I can only comment on my own experience but I wouldn't recommend that students study physics anywhere but in a classroom environment, especially the beginner's courses because the opportunity to ask professors questions during lectures is invaluable. I also spent countless hours in my respective professors' offices asking questions or doing extra work in preparation for exams which wouldn't be as easy in an online world.
At higher levels, learning physics without an actual live professor would be nearly impossible, and during my Master's, we didn't have a single in-class exam and each of the takehome exams took a minimum of 40 hours to complete. We had to attend four classes a semester, teach four sections of a lab per semester (physics or astronomy), as well as work on our thesis and take a six hour comprehensive exam (two parts--one during each summer) on basically everything in order to get our degrees. I wouldn't expect any Master's in physics to be less rigorous than this.
My second Master's in atmospheric science was a cakewalk comparatively, but still would have been rather difficult outside of the traditional classroom/professor dynamic.
In my opinion, one thing that can lead to terrible professors is the amount of pressure put on them to "publish or perish". If you're a new prof (i.e., without tenure), your students basically mean nothing to you because research and publishing is number one--why would you put any effort toward teaching?
I was lucky enough to do my undergrad at a small/private/no-research school and my professors dedicated their entire jobs to their students which made a HUGE difference, but holy hell did I pay (and am still paying) for it--even with scholarships. I got paid to do both of my Masters (it was a pittance but enough to get by, and tuition was paid) which I am very grateful for, but it really depends on the subject and the schools to which you apply.
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