Udemy vs MasterClass:
A Comprehensive 2023 Comparison

Masterclass vs Udemy: Courses and Instructors

When comparing MasterClass vs Udemy in terms of their courses and instructors, you’ll find that these platforms take different approaches to online education.

MasterClass distinguishes itself with its exclusive celebrity-led courses, providing a unique learning experience in creative fields like entertainment, cooking, and writing. Udemy, on the other hand, takes a more expansive approach, offering a much wider range of courses, including specialized IT options, with a focus on practical skills. 

When it comes to instructors, MasterClass boasts a carefully selected roster of high-profile instructors who bring not only expertise but also a glimpse into the insights and experiences that have shaped their success. 

Udemy’s strength, in contrast, lies in its sheer volume and variety of instructors. The platform has instructors from all walks of life, from subject matter experts to enthusiastic professionals, resulting in a broad spectrum of teaching styles and expertise. While this approach means more options for students, it also means the quality of instruction can vary significantly across the platform.

Course Categories

MasterClass Categories

MasterClass offers over 180 classes across the following 11 categories:

• Arts and entertainment;
• Business:
• Community and government;
• Design and style;
• Food, home and lifestyle;
• Music;
• Science and tech;
• Sports and gaming;
• Wellness, and writing. 

The content in MasterClass falls under the edutainment category. Characterized by Netflix-level production values and celeb instructors, MasterClass lessons are more geared towards hobbyists and enthusiasts than traditional students. The content not only imparts valuable knowledge but also entertains, making the learning experience engaging and enjoyable.

With only 11 categories for its courses, MasterClass’s variety might seem lacking compared to Udemy’s. However, the beauty of MasterClass categories is that they appeal to a diverse range of interests. From culinary arts with Gordon Ramsay to music composition with Hans Zimmer, and from writing with Margaret Atwood to sports with Serena Williams, MasterClass has something for everyone.

MasterClass courses revolve around creative and artistic subjects, making the platform a haven for those passionate about craftsmanship, storytelling, and creativity. 

MasterClass courses are designed to be easy to consume with each course typically consisting of 20+ video lessons, with an average duration of 10 minutes per lesson. Students also receive companion workbooks, reading lists, recipes, playlists, assignments, and more to reinforce their learning.

When it comes to the depth of its courses, you’ll find that MasterClass tends to be more about broad strokes than fine details.

The real gem lies in the specific insights shared by the master instructors. These are often nuggets of wisdom, drawn from a wealth of personal experience, that can be challenging to find elsewhere. The courses provide a backstage pass to the minds of these masters, allowing students to grasp the mindset, philosophy, and approach that has made them successful.

Udemy Categories

Udemy has over 210,000 courses under the following categories. Each of these categories typically has dozens if not hundreds of subcategories:

• Development (Web/mobile app/games/software engineering etc.)
• Business
• Finance & Accounting
• IT & Software
• Office Productivity
• Personal Development
• Design
• Marketing
• Lifestyle
• Productivity & Video
• Health & Fitness
• Music

Udemy’s open-door policy, which allows anyone to publish their expertise on the platform, makes it a rich and diverse library of educational content. This openness means you can find courses on even the most niche or specialized topics. It’s like a one-stop shop for all kinds of learning, making it super handy for people who want to get really good at something specific.

With over 210,000 courses and hundreds of categories to choose from, it’s safe to say that Udemy’s course catalog is diverse and extensive. Whether you’re looking to enhance your professional expertise, delve into a new hobby, or acquire new skills in emerging fields, Udemy’s vast course selection ensures there’s something for everyone.

Despite the variety Udemy offers, the vast majority of its courses focus on developing professional skills to help individuals enhance their expertise and stay relevant in the ever-evolving professional landscape. This makes Udemy a great fit for individuals looking to upskill or reskill without the constraints of traditional education costs or time commitments.

The freedom for instructors to design and publish their own courses without Udemy’s input means that the structure of courses can differ considerably across the platform. Some courses can take less than an hour to complete while others can be 200+ hours long.

Some courses follow a traditional format, with a series of lessons organized into sections, quizzes, and assignments to reinforce learning, while others may adopt a more interactive approach, incorporating hands-on projects, discussion forums, or group activities.

Fortunately, each course on Udemy comes with an overview containing pertinent information about the course, such as the format, the estimated time commitment, and whether supplementary resources are provided.

The depth of Udemy courses can vary significantly depending on the instructor and the specific course. Fortunately, Udemy has a robust review system where students can share their experiences and insights. By reading these reviews, prospective students can get a sense of whether a course provides the level of detail and depth they are seeking.

Top Rated Lessons

Top Rated Lessons

While each course on MasterClass is worth checking out, here are some of our picks of the top classes on MasterClass:

1. Kris Jenner The Power of Personal Branding. In her course, Kris Jenner, the “momager” of the Kardashian-Jenner family, shares her personal brand story and how she built the Kardashian-Jenner suite of brands. She shows you how to create a personal branding story, build a brand, and project it to the world.
   
   
2. Annie Leibovitz – Teaches Photography. In this course, Annie Leibovitz, the legendary Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and Vogue photographer, teaches the art of creating timeless images. You will learn how to work with subjects, shoot with natural light, develop concepts, and bring images to life in post-production.
   
   
3. Timbaland – Teaches Producing and Beatmaking. The Grammy-winning music producer teaches his innovative techniques for discovering beats, layering tracks, creating hooks that stick, and collaborating with other artists. 
   
