MasterClass vs IImagined
People buy these two for different reasons. MasterClass is a streaming service: well-known practitioners talking through how they work, in short, polished video lessons across more than 200 classes. IImagined is closer to a set of manuals: four written programs on building an online business by yourself, with a live call each week. One is for perspective, the other for instructions.
Reviewed . IImagined publishes this page and sells one of the two things on it, so everything about MasterClass is taken from MasterClass's own pages and linked. Prices and terms change: check those pages before you pay.
The short answer
Choose MasterClass if you want to hear how people at the top of a field think, across many fields, for A$15 a month billed annually in Australia. Choose IImagined if you want step-by-step instructions, working files and a weekly live call on one of four online-business subjects, and will pay $99 a month for that.
Choose MasterClass if
- You want perspective and motivation from famous practitioners: 200+ classes across business, writing, film, food, music, sport and more.
- You want to watch or listen. Classes play on a phone, a computer or a TV, and some have an audio-only mode.
- You want the lower price. Standard is A$180 a year in Australia. IImagined is $890 a year in US dollars.
- You want to share an account. Plus allows 2 devices at once and Premium allows 6.
Choose IImagined if
- You want instructions you can follow this week, with the templates, checklists and spreadsheets that go with them.
- Your subject is Instagram growth, AI characters, digital products or an AI SaaS.
- You want a person to answer your own question. All Access has a live call every week; the MasterClass coaching product, On Call, is an AI and is sold separately.
- You want to pay by the month. MasterClass memberships are billed for the year.
The facts, side by side
Each row shows the date it was checked and numbered links to the pages it was read from.
marks the side the facts favour on a row: MasterClass on 2, IImagined on 3. Rows without a mark are even, or come down to what you want.
Where each one is stronger
MasterClass
The people teaching
MasterClass builds each class around a practitioner known for the work: its coaching product alone names Chris Voss, Mark Cuban and Gordon Ramsay. IImagined has one teacher, its founder. 147
Breadth for the price
All 200+ classes on one membership from A$15 a month, billed annually, in Australia. IImagined covers four subjects for $99 a month in US dollars. 26
Made to be watched anywhere
Lessons average 10 minutes and play on phones, computers and TV apps, with downloads on the Plus and Premium plans and an audio-only mode on some classes. IImagined lessons are text in a browser. 126
IImagined
Instructions, not inspiration
A MasterClass class is about 20 lessons of 10 minutes, a little over three hours of one expert's approach. Instagram Ignited alone is 24 written lessons, and each program comes with files to fill in: hook templates, pricing sheets, calculators. 178
A human coach, included
All Access includes a live coaching call each week and a members-only Discord. MasterClass sells coaching as On Call, where you role-play and get guidance from an AI version of an instructor, from A$13.00 a month in beta. 46
Free before you pay, monthly once you do
A free IImagined account holds the Starter Kit and the first lesson of every program, and All Access can be paid a month at a time. MasterClass lists no free trial and bills the year up front, with a 30-day refund if it is not for you. 128
Who each one suits
You want to be a better writer, cook, musician or leader
Pick MasterClass
MasterClass has classes on all of these from people who do them at the highest level. IImagined teaches none of them. 1
You want something worth watching in the evening
Pick MasterClass
Ten-minute lessons on a TV app, with an audio-only mode for the commute. That is what the product is built for. 1
You have an Instagram account, a product idea or an app to build
You want a certificate for your CV
You want both the mindset and the method
What each one costs
MasterClass sets prices by country and its pages were read from Australia, so its membership and On Call prices here are in Australian dollars (A$). Its Certificates page gives a dollar price with no currency label. IImagined has one price, in US dollars, so the two columns are not in the same currency.
marks the side the facts favour on a row: MasterClass on 1, IImagined on 1. Rows without a mark are even, or come down to what you want.
Questions people ask
Is MasterClass or IImagined better?
Neither is better in general, because they are for different things. MasterClass is better for learning how accomplished people think and work, in 200+ video classes across many fields. IImagined is better for carrying out one of four online-business projects step by step, with written lessons, working files and a weekly live call. MasterClass costs much less. 16
How much does MasterClass cost compared with IImagined?
In Australia, MasterClass has three plans billed annually: Standard at A$15 a month (A$180 a year), Plus at A$23 a month and Premium at A$30 a month. They differ by the number of devices and by offline downloads, not by which classes you get. IImagined All Access is $99 a month or $890 a year, in US dollars. 126
Does MasterClass give certificates?
Not with a membership. MasterClass Certificates are a separate product: courses of 15 to 20 hours with quizzes, a capstone project and a shareable certificate, starting at $299. Its terms say a certificate is not equivalent to a degree, diploma or professional credential. IImagined gives no certificate. 356
Does MasterClass have a free trial or a refund?
It lists no free trial, but every plan has a 30-day guarantee: ask within 30 days of buying and MasterClass refunds the full amount. Renewals are not refunded. IImagined refunds a first payment within 30 days too, and has a free account you can use before paying anything. 1259
Does MasterClass offer coaching?
Through a separate product called On Call, which offers role-play and guidance from AI versions of its instructors and was in beta from A$13.00 a month when read. It is not a call with a person. IImagined All Access includes a live coaching call every week. 46
Can MasterClass teach me to grow on Instagram or sell digital products?
Not as a step-by-step course. A MasterClass class is one practitioner's approach to their field in about 20 short lessons, and its categories are broad ones such as business and entrepreneurship. Instagram Ignited (6 modules and 24 lessons) and Digital Products (8 modules and 27 lessons) are written as procedures to follow, with templates and spreadsheets. 17
Sources
Each page was read on the date beside it. The links open the current version, which may have changed since.
See the work before you pay for any of it.
The free Starter Kit is 5 working files, one from each IImagined program and one from the trading course: 32 fill-in-the-blank hooks, an AI character bible, a pricing worksheet, a unit economics calculator and a position size calculator. They open in your browser with a free account.
Get the free Starter KitIf the kit is useful, All Access is the paid step: $99 a month or $890 a year for the four programs, the weekly coaching call and the community, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.