creating an account requires selecting your subscription plan, registering with your email, and entering payment details.
Once your account is complete, you can immediately begin exploring courses. Search for specific terms, courses, or professors, or browse the extensive category selection. Topics include Economics & Finance, Food & Wine, Health & Fitness & Nutrition, History, Hobby & Leisure, Literature & Language, Mathematics, Music & Fine Arts, Philosophy & Religion, Professional & Personal Growth, Science, and Travel. The platform regularly adds 3-4 new courses monthly.
When you discover an intriguing course (and with such compelling titles and engaging visuals, you won’t wait long), simply click to access the course homepage. Here, you’ll find detailed professor information (their alma mater, current teaching position, and biography), downloadable workbooks for notes, and a complete video breakdown showing what each lesson covers. You can also preview the entire course through a trailer.
As the “trailer” suggests, these video courses resemble documentary series more than university lectures. The Great Courses Plus proudly offers “no schedules, no homework, and no tests—just learning for learning’s sake.” Consequently, courses contain only videos and guidebooks—no quizzes, exams, or projects. You can rewatch and review content as often as desired, control playback speed, and enable subtitles.
Since The Great Courses Plus is a streaming service, reliable Wi-Fi is essential—content cannot be downloaded for offline viewing during long flights. However, the platform offers apps for multiple devices: Android, iOS, Apple TV, Roku, and many others.
The Difference Between The Great Courses And The Great Courses Plus
Despite nearly identical names, The Great Courses and The Great Courses Plus are separate companies—Plus isn’t a replacement or upgrade. The Great Courses sells DVDs or downloads of individual courses for anywhere from $30 to $250, allowing you to watch lectures whenever and wherever you choose. Plus features many identical courses but operates on a subscription model—one fee grants access to all courses, though they must be streamed online. Great Courses Plus subscribers also receive discounts when purchasing DVDs or downloads from The Great Courses.
Is The Great Courses Plus Accredited?
While The Great Courses Plus employs professors from Ivy League schools—the top 1% of educators—it’s not accredited. Without projects or assessments, these video series aren’t designed to test knowledge or demonstrate competency levels—meaning no academic credit or certificates are available. These series prioritize beauty and entertainment over traditional academic structure, resembling immersive documentaries rather than college courses.
However, course quality remains exceptional. The Great Courses Plus recruits elite professors who excel at teaching effectively. The company carefully matches instructors with their areas of expertise, ensuring they work within their strongest subjects. Learning without grade pressure proves liberating—research demonstrates that relaxed, curious minds absorb information more effectively.
Is The Great Courses Plus Cheap?
The Great Courses Plus pricing aligns with other MOOCs. Monthly subscriptions cost $20, quarterly plans $45, and annual subscriptions $150—equating to $20/month, $15/month, or $12.50/month, respectively. Most competing MOOC courses range from $12-$20.
However, The Great Courses Plus delivers less value for that price. Courses lack projects, certificates, or even final assessments to gauge learning. Many MOOCs allow free course auditing, while Great Courses Plus requires a paid subscription for any content access beyond the 14-day trial.
The Great Courses Plus struggles even against similar documentary and journal subscriptions. Netflix, with its extensive documentary catalog, costs $15.99/month, while Smithsonian—a Great Courses Plus partner—charges only $4.99 for their streaming service and $12 for their magazine subscription.
The Great Courses Plus Alternatives
The Great Courses Plus VS SkillShare
SkillShare also teaches skills rarely found in traditional universities, focusing heavily on creative abilities—creating overlap with The Great Courses in areas like cooking. SkillShare costs similarly to The Great Courses Plus at $19/month, but includes projects with teacher and peer feedback for every course. SkillShare also features integrated social networking, allowing users to connect with other learners and creators.
However, The Great Courses Plus maintains stricter quality control over instructors. SkillShare permits anyone to teach, which occasionally impacts course quality despite generally solid offerings. The Great Courses Plus employs rigorous vetting and hiring processes, ensuring only exceptional educators who communicate effectively create their content.
The Great Courses Plus VS Coursera
Coursera also recruits top professors but emphasizes academic subjects—science, arts and humanities, and history dominate their catalog. Consequently, Coursera offers certificates and credits, even full degree programs. While individual course purchases differ from The Great Courses Plus’s subscription model, Coursera allows free auditing of any course.
However, Coursera costs significantly more than The Great Courses Plus. Individual courses range from $49-$99, while MasterTrack Certificates begin at $2,000. Coursera also provides less entertainment value than The Great Courses Plus, resembling traditional university lectures rather than polished documentaries.
Conclusion: The Great Courses Plus
The Great Courses Plus champions learning for its own sake—offering fascinating topics like psychology studies that transformed our worldview or vocal training techniques. While pricing matches other MOOCs, it provides fewer tools and tangible returns. However, their courses maintain exceptional quality, feeling more like engaging National Geographic documentaries than monotonous lectures. The Great Courses Plus enables natural, self-paced learning that indulges curiosity and develops well-rounded individuals.