   
4. Neil deGrasse Tyson – Teaches Scientific Thinking and Communication. The renowned astrophysicist uses his MasterClass to teach you how to find objective truths and how to share them. Expect to learn scientific thinking, navigating cognitive bias, making predictions, and effectively communicating and connecting to any audience.
   
   
5. Kelly Warstler Teaches Interior Design. Learn interior design techniques to make any space more beautiful, creative, and inspiring from the award-winning designer. The course covers sources of inspiration, starting a project, working with space, materiality in design, living with color, and creating experiences with art and objects.

Udemy Top Lessons

Udemy also makes a valid argument for why you might want to check out the platform with the following top classes:

1. Powerful Business Writing: How to Write Concisely. This course by high-profile business writer, Caroline McDevitt, teaches how to write with confidence. It covers techniques to keep your words down and your message compelling, improving your persuasion skills and enhancing your career prospects. 
   
   
2. User Experience (UX): The Ultimate Guide to Usability and UX. This is an excellent course for individuals who want to build their UX skills and gain industry-recognized certification. It teaches you how to bake UX into your workflow by following a proven, user-centered design framework. The course is highly rated on Udemy, with a rating of 4.7 out of 5 from 6,519 ratings.
   
   
3. Pattern Making for Fashion Design -PART 1- Essential Skills. This beginner/intermediate course teaches the foundational principles of pattern making in fashion design. It covers the basic principles of pattern drafting, such as dart manipulation, added fullness, and contour, and techniques such as pivoting and slash-and-spread. The course enjoys a rating of 4.7 from 1,334 ratings and is a bestseller on the platform. 
   
   
4. Elite Singing Techniques – Phase I. This course is a step-by-step singing system proven to develop great technique and vocal mastery. It has a rating of 4.8 from 3,032 reviews and is highly recommended by students who have taken it. The course covers topics such as vocal foundations, breathing, vocal weight, vocal range, and vocal agility, among others. 
   
   
5. The Simplest & Easiest Course on Hypothesis Testing. This bestselling course is designed for students who are struggling with statistics or are complete beginners in statistics. It provides a complete and thorough understanding of the concepts of hypothesis testing, covering concepts such as null and alternate hypotheses, standard errors, Type 1 and 2 errors, and more. It boasts a rating of 4.7 out of 5 from 385 reviews.
   
   
6. Beginner Nikon Digital SLR (DSLR) Photography. This is an excellent course for individuals who want to learn how to use their Nikon DSLR camera intuitively. It covers the basics of photography, such as exposure, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, and more. Students will learn how to use their camera intuitively and learn through doing rather than memorizing. The course has a rating of 4.5 from 1,013 reviews and is also a bestseller on Udemy.

Instructors Review

MasterClass Instructors

MasterClass boasts a star-studded lineup of instructors including Serena Williams, Christina Aguilera, Gordon Ramsey, Natalie Portman, Mariah Carey, Martin Scorcese, and Penn & Teller, to name a few.

One of the key strengths of MasterClass instructors is their proven track record of achievement. Whether it’s in the realm of filmmaking, writing, sports, or any other field, these instructors have demonstrated exceptional skill and mastery. As such, you can be sure to walk away from their classes with potentially life-altering nuggets of knowledge or wisdom.

Moreover, MasterClass understands that possessing expertise in a particular skill doesn’t automatically equate to the ability to effectively convey that knowledge through teaching. That’s why the platform carefully vets individuals based on their ability to teach effectively during the selection process. 

All this ensures that students receive lessons from instructors who not only excel in their crafts but also excel at conveying their expertise to others.

Udemy Instructors

The quality of Udemy’s instructors can vary considerably. On the platform, you’ll find a mix of highly experienced experts and thought leaders in their respective fields, as well as individuals who may be relatively new to teaching or are trying their luck as tutors on the platform.

This is where Udemy’s review feature comes in handy. It allows students to provide feedback on courses and instructors. By reading these reviews, you can get insights into the experiences of other students, helping you gauge the instructor’s expertise, teaching style, and overall quality. This should help you make informed decisions about which courses to enroll in based on the reputation and effectiveness of the instructor.

User Experience and Interface

MasterClass and Udemy have both gone to great lengths to make their platforms as user-friendly as possible. Both platforms feature intuitive interfaces that make it easy to find and access courses.

MasterClass’s interface comes with filters such as instructor, duration, and category, allowing users to tailor their search based on their specific preferences and learning needs. The platform also uses engaging course descriptions and previews to provide a sneak peek into the content.  

However, the production quality of its video lessons is where MasterClass truly shines. The lessons are typically well-lit, high-definition videos shot by filmmaking experts who know how to handle lighting and sets. This results in an engaging cinematic aura that makes the learning experience that much more immersive and enjoyable.

On the other hand, Udemy provides users with a robust filtering system to sort courses by numerous parameters including categories, relevance, and user ratings. This ensures users can quickly navigate through the vast array of courses. Additionally, Udemy provides a preview feature, allowing users to get a glimpse of course content before making a decision.

When it comes to the production quality of Udemy’s video lessons, however, you will find that it can vary considerably depending on the course and instructor. That said, Udemy’s guidelines state that video content must be of HD quality.

Both platforms prioritize a seamless user experience by implementing responsive designs and mobile apps, making it easy for learners to access courses from various devices. Moreover, both platforms offer features such as progress tracking, bookmarks, and downloading functionalities to enhance the overall learning experience.