MasterClass Review: Is It Worth Your Time and Money? [2026]
It was back in May 2024 when I bought my first MasterClass subscription. I remember I was listening to a conversation between Shaan Puri and David Perell (on the How I Write podcast), and Shaan was explaining all the amazing things he learned from taking Aaron Sorkin’s Screenwriting Class — which mostly focuses on storytelling.
So I became curious and took the class.
I loved it!
But my journey with MasterClass didn’t end there.
I discovered they have a huge catalog of classes (over 200) taught by some of the “world’s best” across many different fields.
So I got hooked on learning with MasterClass. I’d watch the classes on my laptop, listen to them on the mobile app while commuting or doing other things, and even stream them on my TV when I wanted a more relaxed vibe.
But enough of my life story with MasterClass.
Let’s now get into the actual review 🤓
(Disclosure: I earn a commission if you sign up to MasterClass with a link from this article, at no extra cost to you. This helps me keep the site ad-free 🙂 )
MasterClass Review (Structure)
I’ve divided this review into four parts:
Class Experience
App Experience
MasterClass Price & Subscriptions
Conclusion: Is MasterClass Worth It in 2026?
1. Class Experience
After using MasterClass for almost two years, I’d say there’s one thing that truly sets it apart from any other learning platform: the teachers.
The teachers on MasterClass aren’t just teachers… They’re first and foremost doers — and extremely successful ones. They earned their success “in the arena” (as Theodore Roosevelt would say) — by actually doing the thing. So their knowledge is vastly more practical (hence, more useful) than that of an academic teacher — whose main activity is teaching.
“In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.”
— Yogi Berra
So for instance, I’d much rather learn about investing from a successful investor — with a proven track record — than from an academic finance professor. And I’d much rather learn about writing from a successful novelist (or nonfiction author) than from a writing teacher at some university — even a prominent one.
“The doers are the major thinkers.”
— Steve Jobs
(Note: The quotes from Yogi Berra and Steve Jobs are not part of the MasterClass platform.)
Now let’s get into the actual experience of a class…
Besides writing and storytelling, I’m super interested in entrepreneurship, investing, philosophy, and food/nutrition. So, to illustrate, I’ll use my favorite class on investing: Mastering The Markets — which gave me a solid foundation for investing in stocks.
This is how it looks on the mobile app…
(Note: MasterClass also has a TV app. So if you wanna make it “cinema-style”, you can watch the classes on your TV! It’s available on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku streaming media players.)
The class is divided into four episodes, each taught by an extremely successful investor (with decades of experience)…
If you’re curious about this particular class, click here to watch the trailer 🎬 (once you open the link, just scroll down a bit to find it).
Now let’s see all the features available for the class.
1.1 Bookmarks
You can bookmark any class episode, and you can also bookmark any chapter within a specific class episode.
So in the case of the episode Find Hidden Value in Lesser-Known Places, I can bookmark the entire thing, and I can also bookmark any of its 6 Chapters (or “Moments”, as MasterClass calls it).
These bookmarks are then automatically saved in the list “My Bookmarks” — which you can find in “My Progress” tab.
1.2 Note-taking
🖥️ Only available on desktop
As you watch any class, you can jot down notes on the side 📝
This is great for reflecting on the ideas you’re learning.
Your notes are automatically organized by class (and episode), and saved in the list “My Notes” — which you can find in “My Progress” tab.
1.3 Class Guide (PDF)
Most Classes come with a “Class Guide”, which is a PDF where you can find valuable information to follow along the class or complement your knowledge.
To make things concrete, let’s take the example of Episode four: “Win the Long Game by Managing Risk.” In its Class Guide, you’ll find:
A short description about the instructor Seth Klarman.
A Glossary of words for “how to speak as an investor” (e.g. Cashflow, “Buy and hold”, Capital Gains, etc.)
Graphs and visuals to explain ideas (this is the bulk of the PDF).
An assignment quiz.
Seth Klarman’s Reading List.
1.4 Class TA (The AI Assistant)
🖥️ Only available on desktop
If you have any questions while watching a class, you can simply ask the AI assistant “Class TA”…
It feels like it has a solid understanding of the class context. And (almost) every time I’ve used it, it’s been useful!
