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Best GRE Prep Courses
Our comprehensive guide to the best GRE prep courses online, comparing and contrasting the top programs side-by-side
Achieving a top tier score on the GRE is critical to getting accepted into the graduate school program of your choice. And to get that top score, you will very likely require the assistance of a prep course—but which one is right for you? In this guide, we rank the best GRE prep courses available on the market based on a thorough review and evaluation by our team of test prep experts.
To quickly navigate through this comprehensive GRE prep course guide, simply click on the jump-to links above.
Video Guide: Best GRE Classes & Courses
In the video above, John from the Test Prep Insight team walks you through each GRE prep course that made our team’s best list. For more detail regarding any of these prep courses, please continue reading our full written guide below.
Manhattan Prep gets our editor’s choice pick for best overall GRE prep program because of their perfect combination of value pricing ($399), highly engaging video lessons, and mountains of realistic practice work. Let’s take a look in closer detail why we love their course.
Amazing Video Lessons
One of Manhattan Prep’s signature marketing claims is that they make studying for the GRE fun. Their video lessons are sprinkled with skits, jokes and playful little cartoons. And while they are mostly corny, they do help to lighten the tension and make studying for a standardized graduate school exam like the GRE less ominous.
Engaging video lessons from Manhattan Prep
But it’s not just the dad jokes and cartoons. Manhattan’s online video lessons are well designed and keep your attention from beginning to end with interactive features and quizzes.
Plus, beyond the video instruction, they offer a ton of practice problems, drills, study tools, and a good number of full-length practice tests. All of this serves to make Manhattan Prep’s GRE courseone of the most well-rounded prep packages on the market.
Systematic Approach to Learning
One of the most effective tools in the Manhattan Prep study toolbox is their course structure. They employ an extremely effective approach to learning through their repeated sequence of lessons, drills, and quizzes.
Manhattan labels this as their “Learn It, Drill It, Prove It” approach, and it definitely works. In the “Learn It” portion of each module, you’re given an interactive video lesson that delivers all of the content you need to know for that particular topic.
Manhattan Prep GRE lesson plan
Then, in the “Drill It” section, you are given sets of flashcard-like problems to work through, helping the material you just learned to sink in. Finally, in the “Prove It” portion of the module, you are quizzed on the subject matter and must get a passing score to move on.
This effective structure ensures you are not only getting delivered the material that you need, but that you are also learning and retaining it.
Crazy Amount of Study Material
The number of practice problems that Manhattan Prep provides gives them a significant advantage over what other test prep companies offer. At over 5,000 practice problems, Manhattan Prep offers more problems than just about every other competitor.
Basically, if you’re the type of student that likes to learn by doing, Manhattan Prep is likely your course. With over 5,000 practice problems, you’ll never run out of study material. And that’s before you even get to the lessons, books and practice tests.
Plus, their practice material is extremely high-quality. We found all of their practice tests and individual questions to closely match the real GRE.
Special MBA Course
Manhattan Prep is unique in that if you’re looking to take the GRE to attend business school and get your MBA, the company offers a special course just for MBA hopefuls.
Even though a lot of people don’t know it, about 90% of business schools today accept both GRE scores and GMAT scores for MBA applications, and it’s getting a lot more popular among MBA applicants to take the GRE.
Today about 25% of applicants are choosing the GRE over the GMAT, whereas just 5 or 10 years ago, that number was down around 10%. As a result, the GRE continues to gain in popularity for business school applications.
Manhattan Prep is an ideal choice for MBA hopefuls
If you’re one of these people whose made the decision to take the GRE instead of the GMAT, Manhattan Prep is a great choice. Their main focus was always GMAT—because it was the business school exam. And now they’re actually offering a course that focuses on GRE, but for business school specifically.
This course comes with 9 live class sessions that place extra emphasis on advanced math—the hardest part of the GRE, and the most important component of business school applications.
As such, if you’re trying to crush a top tier score to get into an elite business school, or even if you’re not going to business school, but struggle with math and need extra emphasis on that aspect of the GRE to get into your grad school program, then the GRE for MBA course is an awesome option with its concentration on advanced math.
There was never a doubt from the moment we reviewed the Kaplan GRE prep course that they’d be near the top of our best GRE courses list.
