CreativeLive Review: Is It Worth It? (2024)

In this 2023 CreativeLive review, I’ll explain the classes I took, what you can learn and who CreativeLive is for.

If you’re wondering, “What is CreativeLive?”, it is an online education platform aimed at entrepreneurs, creative professionals and yes, writers. Award-winning photographers Chase Jarvis and Craig Swanson founded the company in Seattle in 2010. It’s similar to online education platforms like LinkedIn Learning, Masterclass and even Udemy and Skillshare. However, CreativeLive emphasises learning softer creative skills (hence the name!).

How CreativeLive Works

CreativeLive includes over 700 instructors across a broad range of disciplines including:

• writing
• blogging
• art and design
• photography
• video editing

You can take several free classes on CreativeLive at your own pace to gauge how it works. CreativeLive On Air streams these classes as live broadcasts, and they cover topics like money and life, photography, music and audio

Many of the photography classes are also free. One of the more popular free CreativeLive classes is 30 Days of Genius with Chase Jarvis. In that class, he interviews business experts like Richard Branson and online entrepreneurs like Ramit Sethi and Marie Forleo. Each interview is about an hour long.

Otherwise, like many online learning platforms, CreativeLive top-tier classes are available on demand for a fee. You can take them on your computer or watch them using the CreativeLive Android or iOS apps.

You can also read course reviews by other students and decide if it’s right for you. CreativeLive also publishes new premium classes each month. If you don’t like a class, they offer a 30-day refund policy

What Courses I Took for This CreativeLive Review

I took several classes while writing this CreativeLive review. First, I watched a Creative Live On Air class for free. Then, I bought the Vlog Like a Boss course by Amy Schmittauer (now Amy Landino) for $79. Approximately 11,000 students have taken this course.

I took this on-demand CreativeLive class as I wanted to improve my video creation and production skills for an online course I offer. I watched it on my Mac and at lunch using the CreativeLive app for iOS.

Landino runs a popular YouTube channel and is also the author of a best-selling book, also titled Vlog like a Boss: How to Kill It Online With Video. Before taking this class, I was vaguely familiar with Landino’s work, but I didn’t know much about her approach to vlogging.

This CreativeLive class includes 21 high-quality video lessons recorded in front of an audience, and I spent five hours on it. I learnt some new video editing skills from Landino, particularly the value of an Apple iPhone for video.

She also places emphasis on creating and reusing videos for social media in this course, via some tutorials. While writing this CreativeLive review, I also watched some of these classes:

• 30 Days of Genius With Chase Jarvis (free)
• The 4-Hour Life With Tim Ferriss ($299)
• How to Make Money With Ramit Sethi ($159)
• Wired for Story: How to Become a Story Genius with Lisa Cron ($49)

CreativeLive also offers courses in photography from Chase Jarvis and self-help courses from Mel Robbins.

How Much Are CreativeLive Courses?

You can take a Creative Live On Air Class for free. These are streamed and replayed each week and cover topics like the fundamentals of photography, business and health.  These free classes offer a good preview of what to expect from the paid versions.

CreativeLive courses start from $20 and go up to $200. That said, you can find many of these courses for sale at a discount at various times during the year.

Alternatively, you can buy a CreativeLive Creator pass and access their entire library of courses for $39 a month with an annual discount. If you intend to take more than one course, this is a better buy.

Now here are the most popular CreativeLive classes for writers:

• Writing Your Story by Joyce Maynard ($74)
• Wired for Story: How to Become a Story Genius by Lisa Cron ($49)
• Writing Your Book: Start Strong and Get It Done by Jennie Nash ($129)
• Starving to Successful: How to Make a Living as a Writer by Jeff Goins ($99)
• Writing a Story by Joshua Morr ($59)

Prices vary depending on their current offers.

What I Liked About CreativeLive

I like CreativeLive because many classes feature professionals like Amy Landino at the top of their game. The materials are digestible and easy to get through. For example, many of Landino’s modules are between five and ten minutes long.

The CreativeLive production values are high-quality. Landino recorded her classes in high-definition in front of a studio audience. This approach was a refreshing change from other online classes I’ve taken on online learning platforms like Udemy.

Typically, online classes involve a presenter speaking straight to the camera or recording a desktop presentation while talking (This is what I do!). I was able to adjust the playback speed of the modules and read a lesson transcript too.

CreativeLive is a good way to take classes from online entrepreneurs you follow or want to learn more about. For example, Ramit Sethi sells courses on his site that range from several hundred to several thousand dollars. If you’re new to learning online, his CreativeLive class is relatively affordable.

