How to Cancel MasterClass in 2026 (The Celebrity Course You Watched Once)
Updated 2026-02-19 · 5 min read
🎬 The Celebrity Entertainment Trap
MasterClass is entertainment disguised as education. The average user watches 1.5 courses out of 200+ — usually Gordon Ramsay's cooking class and maybe one more. At $10-20/month, you're paying for a Netflix alternative that calls itself a school.
Gift subscriptions: Don't auto-renew (the only safe way to try it)
Cost per course watched: If you watch 2 courses in a year, you paid $60-120 per course
How to Cancel
Website
Go to masterclass.com → sign in
Click your profile icon → Settings
Click Manage Subscription (or Edit Membership)
Click Cancel Membership
They'll offer a pause or discounted rate — decline if you're sure
Confirm cancellation
App Store / Google Play
If subscribed via mobile, cancel through your device's subscription settings — not through MasterClass directly.
⚠️ 30-Day Satisfaction Guarantee
MasterClass offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you just signed up or recently renewed, email support@masterclass.com requesting a refund. They typically process it within 5-10 business days. After 30 days, no refund — only cancellation at end of billing period.
Why MasterClass Isn't Worth It (Anymore)
Entertainment, not education: Beautifully produced but shallow — most courses are 2-3 hours of celebrity anecdotes, not practical skills
No certification: Unlike Coursera or edX, MasterClass certificates mean nothing professionally
No updates: Most courses were filmed 2-5 years ago and never updated
No interaction: Can't ask questions, no assignments graded, no cohort learning
Completion rate: Industry estimates suggest <5% of users finish even one course
Free Alternatives (Actually Educational)
YouTube: Gordon Ramsay alone has 20M+ subscribers and hundreds of free cooking videos — more content than his MasterClass
MIT OpenCourseWare: Free — entire MIT curriculum, real lectures, actual academic rigor
Most people complete <5% of courses on any platform
Pick ONE, binge it for 1-2 months, cancel, move to the next
💡 The Gift Subscription Hack
If you genuinely want MasterClass occasionally: buy it as a gift for yourself during holiday sales (typically 40-50% off). Gift subscriptions DON'T auto-renew. Watch the courses you want in 3-4 months, then it naturally expires. No cancellation needed.
🔍 Learning Subscription Audit
MasterClass, Skillshare, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, Brilliant, Duolingo — are you paying for courses you're not taking? Upload your bank statement to JustCancel to find every educational subscription.