Kaplan is one of the most recognizable names in test prep and they have a tried and tested formula for prepping students for most any standardized exam, but their GRE prep package is particularly outstanding.
Kaplan GRE video lecture
Their core online curriculum is led by a collection of extremely high-quality video lessons, where your instructor works through problems onscreen in illuminated ink as notes roll across a digital whiteboard behind them.
These videos are immediately followed by well-designed quizzes that reinforce the material from the lesson, and each has an accompanying detailed text explanation breaking down the problem with great clarity.
Kaplan also impressed us with respect to quantity of study material, by providing over 2,500 practice questions, 7 full-length practice tests, and a host of drills and other coursework in their prep books.
In short, the Kaplan GRE package is an all-around homerun of a prep course in terms of both quality of coursework and level of resources.
Live Classes Are Worth The Money
Although the Kaplan live classes do cost a bit extra, if you’re in need of live instruction for one reason or another (the interaction, accountability, etc.), we highly recommend Kaplan.
Their live class lesson plans flow very naturally, building up from simpler topics in early classes to the more advanced subject matter later on. Moreover, their instructors are crazy good.
Another look at Kaplan’s GRE video lessons
We found them all to be highly knowledgeable, easy to talk to you, and just plan down to Earth. They are our pick for live classes, no doubt.
Solid Value
The Kaplan GRE courses are $50 to $600 more affordable than the comparable courses from Princeton Review and Manhattan Prep. Therefore, within the higher-end category of GRE prep, Kaplan stands out as a tremendous value.
Kaplan GRE Channel
This is easily one of the biggest selling points of the Kaplan courses. Essentially, the company’s GRE channel features bonus, supplemental live lessons that dive deep into specific topics, testing strategies, and question types.
These live sessions are offered six days per week, and even if you can’t make the live sessions, the recordings are turned into on-demand videos after the fact which you can watch later.
The Kaplan GRE Channel is a helpful resource
Another cool aspect about the recordings is that Kaplan offers nifty little filters so you can quickly find videos based on subject, difficulty rating, and even individual instructors that you might like.
All in all, the Kaplan GRE channel is one of the most helpful resources in the entire GRE prep space, especially if you’re struggling with a particular subject or question type.
Practice Problem Qbank
One of our team’s favorite features of the Kaplan course is their QBank. The Kaplan QBank is a tool that allows you to create customized quizzes based on problem type, difficulty, timing and a bunch of other factors.
This allows students the chance to zero in on their weaknesses and work through extra problems to improve in those areas.
Text explanation of one of Kaplan’s GRE practice questions
The QBank also draws from Kaplan’s library of over 2,500 practice questions, so you have tons of fresh problems to work.
In addition, the QBank is super easy to use, and you can be jumping into a highly personalized practice problem set within seconds of logging in.
Awesome Hardcopy Prep Books
It seems that every year more and more test prep courses go away from the traditional printed workbook. Everyone is going digital—everyone that is, except Kaplan. Okay, not everyone, but we love how Kaplan has stayed strong in providing a set of first-rate textbooks with its GRE prep course.
Their books are exceedingly detailed, well written and use a host of well-timed example problems to help explain concepts. The Kaplan books generally track with and supplement their core curriculum for both the online and live classes.
It is really nice to be able to follow a lesson along in a hardcopy book and take notes, highlight important concepts and dogear pages. Adding these wonderfully thorough prep books to an already strong prep course makes for a formula that can’t miss.
When it comes to GRE prep instruction, Princeton Review is similar to Kaplan. This is especially true with respect to on demand video lessons.
Others come close, but our team agrees that the video lessons offered by Princeton Review are some of the best in the GRE test prep category and land Princeton a top spot on our best list.
Inside the Princeton Review GRE course
Their videos are engaging, thorough, and achieve an excellent balance of lecture and interaction. In addition to their first-rate video instruction, Princeton also reigns supreme when it comes to full-length practice tests.
They provide students a very respectable 8 practice exams (second only to Achievable), all of which are extremely realistic and taken through their proprietary and adaptive platform.
GRE Score Guarantees
Princeton Review offers some killer score guarantees. More specifically, we are referring to the company’s 10 Points+, 162+ and 165+ Tutoring courses, which guarantee that you will improve your score by at least 10 points, or score at least 162 or 165 on the GRE, respectively, or you get your money back.
