My Honest Review After 1 Year of Using MasterClass

As an avid learner with diverse interests ranging from cooking to photography to writing, I‘ve tried over a dozen different online education platforms over the years before finally landing on MasterClass about 12 months ago. In this in-depth MasterClass review, I‘ll give you an insider‘s look at how the platform works based on my year-long experience using it, who teaches the courses, what kind of educational value you can expect, and ultimately help you decide if a subscription is worth the investment.

Overview: How MasterClass Works

Before digging into the pros and cons, let‘s briefly overview what exactly MasterClass is and how the learning platform functions.

Founded in 2015, MasterClass is an online education service focused on providing video lessons to inspire learning and creativity. According to their About page, over 17 million members enjoy the service. The key pillars of their offerings include:

• Video Lessons: The core of every class are video lessons featuring renowned instructors teaching a topic they specialize in

• Downloadable Materials: Many classes provide workbooks, recipes guides, writing prompts and other materials to supplement video lessons

• Community Features: Ability to engage with fellow students in class discussion groups and share work

Over 1150 video lessons are available across a catalog of over 100 different course topics focused on creative arts, entertainment, lifestyle, writing, leadership and more. Classes range from 1-2 hours of video up to 10+ hours depending on the subject depth.

I‘ll now give you an idea of MasterClass‘ impressive roster of A-list instructors across topics…

MasterClass Instructors: The Big Names Behind Each Class

What really makes MasterClass stand out from platforms like Skillshare, Coursera and others is the celebrity caliber teachers they sign up to develop classes.

To give you a taste, here a just a handful of the 145+ instructors on the platform:

The big names and credentials behind each class is a huge part of the appeal for members. While an online course from a random internet instructor may be fine for some topics, when you want to learn about writing from Margaret Atwood or photography from Annie Leibovitz, MasterClass gives you exclusive access you won‘t find elsewhere.

So whether your goal is to cook alongside Thomas Keller, perfect your tennis serve with Serena Williams or write a screenplay under David Mamet‘s guidance, MasterClass aims to connect you with the top experts across fields.

Below I highlight just a small sample of the stellar instructor in a few popular categories:

Cooking

With 19 courses and growing, cooking is one of the most popular MasterClass categories I‘ve explored extensively. Some of my favorite instructors include:

• Gordon Ramsay – Energetic and enjoyable, Ramsay‘s courses bring rare insight into running top kitchens
• Thomas Keller – The only American chef to earn multiple 3-star Michelin ratings, Keller teachers mastery of dishes with intense focus on getting every detail right
• Alice Waters – A trailblazer in seasonal organic cuisine, Waters courses help you elevate basic home dishes beautifully

I‘m always amazed by the legends they continue lining up for new cooking courses, like their latest additions of Dominique Ansel teaching French pastries and Gabriela Cámara on authentic Mexican cuisine.

Music & Entertainment

In the world of music and entertainment, MasterClass offers fascinating insight from icons like:

• Hans Zimmer – My personal favorite instructor, Zimmer tearfully breaks down his creative process scoring films like The Lion King and Inception
• deadmau5 – Learn the art of EDM production from one of the most acclaimed DJs of all time
• Usher – Develop your vocals and performance skills guided by one of the best-selling music artists ever
• Spike Lee – Go behind the director‘s lens as he deconstructs his most impactful scenes shot-by-shot

The inside access you get into the creative minds of music and entertainment elites in these courses is unparalleled.

Writing

As an aspiring writer myself, the writing courses are the bread and butter of my MasterClass experience so far. When bestselling novelists like Margaret Atwood, James Patterson and Dan Brown give you 24/7 access to their classrooms, why wouldn‘t you enroll?

• Margaret Atwood – Dives deep into worldbuilding, character development and generating creative ideas
• Dan Brown – Breaks down the key elements of plot structure and thrillers step-by-step
• David Baldacci – Teaches you his precise outlining process from concept to completion
• Malcolm Gladwell – Explores crafting narratives and understanding bias in storytelling

As the platform expands, MasterClass continues partnering with literary giants, ensuring writing remains a crown jewel of their catalog.

Photography & Film

For visual storytellers, photography and film classes taught by the likes of:

• Annie Leibovitz – Learn portrait photography techniques used for her iconic John Lennon and Demi Moore covers
• Jimmy Chin – Go behind the lens on extreme sports shoots and National Geographic features
• Werner Herzog – Get a masterclass in filmmaking spanning pre-production to post-production steps
• Ken Burns – Understand the intricacies of bringing history documentaries to life

With these instructors, MasterClass pulls the curtain back on legendary image-makers.

While the big names add great appeal across every category, it does come with occasional disappointment if a celebrity instructor underdelivers. But mostly their status attracts, inspires and gives valuable perspective into elite processes.

Now that you understand the talent and topics available, let‘s get into pros and cons of the learning experience itself…

The Pros of MasterClass: Flexible and Motivational

Based on using the platform extensively myself while also monitoring member feedback closely, the biggest pros tend to be:

Flexible Learning – With 100% on-demand pre-recorded video lessons and downloadable materials, you have exceptional flexibility to engage at your own pace. I often download workbooks or audio content to learn during commutes.

Motivational Value – While light on technical skills sometimes, the emphasis on mindsets, creative thinking and passion is outstanding. I always leave inspired to apply teachings to my goals.

