The Great Courses review
Updated September 30, 2026 · AcademyCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 30, 2026
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Our verdict
The Great Courses suits a learner who wants a single curated subscription spanning business, design, creative, humanities and science rather than a job-focused certificate. The subscription plan starts at €24.99, and the 30 day money-back period ranks 3 of 159, though there is no free tier and support sits in a help centre.
Key facts
- Best for
- A single subscription covering business, design and creative with a 30 day refund window behind it.
- Price from
- €24.99 (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Free tier
- No (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Money-back period
- 30 days (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Platform type
- Subscription (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Course languages
- English (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Team plan
- Yes (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Legal entity
- The Teaching Company Sales, LLC (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Headquarters
- United States (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Support channels
- Help-centre (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Subjects
- Business, Design, Creative, Humanities, Science
- Official website
- thegreatcourses.com
Apps and profiles
- Get the app
- Google Play
Pros and cons
Pros
- A money-back period of 30 days, ranked 3 of 159 brands on the site, so a poor purchase can be reversed.
- The subscription plan starts at €24.99 and covers business, design, creative, humanities and science, so the whole catalogue comes under a single payment.
- A team plan is available, which is unusual among the platforms on this list, so a group can share one subscription instead of buying separately.
- The platform type is a subscription, which keeps the range curated by a single seller rather than varying by creator.
Cons
- No free tier, so a subscription at €24.99 is the way in, with the 30 day refund window as the fallback.
- Support runs on help centre only, so course questions go to self-serve material rather than a live channel.
- Courses are in English only, which narrows the audience to English speaking learners and rules out anyone needing another language.
Who it suits
- Learners who want one settled syllabus across business, design and creative rather than hunting through a marketplace.
- Anyone who values a 30 day refund window over a free trial.
- Groups buying together, since a team plan is available.
Who should look elsewhere
- Anyone who needs a no cost start: Hotmart lists a starting price of $0, and The Great Courses has no free tier.
- Learners shopping for a professional certificate: DRCertifications builds its offer around certification programmes starting at $19.99.
- Readers who want a contract with a supplier outside the US market: Academy for Health and Fitness lists £25, while The Great Courses is registered in the United States.
How it compares on our data
Entry price and the refund window split the picture. On the money-back period the brand ranks 3 of 159, which sits near the top of a wide field. On entry price the position is 78 of 220, so the opening figure is competitive while plenty of brands in the group start lower.
What you get free
The free tier is listed as no, so nothing in the catalogue can be sampled before paying. What stands in its place is the money-back period of 30 days, which lets a buyer start a course, judge the fit and recover the spend if it does not work out. It is a slower route than a free tier, so anyone who wants a no cost start has to look past this brand.
The company behind it
The company behind The Great Courses is The Teaching Company Sales, LLC, registered in the United States. Contracts, refund terms and course access all run through that single entity, which keeps accountability in a single place. Support runs on help centre only, so questions about a course are answered by self-serve material rather than by a person.
How The Great Courses compares
9.1 vs 9.0
9.1 vs 8.8
9.1 vs 8.6
9.1 vs 9.1
9.1 vs 8.7
Frequently asked questions
What does The Great Courses cost, and is the price the same at renewal?+
The Great Courses runs as a subscription, and the entry figure for a plan is €24.99. Because the platform is set up as a subscription, that figure belongs to a plan you keep paying for rather than a single purchase, so treat €24.99 as the opening of ongoing spend. The 30 day refund period gives room to change your mind before a later charge.
How long is the money-back period?+
The refund window is 30 days, longer than the 14 day median across the site, and that places The Great Courses at 3 of 159 brands on the measure. A window that size lets you judge a whole course rather than a sample, which matters most on a subscription.
Is there a free tier or a free trial?+
There is no free tier on The Great Courses, so any look at the catalogue costs money from the outset. The entry figure for the subscription is €24.99, and a 30 day money-back period stands behind it. Readers who want a genuinely no cost start will find more options on the site.
What subjects does the catalogue cover, and what language is it in?+
The catalogue spans business, design and creative under a single subscription rather than a set of separate course purchases. Everything is delivered in English, which narrows the audience to English speaking learners. Courses come from a single seller, so the range is curated by the platform rather than by many independent creators.
How do I get help if a course is not working?+
Support runs on help centre, with no live channel listed, while phone support appears on 52% of the brands on the site. That makes The Great Courses thinner on help than most of the group, and the 30 day refund window is the safety net if a course does not play as expected.
Can I buy for a group or a team?+
A team plan is available, so several people can sit on the same subscription rather than buying separately. The shared catalogue is delivered in English, and the entry figure for the subscription is €24.99. A group that wants a certificate-led programme would do better on a certification specialist.
Is this a marketplace or a fixed subscription?+
The Great Courses is a subscription platform, not a marketplace where independent creators sell courses, and the entry figure of €24.99 covers a plan rather than a single course. The range is fixed and curated across business, design and creative, which suits a reader who wants a settled syllabus rather than an endless catalogue to search.
Who runs The Great Courses and where is it based?+
The company behind the platform is The Teaching Company Sales, LLC, registered in the United States, and the courses are delivered in English. Terms, refund rights and the €24.99 entry figure all sit with that single entity, so a claim under the 30 day refund window is handled there. Buyers outside that market should check how the entry figure converts in their own currency.
Sources
- plus.thegreatcourses.com checked September 30, 2026
Backs: Free tier
“Enjoy this course and thousands of other programs with a Great Courses Plus membership”
- shop.thegreatcourses.com checked September 30, 2026
Backs: Price from, Subjects, Team plan
“The Complete Guide to Smartphone Photography EUR 29.99 EUR 24.99 20 Lectures”
- shop.thegreatcourses.com/tos checked September 30, 2026
Backs: Course languages, Headquarters, Legal entity, Money-back period, Platform type, Support channels
“The Services are offered in English”
Compiled from 3 source pages, checked September 30, 2026. We did not open an account.
Related by the facts
The Great Courses
A single subscription covering business, design and creative with a 30 day refund window behind it.