For the record, Kaplan only offers a “higher score guarantee” and Manhattan Prep does not offer any sort of guarantee whatsoever so keep that in mind if you are aiming for a top tier GRE score.
Very Good Video Lessons
As noted, it is Princeton Review’s video lessons that really shine. They are thoughtfully designed and written, and are incredibly well executed. The instructor appears onscreen and works through their lesson in front of a really sharp digital whiteboard that is constantly updating with text, notes and graphics.
Often throughout the instruction, the instructor will pull out their marker and start working a problem or making notes on an invisible plate of glass that is between the viewer and instructor (so the text appears before them). It is a very cool delivery.
A typical Princeton Review GRE video lesson
The combo of digital whiteboard and transparent marker board make for an incredibly engaging lesson that keeps your attention. Beyond the delivery, the content of the lessons is also exceptional.
All in all, between the first-rate production quality and spot on substantive material, Princeton Review’s lessons propel it onto the best list.
GRE Practice Tests
In addition to some superb video instruction, Princeton’s practice test offerings are also top-notch. Princeton Review offers a whopping 8 full-length practice tests, beating all of its rivals except Achievable.
This is likely very important to the type of student that prefers to learn by doing. For some, there is no better means of prepping than to take practice tests under exam-like conditions, and Princeton Review offers more opportunities to do so than just about anybody else.
Princeton Review GRE practice question
Additionally, Princeton employs some proprietary adaptive technology that replicates the adaptive nature of the official GRE. When taking the real GRE, the sections get progressively harder or easier depending on your performance on earlier sections.
Princeton Review’s practice test technology does a fantastic job mirroring this function. In addition, its overall practice test platform looks and feels just like the real thing.
If the high price tags of the big, old school prep companies don’t appeal to you, and you’re looking for an affordable, modern approach to prep, there is a strong chance Achievable is going to be your ticket.
Relatively new to the GRE prep space (though not new to exam prep), Achievable positions itself as the intelligent and efficient course to getting your target GRE score.
Relying on adaptive algorithms to allocate study material, AI to grade essays, and proven memory science principles to maximize gains, Achievable just feels like the smartest prep course in the room.
More on this aspect of the course below, but know that our team loved this dedication to efficiency, and is in large part why Achievable skyrocketed up our rankings chart.
Achievable offers some of the best practice material in GRE prep
In terms of the hard content, Achievable delivers a comprehensive digital textbook, hundreds of verbal practice problems, an infinite number of quantitative practice questions, and narrowly focused review sessions.
While the features of this course aren’t as robust as what you get with Kaplan or Princeton Review (lacking on demand video lessons and live classes), for the price of just $199, we can’t really complain. Bottom line, if pricing and getting bang for your buck is one of your biggest priorities, we find Achievable to be an awesome prep option.
Excellent Bite-Sized Lessons
One of the highlights of the Achievable course is its wise decision to break down its lessons into bite-sized chunks. As mentioned above, Achievable doesn’t provide video lessons.
Instead, it makes its digital textbook the centerpiece of its course curriculum. Though that might sound unappealing, we actually found it to be a major positive.
Their prep book has 89 chapters, which essentially act as short learning modules. Each chapter takes just a few minutes to read (probably 15 minutes on average), and is written in about the plainest English we’ve seen for a GRE prep book. The language is conversational, using layman’s terms to describe concepts.
Achievable GRE dashboard
We also loved how they litter their chapters with simple, easy to understand sample problems. The text walks you through a concept in plain English, then demonstrates the point with an example problem that helps tie theory to practice.
Then following each chapter, you are assigned a review session, which basically quizzes you on the material you just learned while also circling back to earlier content for review.
It is a highly effective and efficient means of learning material, and you can rip off an entire lesson on a topic (including text and review problems) in less than a half hour.
Smart Science & Tech
As mentioned, one of the biggest selling points of the Achievable course is the science baked into their curriculum, as well as the smart, adaptive tech.
The efficiency gains mentioned in this synopsis are primarily accomplished through their adaptive algorithm, which constantly monitors your progress on practice work to optimize your study plan.
