Skillshare vs BBC Maestro (Which Is Better?) • HumanWindow (2024)

Skillshare and BBC Maestro are two of the leading online learning platforms designed to help you level up your skills. But how do they compare?

Having taken some Skillshare and BBC Maestro courses over the last few months, I’m keen to share what I’ve learnt from using both of the platforms so you can decide which is the best option for you.

In this article, I’m going to take a close look at both of the platforms, discuss their main pros and cons, and compare them to each other. I’ll cover the important information including price and whether I think they’re worthwhile investments.

Skillshare vs BBC Maestro – My Experience And Verdict

Having tried out some courses on both platforms over the last few months, I can definitely say that they’re both good options.

However, my personal recommendation is BBC Maestro – and here’s why.

It all comes down to the quality of the courses. Skillshare has some amazing courses on offer taught by a variety of experts in their fields. However, I found the classes to be a bit hit and miss in terms of quality. Any expert can teach a course on Skillshare and that means that the quality is not always up to what you might expect.

Don’t get me wrong, Skillshare has some really great courses taught by leading experts such as Ali Abdaal and Lilly Singh. However, I found the quality of the courses on BBC Maestro to be significantly better in general.

BBC Maestro’s courses are taught by world class instructors, ranging from business expert Steven Bartlett to music producer Mark Ronson. These are household names – and there is no question that the instructors know what they’re talking about.

As I have a keen interest in music production, I took Mark Ronson’s course on BBC Maestro. I found the whole experience to be excellent. The video lessons are really high quality and it’s so cool to be given a backstage seat into how he makes his music.

Overall, I favour BBC Maestro over Skillshare, mainly due to the quality of the courses. It’s worth pointing out that Skillshare has many more courses on offer than BBC Maestro, so it does offer good value for money in this regard. There are also more topics covered on Skillshare.

Skillshare definitely has more of a ‘hands-on’ approach than BBC Maestro, with class projects and interaction with other students. This is not the case with BBC Maestro, which is more like a ‘Netflix’ for online learning. If you feel you’d benefit from projects and feedback from other students, Skillshare may be the better option for you.

It’s also worth noting that BBC Maestro has far fewer courses on offer than Skillshare (BBC Maestro has around 30 courses at the time of writing, compared to thousands offered on Skillshare).

However, overall I feel that BBC Maestro is the more ‘premium’ learning platform and it’s definitely my top choice between the two online learning platform options.

Skillshare – Things To Know

Skillshare is an online learning platform featuring thousands of online courses covering a wide variety of topics, including design, music, cooking, productivity and business.

Courses are taught by a range of experienced experts – some you’ll have heard of and some you won’t.

There’s a huge range of classes to choose from, and you’ll get instant access to all of them when you sign up for a Skillshare subscription.

All of the courses feature pre recorded lessons and there’s the chance to connect with other students for feedback on projects during courses.

By signing up to Skillshare, you’ll also get access to a supportive online learning community, where you’ll be able to connect with other students and like-minded people working on improving themselves.

Like BBC Maestro, Skillshare is a subscription based streaming platform, meaning that for a monthly or annual fee, you’ll get access to their impressive range of thousands of courses.

Skillshare Price

•A Skillshare monthly membership plan costs $29 / £14 per month. This is billed monthly.

•A Skillshare annual membership plan costs $165 / £79 per year (equivalent to $13.75 / £6.58 per month). This is billed annually.

You can get 30% off the price of an annual subscription plan by using the discount code ANNUAL30AFF when you sign up for an account through this link.

BBC Maestro – Things To Know

BBC Maestro is a streaming-based online learning platform featuring high quality video lessons taught by a range of celebrity instructors.

At the time of writing this article, there are more than 30 classes taught on the BBC Maestro platform. Topics covered include cooking, music production, acting, entrepreneurship, writing courses and more.

Examples of courses include Writing and Performing Musical Theatre by Sir Tim Rice, Writing Love Stories by Jojo Moyes, and Acting by Brian Cox.

The classes are taught by high-profile experts, many of which you’ll have heard of. If you’re looking for backstage access to the secrets of world class experts, then BBC Maestro is a great option.

Like Skillshare, BBC Maestro classes feature engaging lessons, with most courses taught by some of the world’s leading experts. Each course also comes with downloadable PDF course notes to support your learning experience.

You can either sign up for an annual subscription, which gives you instant access to all of the courses on the platform for a year, or purchase an individual course, which gives you lifetime access to one single course.

BBC Maestro Price

•A single BBC Maestro course costs $89 (£79)

• An annual subscription to BBC Maestro costs $120 (£120) per year

You can get 20% off any course or subscription at BBC Maestro by using the code HUMANWINDOW20 when you sign up through this link.

Skillshare Pros and Cons

Let’s now weigh up some of the main pros and cons of Skillshare. If you’re interested in learning more about the positives and drawbacks in more details, be sure to check out our dedicated Skillshare pros and cons article.

BBC Maestro Pros and Cons

Now it’s time to take a look at some of the main pros and cons of BBC Maestro. Again, you can check out my more detailed BBC Maestro pros and cons article here.

Anything Else To Consider?

Before signing up to either Skillshare or BBC Maestro, I do recommend taking the time to familiarise yourself with some of the courses on offer on both platforms. You can do this by browsing either of the websites.

You’ll want to be sure that there are at least a handful of courses that you’d be interested in taking, as this means you’ll be able to get the maximum amount of value for money from your membership. There should be at least a few classes you’re interested in taking.

It’s also worth looking into the money back guarantees offered by both Skillshare and BBC Maestro.

At the time of writing this article, BBC Maestro offer a 30-day money back guarantee with their annual subscription plans. In your first year of subscription to BBC Maestro, you can get a full refund if you’re not happy with your purchase within 30 days. It’s best to contact BBC Maestro for more details on this.

Skillshare currently offer a refund option on membership charges after a seven-day free trial, as long as you contact them within seven days of the charge.

It’s best to check the guarantee and refund options directly with the platform before signing up, as the details may change from time to time and could differ from what I’ve explained above.

Wrapping Up – My Final Thoughts

We’ve reached the end of my comparison of Skillshare and BBC Maestro.

Overall, these are two high quality online learning platforms. There are some really great courses on offer on both platforms and because the lessons are pre recorded, you’ll be able to progress through classes at your own pace.

Personally, I favour BBC Maestro simply because of the high quality video lessons taught by world-class instructors. But Skillshare is also a great option if you’re looking to level up your creative skills.

If you’re interested in giving BBC Maestro a go, you can get 20% off by using the code HUMANWINDOW20 when you sign up through this link.