Production Polish – With 4K video and cinematic editing guided by big celebrity egos, production value far exceeds a typical online course.

Star Power – Rosters of genius-level icons like Paul Krugman in economics or Doris Kearns Goodwin in history provide rare educational access.

Let‘s contrast the biggest advantages with a few core issues to watch for…

The Cons: Interactivity, Cost and Mixed Depth

In keeping this MasterClass review well-balanced and transparent, here are the most common drawbacks I‘ve noticed from my own membership and scanning member feedback online:

Limited Interactivity – With 100% pre-recorded lessons focused on big names lecturing more than hands-on teaching, interactivity is extremely limited. No ability to ask questions or engage with instructors directly.

High Annual Cost – At $180 per year, the annual plan costs far more than competitors. You pay a premium for celebrity exclusivity. Some courses don‘t warrant the price alone.

Mixed Depth – With short lesson lengths, some topics barely scratch the surface. But certain focused classes like science/math or writing provide deeper substance. Depth varies greatly between courses.

To break things down further, let‘s analyze pricing and promotions, content depth and other key membership factors…

MasterClass Pricing and Membership Options

MasterClass offers an few pricing options:

• Annual Plan – $180 per year paid upfront
• Monthly Plans – $20 per month through in-app purchases on iPhone/iPad or Android devices

The annual plan breaks down to ~$15 per month on average, but requires a steeper one-time payment. Monthly plans through mobile apps give you more flexibility to cancel anytime, but work out to $240 per year.

Compared to platforms like Skillshare ($168 per year) or Coursera ($49 per month), MasterClass sits at the higher end of pricing in the online education market. But smaller niche competitors like Aaron Sorkin‘s Masterclass ($90 per year) or Bobbi Brown‘s beauty courses ($40 per month) show even wider variance in the space.

The key membership factors to understand are:

While $180 per year sits on the pricier side, MasterClass offers bulk with over 100 courses and growing. If you plan to take a few courses per month and mix up subjects, it can pay for itself quickly even compared to single classes on platforms like Udemy.

Now let‘s analyze the variance in course quality and depth between categories…

Course Quality and Depth Varies Between Categories

With over 100 classes available, quality unsurprisingly varies quite a bit between categories and individual instructors.

During my first 6 months trying dozens of courses, I focused mainly on writing, photography and cooking categories with some music courses sprinkled in. But in the last 6 months I‘ve explored fitness, politics, leadership and even some math courses.

Here is a breakdown of my course experience ranked in order of educational depth:

Greatest Depth

1. Writing – With detailed outlines, substantive lessons on prose, intensive workshops and more, writing courses lead MasterClass‘ most practical offerings. Favorites like Dan Brown‘s class provide amazing value.
2. Math & Science – With focused topics like Einstein‘s relativity explained clearly or chess strategy step-by-step, hard skills shine. These beat entertainment for depth.
3. Music Production – While inspirational more than technical, huge value seeing the creative process of icons like Deadmau5 produce a track from scratch.
4. Cooking – Recipes and techniques taught by the very best make cooking courses extremely popular. Production value is outstanding but casual cooks won‘t need years of courses.
5. Photography – Lessons from Annie Leibovitz and Jimmy Chin provide some fundamentals but still lack enough technical foundations for serious photographers.

Least Depth

1. Lifestyle – Glitzy courses like Chris Hadfield on space exploration offer entertainment over substance. Cool insights but not comprehensive education.
2. Politics & Society – Big picture courses like Paul Krugman on economics often lack the gritty details some lovers of political theory hope for.
3. Arts & Creativity – Wonderfully inspirational listening to RuPaul or Hans Zimmer but you won‘t acquire advanced skills.
4. Leadership – Similarly, the likes of Howard Schultz teach leadership mindsets that motivate but classes here lack concrete management training.

The pattern is courses rooted more in hard skills like writing and math achieve greater educational depth. But most creative arts and lifestyle topics emphasize mindsets with mixed skill-building.

Analyzing differences between courses will help align your expectations. Photography students shouldn‘t expect the same hands-on depth as a writing workshop from James Patterson for example. Goals matter.

My final verdict after a year as an avid MasterClass member is…

Conclusion: Well Worth It For The Right Learner

If we were sitting together over coffee analyzing the value of a MasterClass subscription, here is how I‘d summarize my membership:

Inspiring More Than Instructive – The lecture-style celebrity masterclass format shines better at unlocking motivation, creativity and big ideas rather than technical skills. Hard skills appear in certain courses but most excel at mindset.

Elite Access Appeal – While $180 per year is expensive for online learning, the rare chance to peek inside the playbooks of 100+ genius-level masters seems fair. It‘s affordable compared to even a single live workshop.

Mix Up Your Curriculum – No one needs 100+ classes on one topic. Mix it up across photography, writing, leadership, cooking topics and MasterClass pays for itself quickly in my experience.

While better options exist for some goals like accredited degrees and technical certifications, I find outstanding inspirational value listening to all-time greats teach what made them exceptional.

It ultimately comes down to aligning learning objectives – if you want exclusive mentoring from the 1% of elite experts across industries informing creative passions or business ventures, MasterClass has tremendous worth.

I‘m excited to continue my membership for another year studying under iconic instructors. Thanks for reading my in-depth MasterClass review analyzing the pros, cons and everything between! Let me know if you have any other questions.