Our team loves how theyfocus your studies on weak spots, which is where you generally get the biggest point increases in GRE prep. The other way in which Achievable differentiates itself is through spaced reviews, which is a learning concept backed by memory science.
Essentially, rather than covering a topic one time and continuing on with other material until you hit the end of your course content, Achievable periodically pulls old material back into your review quizzes, to keep the material fresh in your mind.
When this smart tech and solid curriculum structure is combined with some top shelf texts and practice problems, we couldn’t help but give this course high marks.
When it comes to bang for your buck, Magoosh is one of the clear winners, being right up there with Achievable.
At a fraction of the cost of other GRE prep courses, Magoosh provides significant value. But while the cost of the course may be a fraction of other’s offerings, the study material definitely is not.
One of the Magoosh GRE video lessons
Magoosh delivers a very respectable amount of quality study material with over 1,600 practice problems, 3 full-length practice tests and 100+ short video lessons, all with months of user access.
It’s true that Magoosh doesn’t offer a comprehensive curriculum or crazy levels of study material—but that isn’t their game. You know what you’re getting with Magoosh—value, flexibility and a generous slate of high quality practice materials provided through a sleek digital platform.
If you’re working on a budget and want top-notch practice questions and explanations, Magoosh would be a top recommendation.
Custom Practice Sessions
For many students, working practice problems is at the heart of their go-to GRE prep plan. And while Magoosh doesn’t offer as many practice problems as other companies, they do offer superb practice question quality (real GRE questions from past exams), and a great means of working practice problems.
Through their custom practice function, you can customize practice problem sets and filter questions however you’d like. You can narrow the scope of questions by type, difficulty, number, timing and much more.
This feature is not unique to Magoosh, but is generally one of the most beneficial aspects of a prep course and Magoosh does it very well. In addition, each practice problem is followed by a thorough video and text explanation.
A look at the Magoosh GRE quiz generator
These explanations, particularly the video versions, do a great job of breaking down each problem and clearly articulating why an answer choice is correct or incorrect. This custom practice tool in combination with the quality video explanations really boosts Magoosh’s value.
Incredible Value
As discussed above, Magoosh is always going to be known for their value. They won’t give you heaps of resources like other prep companies, but with their most expensive GRE prep package running for around $179, you can’t really expect them to.
Some comparable budget self-paced options from competitors like Kaplan can run up close to $500, so Magoosh is a dominant force in the price game. However, while it is not surprising they are a great value, the quality and level of their resources is eye opening for that price point.
Target Test Prep’s GRE Course Is Great For Math Focus
Somewhat of a newcomer to the GRE prep space, Target Test Prep brings the same effective playbook that they have used with great success in the GMAT prep space to the GRE. Offering a 100% online, complete prep package, Target Test Prep should get your attention for a few reasons.
The primary reason Target Test Prep makes our best list, and why we really like their course, is due to their algorithm that optimizes your study plan. More on this below in greater detail, but their smart tech makes the most of your precious study time.
Additionally, Target Test Prep offers one of the most robust packages of lesson work available, especially when it comes to math. Now, much of their instructional material is mostly text-based (and digital text at that), so you have to be the type of student that doesn’t mind a little reading.
Target Test Prep GRE video lesson
But assuming you’re okay reading for a portion of each lesson, their detailed and well-crafted lessons offer some of the best insights and test taking strategies in the game.
In addition, you get access to 4,000+ practice questions and 5 full-length practice exams. While these numbers aren’t quite as good other prep courses like Manhattan Prep, we still really like the quality of their practice material and accompanying explanations.
Quant Focus
Because Target Test Prep’s expertise has historically been in the GMAT prep space, which is a quant-centric exam, this is still their specialty in the GRE prep world.
If you are (or suspect you will be) weak in math going into the GRE, give Target Test Prep a good long look. We found their quant lessons to be very on point, with smart strategies, well-explained demonstrations, and nice tips.
It’s honestly a close call between them and Manhattan Prep for which company offers the best GRE quant study materials.
Maximum Efficiency in Your Studies
As mentioned, one of the biggest selling points of the Target Test Prep course is their ability to design a totally personalized and efficient study plan. If you have limited time to study, or just want to get in and knock out your prep as quickly and efficiently as possible, Target Test Prep may be a great fit for you.
