The LSAT is hard enough to study for and nail a top-shelf score, but what a lot of people don’t know is that the hard part actually begins before you even get started studying. Choosing the right prep course can make or break your LSAT score, and it’s not something to be taken lightly. That’s why we’re stacking up the popular courses from LSATMax and 7Sage in this comparison of LSAT prep programs.
Given its length, please use the jump-to links above to quickly navigate this article.
In the video above, team member John (who scored 170 on the LSAT) covers all of the essential details about how 7Sage and LSATMax compare. Please continue reading for more detail.
Let me begin this post by noting that these two courses have a lot in common. LSATMax and 7Sage both have the same general basket of features, such as video lessons, practice problems, and explanations, but are actually delivered somewhat differently.
7Sage has a course syllabus that lists out everything in the course—generally bucketed by topic—and you work through that syllabus from top to bottom.
Alternatively, if you want to create a more formal study schedule, they have a custom schedule maker as well, but honestly, it simply groups the same material in the same order into buckets by study week. It’s not all that useful.
With LSATMax, on the other hand, they group their material into learning modules, which seem to be more methodically sequenced in your study plan. You work through learning modules one at a time, knocking them down as you go.
Without beating around the bush, what I guess I’m saying is that I prefer the LSATMax high-level structure and organization over 7Sage’s. However, that’s just organizational.
In terms of substance within the courses, there are a lot of similarities. For example, both companies leverage a subscription to LSAC Prep Plus to get students access to official LSAT questions from past exams, and use these problems as the basis of their course.
With that said, there are some subtle and important differences between these courses, and I think those are probably best explained by looking at where each company wins over one another.
One other thing before we dive into the strengths and weaknesses of each company—let’s briefly talk about pricing. 7Sage’s course is based on a monthly subscription model, where you pay as you go.
There are two options for this payment structure: (1) the basic monthly subscription, which costs about $70/month, and (2) the monthly + live subscription, which costs about $100/month.
On the flip side, LSATMax also has a pay as you go feature, although that costs slightly more at $250/month. Alternatively, they have longer term, one-time purchase packages as well, which range from around $500 to over $1,000. These are more popular for LSATMax among users.
Therefore, in terms of pricing, it’s clear that 7Sage offers more bang for your buck. 7Sage is a fraction of the cost of LSATMax.
Though I would just note that those are just the standard rates and LSATMax seems to be fairly aggressive in their discounting, thus narrowing the cost gap. So do be sure to check for coupon codes before buying.
Next, let’s run down those categories where each company wins, and let’s start with LSATMax. I’ve got LSATMax winning on practice problem explanations, course structure, included tutoring, and digital platform. Let me break those down below.
I personally think the LSATMax problem explanations are a highlight of their course. As noted above, just about every LSAT prep company on Earth (including LSATMax and 7Sage) use the same practice material from LSAC, the makers of the exam.
They all license official, past questions from LSAC, so the field is basically level when it comes to quality of practice material.
Therefore, the difference maker between LSAT companies is the answer solutions that accompany the practice questions, which each company creates on its own.
In my opinion, LSATMax’s explanations are better than 7Sage’s. Don’t get me wrong, in terms of video production quality, both are just OK.
They’re both a far cry from Blueprint’s videos. However, in terms of content, LSATMax’s problem explanations are clearer and more concise than you get with 7Sage, and contain better tips.
The 7Sage video solutions are good in their own right, but honestly, the instructors talk so fast you can barely keep up. They just fly through their explanations and make a lot of assumptions about things you know or should know.
Basically, I found LSATMax’s explanations to be much more useful and digestible, and this is a big deal in LSAT prep.
Second up, as referenced above, I much prefer LSATMax’s course structure to 7Sage’s. The LSATMax structure just has a much better flow and grouping, and material is sequenced in a very natural, logical order (same story with Blueprint in comparison to 7Sage).
Plus, I like how they use these learning modules with mixed assignments. 7Sage’s course structure, by contrast, just feels really disjointed and ad hoc. Thus, if organization and scheduling is a big deal to you, I’d strongly suggest LSATMax here.
One other cool feature of the LSATMax course that you just won’t get with 7Sage is included tutoring. With each of the three one-time purchase packages from LSATMax, you get some level of private tutoring.
You can use this time for whatever you want—test taking strategies, substantive questions, building a cram schedule, whatever (Kaplan offers killer LSAT tutoring packages too).
Although it’s only a few hours, it does make the LSATMax course just feel more personalized, and you never have that feeling of being on an island.
Now, in 7Sage’s defense, they do offer live classes, while LSATMax doesn’t (I’ll discuss this further below), but it’s not the same as 1-on-1 tutoring.
My final highlight for LSATMax relates to user experience and each company’s digital platform. Frankly, I really like what LSATMax has done with their digital-first, flexible approach.
The platform is very sleek and modern, and there’s a seamless handoff between desktop, tablet and mobile app.
It’s just super clean and organized, and you can tell they’ve sunk a lot of money into their program experience. 7Sage, in stark contrast, has a website and platform that feels like it’s 20 years old.
The content is there and works fine, but it’s just night and day between these two companies when it comes to feel and experience.
Let me next cover the areas where 7Sage has some advantages when studying for the LSAT. I’ve got them winning on value, live classes, and analytics.
I don’t want to beat a dead horse here as I already outlined this above, but 7Sage is clearly more affordable than LSATMax, and as such, offers a tremendous value.
LSATMax does run discounts, but even with this applied, 7Sage is still coming out cheaper. So if money is really tight, there’s no question you have to go with 7Sage (you may also want to check out the LSAT prep course from Magoosh if money is a concern).
My second win for 7Sage is their live classes. Again, LSATMax has their tutoring and office hour sessions, but if you pay up for the live subscription to 7Sage, their classes are incredibly useful.
There are usually 2 to 4 classes per day, and you can drop in and out as you want. The classes all cover different topics and testing points, and are very useful for the little niche that they cover.
I don’t think you’ll need to or want to tune into every class, but if you’re having issues with Grouping Games, for example, they’ll have in-depth class on just that subject, and you can jump in to work on your weak spots. I think it’s great for that.
Finally, I prefer 7Sage’s analytics. 7Sage has some awesome analytics that break down your performance in a visual format.
You can see all your scores in a graph format, they give you trends in your scoring, and even break things down by raw vs scaled scoring. It’s some really helpful data.
That about does it for the detail in this comparison, so let’s get to the final verdict. Should you choose 7Sage or LSATMax? Honestly, I think this question just comes down to price. If you’re looking for pure value, go with 7Sage, you’ll save a few hundred dollars over the course of a few months of studying.
However, if money is less of a concern and you’re just trying to figure out which course is simply better, then I think that’s LSATMax.
With their smart course structure, digestible video explanations of problems, solid video lessons, and smooth user interface, to me, it’s just a much more effective and comprehensive course. That’s the company I would choose.
After using each prep program, I personally think LSATMax is a far superior course. LSATMax offers better problem solutions and actionable strategies than 7Sage.
7Sage is definitely cheaper than LSATMax. With their monthly subscription options costing less $100, if you’re on a tight budget, 7Sage will be your answer.
Beyond cost, the biggest difference seems to be in 7Sage’s hyper-focus on problem solution videos, while LSATMax’s program is more strategy-based.