1.5 Audio-only Mode
📱 Only available on mobile
If you wanna listen to a class on your phone — and you just want to listen (not watch) — you can switch to audio-only mode. This is ideal for whenever you’re on the go or doing other things.
The main benefit of switching to audio-only mode (if you only want to listen) is that, besides the instructor, there’s also an external narrator who mentions the title of each episode and its chapters — so you always know where you are in the class.
Also, if you have a poor internet connection, the audio-only mode will likely load much faster.
And yes… you can listen to the audio even when the phone screen is off (both for video and audio-only mode).
1.6 Downloads
📱 Only available on mobile
You can download any class episode on the mobile app…
This is a feature I truly appreciate because I frequently lose internet on my routinely commutes, and I can’t think of something worse than staring at the phone for minutes waiting for the content to load 😂.
1.7 Other Features: Speed/Subtitles/Quality
You can control the playback speed, select subtitles in many different languages, and choose the video quality…
2. App Experience
MasterClass has a beautiful, easy-to-navigate app on both desktop and mobile.
Let’s go through each of the three sections (Home - My Progress - Library) and see what’s inside them…
2.1 Home
On the Home page, you’ll find the most recent classes, along with a selection of classes picked “for you” based on what you’ve been watching. But if you’re interested in a specific category (such as “Business” or “Writing”), you can also filter by it!
2.2 My Progress
In this section, you’ll see all the classes you’ve interacted with, organized into three different lists:
Continue Watching → Classes you started but haven’t finished.
Continue Watching (desktop view) My List → Every Class comes with the button “Add to My List”, which means that it’s added to the playlist “My List.” Think of it as a watch later type of list.
My List (desktop view) Classes You’ve Mastered → These are the classes you’ve finished.
Classes You’ve Mastered (desktop view)
Finally, you can also find your bookmarks, your notes (available only on desktop), and all your downloaded classes (available only on the mobile app).
Here’s how “My Progress” looks on the mobile app…
2.3 Library
As the name suggests, this is where you’ll find the full library of classes.
It’s similar to the Home page in that you can filter classes by category (Food, Arts & Entertainment, Music…). But you can also filter by:
Format — Classes / Playlists / Series / Sessions (please don’t ask me the difference 😅 😂 )
My Content — It includes the three lists we just saw in the “My Progress” section.
Duration — Useful when you have limited time to watch something.
3. MasterClass Price & Subscriptions
Their pricing is super transparent. You can see it directly on their website.
So… How much does MasterClass cost?
They offer three annual subscriptions (which they call “memberships”):
The Standard Membership costs $120 per year (equivalent to $10 per month). You can only watch on 1 device at a time (so it’s hard to share with friends / household), and you can’t download classes.
The Plus Membership goes for $180 per year (equivalent to $15 per month). You can watch on 2 devices at the same time, and you get unlimited downloads.
The Premium Membership costs $240 per year (equivalent to $20 per month). You can watch on 6 devices at the same time, and you get unlimited downloads.
There’s no free trial, but all membership plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee (terms apply — see more information here).
You can also give any MasterClass subscription as a gift 🎁
4. Conclusion: Is MasterClass Worth It in 2026?
Based on my personal experience and research, MasterClass is definitely worth your time and money. And with a catalog of 200+ classes, you’ll likely find plenty that interest you — plus, new classes are added every month.
(Note: If you’re curious to explore all the categories, subcategories, and classes… click here to browse the entire catalog — then just hit “Browse” at the top of the page.)
As I mentioned earlier, the most unique thing about MasterClass is the instructors — who are not academics but actually successful doers in the arena. So their knowledge is experience-tested, and therefore extremely practical and useful.
On top of that, the class (and overall app) experience on laptop, mobile, and TV is amazing! And you get many features to support your learning — my two favorites: Note-taking (to reflect on the ideas) and the Audio-only Mode (for whenever I’m on the go and just wanna listen).
Finally, a quick summary of this review:
And thank you for reading my blog post :)
Now can you review mindvalley courses next?