It starts with their diagnostic exam at the beginning of the course. The results of this diagnostic are evaluated through their algorithm, and the output is a study plan tailored to your needs.
Their lessons are mostly text-based
Their smart software pinpoints your weaknesses and strengths, and designs your studies to maximize gains around them.
In other words, if you are already really strong on a subject, they don’t waste your time trying to get small, incremental gains. They go for the big gains where you are currently weakest.
This is how you make the big point jumps on the GRE. And as your progress through your studies, the study plan constantly updates and changes to account for your ever evolving GRE knowledge base and skills. It is a really cool feature that our team absolutely loved.
Massive Score Increase Guarantee
One other feature that cannot go without mention is Target Test Prep’s score increase guarantee. Essentially, Target Test Prep promises that if you complete all of your lessons and do all your practice work, and your score does not increase by at least 15 points, they will give you your money back. No questions asked.
Target Test Prep GRE practice drill
There is some fine print to qualify, but the bottom line is that this guarantee will apply to most students and is an incredible insurance policy to protect your investment in this course.
+15 points guaranteed is nearly unheard of in the GRE prep space, so Target Test Prep clearly believes in the prowess of their prep materials. For us, this was the icing on top of an already sweet cake.
The GRE stands for “Graduate Record Examinations.” In short, it is an exam administered by the Educational Testing Service to assess a candidate’s readiness for graduate or professional school. The GRE is often required by graduate programs as one main components of a candidate’s application.
GRE Exam Structure
The GRE is a computer-based, standardized exam that consists mainly of multiple-choice questions. The overarching goal of the exam is to measure an individual’s ability to evaluate data, think critically and solve problems.
The GRE exam is split into three different main sections. Technically, there are five total sections, but there are three primary scored sections (two of which you take twice).
Analytical Writing
Verbal Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning
The Analytical Writing portion of the exam consists of one, thirty-minute task. Individuals will essentially be asked to write an essay during the exam. The essay will focus on analyzing an issue that is provided. The analytical writing section is scored on a 0 to 6 scale, with the average score equaling 4.
The Verbal portion of the exam is composed of two sections, with a total of 27 questions. Individuals will receive 41 minutes to complete both sections. The verbal reasoning portion of the exam is scored on a 130 to 170 scale, with the average score equaling 151.
The Quant portion consists of two sections as well, with a total of 27 questions. Test takers will receive 47 minutes total to complete both sections. The average score for this section is 153.
GRE Study Plan
Most people take anywhere between one to three months studying several hours per week to prepare for the GRE. Therefore, on average, we’d say expect to set aside 50 to 100 hours in total to ensure you’re ready for the exam.
Increase that figure if you are attempting to get a score in the 85th or higher percentile. Naturally, the next question is how you should spend those allotted hours studying. Below is our five-point plan to ensure you’re preparing efficiently.
Take a practice exam. This should be the first thing individuals do so they can get a feel for the test and discover what areas they need to improve upon.
Review the results from the practice exam. Take an hour or two and closely examine what types of questions you missed, what types of questions you rushed through, and what types of questions you nailed.
Set a study plan. After analyzing the results of your practice exam, you’ll be able to identify the exact areas where you need additional assistance and allocate study hours accordingly.
Imitate actual GRE test conditions. It’s important that you study under the same conditions that the test is administered. This will help calm your nerves and make your more focused come test day. Studying with a prep course can help simulate these conditions.
Take another practice test & repeat. You should take practice tests regularly so that you can measure the effectiveness of your studying. After each test, repeat the steps above so you can continually improve upon your weak areas.
FAQ
Do I need a GRE prep course?
For the vast majority of students, a prep course will be required to get a solid score on the GRE. A prep course will provide you with the study materials and relevant content that you need in order to excel on the exam.
How much does a GRE prep course cost?
GRE prep courses can cost anywhere from $150 up to $2,500 – it all depends on what type of format you prefer to learn in, and how many resources you need. For most students though, the average course will cost around $400 to $800.
Will a GRE prep course raise my score?
In the context of using a prep course to study versus not using one, you will almost always score better on the exam having studied with a dedicated prep course. And if you don’t score better, most prep companies will give you your money back through their score increase guarantee program.