Like Tim Ferris, who is also on Creative Live, Sethi covers self-improvement too. While you can improve your writing or creative skills by watching YouTube or buying books, I’ve always found premium online classes offer more structure than random YouTube videos and tend to be more focused than books.

What I Disliked about CreativeLive

CreativeLive occasionally offers an all-access pass whereby you can watch anything you want for a subscription or one-time for free. While writing this CreativeLive review, I didn’t see it for sale.

That’s a pity as other online learning platforms like Lynda and Masterclass offer this type of all-you-eat pass, and it’s useful if you’re unsure what to study first. Some of the high-end CreativeLive classes cost several hundred dollars while others cost less than fifty. It took me some time to figure out their pricing. If you take a lot of classes, CreativeLive could quickly become expensive unless you opt for a monthly subscription.

Some CreativeLive classes contain modules that are 30 to 40 minutes long as opposed to the more digestible modules in Landino’s course. (Only two of her classes were this long and she labeled them as “deep dives”). I find it more difficult to get through longer video lessons, preferring instead to consume content like this over a cup of coffee or lunch.

Perhaps my attention span is shrinking!

Finally, the CreativeLive classes I took didn’t include many downloadable materials or certifications. These certainly aren’t essential but can serve as useful learning aids.

What Are The Best CreativeLive Classes?

My favourite CreativeLive class to date is “Vlog Like a Boss” as I learnt about an unfamiliar topic, and I found Landino an insightful instructor. I also enjoyed Wired for Story presented by Lisa Crohn, even if much of the lesson materials reminded me of a seminar I took several years ago by screenwriter Robert McKee.

Ferriss’ and Sethi’s courses are good too. However, I’ve spent hours reading their blog posts and books and listening to their podcasts. So I was already familiar with much of what they were teaching on CreativeLive.

These writing classes on this education platform cover similar topics so I’d suggest reading the lesson list, watching the trailers and picking a teacher who appeals to your learning style.

CreativeLive also features several appealing classes about productivity and time management, but I haven’t taken these yet, except for Ramit Sethi’s and Tim Ferriss’s musings on the topic.

CreativeLive vs LinkedIn Learning

I joined LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) several years ago when I started blogging. I wanted to learn basic Adobe Photoshop skills and how to code (not required for blogging!).

LinkedIn Learning emphasises skills that are more valuable if you work within a larger company, for example, software development, analytics, using PowerPoint and so on. You also pay an all-you-can-eat subscription that starts at $39.99 per month rather than a one-time fee.

LinkedIn Learning doesn’t contain as many creative courses as CreativeLive, instead focusing on skills for the office. If you want to improve your writing skills or acquire other new skills for creative work (like vlogging), I’d recommend CreativeLive.

CreativeLive vs Masterclass

Masterclass is an interesting alternative to CreativeLive. It features fewer courses and instructors. Instead, Masterclass emphasises the calibre of their instructors. You can learn from creative celebrities or well-known professionals like Steve Martin, Malcolm Gladwell and James Patterson. The CreativeLive classes I watched are more practical (Landino talks through her video-editing process), while Masterclass classes are more theoretical (Steve Martin reflects on his comedy career).

Masterclasses typically cost $100 per class, while their all-access pass costs around $200. In this Masterclass review, I explain more. In short, Masterclass and CreativeLive complement each other and if you can afford it, consider picking relevant classes from both. Read our Masterclass.com review.

Our Testing Criteria

We became a CreativeLive customer in 2018. We regularly update this review as new courses are released. Along with the help of a team of writers, we take and review popular courses on mobile and desktop devices.

Why You Can Trust Us

I’ve written and published dozens of articles for newspapers, magazines and online publications including Forbes and Lifehacker. I’m also a best-selling non-fiction author, a trained journalist and copywriter.

I’ve spent thousands of dollars taking writing courses in college and online. I consider writing courses a key part of my development as a writer. I also sometimes commission other writers to review these courses to get another point of view.

The Bottom Line on CreativeLive

CreativeLive is a good use of time and money for anyone who wants to hone their creative skills including but not limited to photography, writing, blogging, video editing and more.

The materials and instructors on creativelive.com are first-rate. live broadcasts are also a nice alternative to other online learning platforms.

If you’re unsure, consider watching a CreativeLive On Air class for free. If you intend to take more than one class, opt for the Creator Pass.

FAQs About The CreativeLive Review