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Barron’s vs Princeton Review
Our detailed comparison of the prep books from Barron’s and Princeton Review
Whether you’re studying for the SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, or even your high school AP exams, Barron’s and Princeton Review are about the biggest names in exam prep. Both companies offer top-rated study books packed with content review, strategies, and practice questions. So, which is better: Barron’s or Princeton? Our team of education experts has reviewed the prep books for every major higher education exam from both companies and posted our thoughts here, so you can decide which is right for you.
Table of Contents
As both companies offer prep books for a number of exams, we have broken down our comparison guide by test:
Once you’ve decided to take the SAT over the ACT (or maybe both, as many students do), the next hard decision is which company to go with. It may not be an easy decision for you, and it wasn’t easy for us with either.
After thoroughly reviewing each company’s print and online offerings, our verdict is that we like Barron’s for SAT prep.
In terms of features, both courses offer comprehensive subject reviews, SAT strategies, full-length practice tests, and a number of online resources like flashcards and drills.
Where Barron’s specifically shines is their test-taking strategies and practice problem explanations. The SAT can be a challenging exam, with pacing difficulties and complex question stems; however, Barron’s actionable strategies make life much easier.
Barron’s offers tried and tested strategies that we’ve seen before, as well as some we’ve never heard of, but we found to work well.
In addition, their problem explanations are rock solid. You ALWAYS need to review missed problems on practice tests and in drills, and their explanations are first rate. We found them to be detailed, analytical and written in a very clear, easy to understand way.
All this gushing about Barron’s isn’t to say we don’t like Princeton Review’s SAT book. We actually do very much, and we even consider Princeton better for in-depth content review and realistic practice tests.
Their practice exams are incredibly well done, offering excellent practice opportunities (including 6 full-length tests versus Barron’s 3). But at the end of the day, we give Barron’s a slight edge on SAT prep.
Again, both companies offer eerily similar features and great coverage of English, math, reading, science, and writing, plus exam strategies and practice materials. They both have helpful tips on how to tackle full-length practice tests, too.
In terms of quantity, though, I have to say that Princeton Review would seem to win. They pack in a few more online extras like video tutorials, customized study plans, and even help with college admissions.
At the same time, we prefer the quality of Barron’s material. Their detailed content reviews are a bit more comprehensible, and we loved their practice problem explanations.
That said, we actually preferred the Princeton practice tests – not because of the quantity but because of the realism. We found the content, difficulty, and length of the Princeton questions to be a better match for real ACT exam questions and for visual learners.
This wasn’t a huge disparity, but if you’re an experiential learner (i.e. you learn by doing), these Princeton book and practice materials may better suit you.
Both Barron’s and Princeton Review each cover a range of AP exams, including US History, Chemistry, Calculus, Physics, English Language and Composition, Biology, and more. We’ll cover the differences between the books generally for this category.
For purposes of our analysis, we evaluated both the US History and Physics 1 prep books from each company, offering a nice side-by-side comparison.
Offering nearly identical features, this is a really tough category to call. Both companies provide in-depth content reviews, test-taking strategies for approaching the exam’s multiple-choice, short answer and essay-based questions, and multiple full-length practice exams, including bonus online content. On the surface, you would almost think these resources are carbon copies of each other.
But peeling back the onion, each company has its strengths and weaknesses. For our team, we preferred Barron’s content reviews to those offered by Princeton, but liked Princeton’s practice tests and explanations better.
Starting with Barron’s, we found their content reviews to be deeper and more clearly articulated. We loved the callout of key points, balance of detail with brevity, and overall straightforward language used.
That’s not to say Princeton Review’s content lessons were bad; we actually liked them. Just given the choice between the two, we prefer Barron’s.
On the flip side, we liked Princeton Review’s practice exams and answer solutions better. Though it varies test to test, on average, Princeton Review seems to offer more practice tests than Barron’s. But more than just quantity, we found Princeton Review’s practice questions and essay prompts to be more realistic in terms of imitating actual AP exam problems.
In addition, we liked their text explanations. Reviewing the answers you missed (as well as the answers you get right) is the most critical component of learning with practice work, and Princeton’s explanations are top notch.
In short, we don’t think you can really go wrong with the review guides of either company for your AP exam prep, but at the end of the day, we give the nod to Princeton Review in the AP category.
Their content reviews are a close second to Barron’s, but their practice tests, problem explanations and bonus online resources (like extra exams and drills) win the day.
When it comes to GRE prep, there’s really one clear answer.
When talking about Barron’s vs Princeton Review in the context of the GRE, Princeton Review wins by a mile, in our team’s opinion.
First, it’s critical to understand that Barron’s hasn’t released an updated edition of their GRE book in several years. You can still buy the older version on Amazon, but it no longer includes any online resources.
Beyond being more up-to-date, Princeton’s coverage of each of the three sections for the GRE – Verbal, Math, and Analytical Writing – go much deeper than Barron’s in terms of informational overviews, strategies, tips, and examples of how to work sample problems.
There is nothing wrong with Barron’s coverage of these sections, touching on many of the same points, but Princeton’s review is just so much more robust. They provide more demonstrative problems and thoughtful analysis.
In addition, not only does Princeton Review provide more full-length practice exams than Barron’s (4 to 3), but we also found the quality of Princeton Review’s practice tests to be better.
These Princeton simulated exams more closely mimic real GRE questions, and the accompanying text explanations with each question offer impressive insights. Given that problem review is a massive part of studying with a review book (as opposed to a prep course), this is a major advantage.
We see Barron’s GRE prep as a second to Princeton’s – though one idea may be to get both books. If you are looking to really nail the GRE and get a top-tier score, or if you do best by working practice questions as opposed to reading, the variety between the two companies’ practice questions provides an excellent learning opportunity.
Given the subtle differences between their questions, drilling on both sets of practice materials may provide more comprehensive coverage. Just a thought.
Now, there isn’t really any contest between Barron’s and Princeton Review when it comes to GMAT prep. The reason is simple: the Barron’s edition is out of print, and the old version from 2017 you can sometimes find on Amazon is for the outdated version of the GMAT.
If you want to opted for the current version of the exam, the GMAT Focus, you’ll need to turn to Princeton Review, whose book is great for experiential learners and anyone who learns by doing.
We absolutely loved their practice exams and accompanying review solutions. The practice questions on their tests are highly realistic of actual GMAT questions, and they provide 3 full-length practice tests, plus 2 diagnostic tests.
Moreover, our team was incredibly impressed with the text explanations. Each problem solution covers each answer choice in detail, discussing why the choice was correct or incorrect. These explanations dive into some pretty deep detail and we think offer some of the best learning opportunities.
So if you’re the type of student that loves to gobble up practice work and likes seeing the incremental improvements that come with every practice test and review session, Princeton will work great for you.
Trying to pick between the prep books from Barron’s and Princeton Review can be tough, and will generally turn on what exam you’re studying for, as well as what type of learner you are.
Our team has taken a deep dive into the both companies’ resources across these 5 major exams (counting AP exams generally) and has concluded that both companies offer excellent options with differing strengths and weaknesses. We hope this comparison guide has been helpful, and good luck with your studies!
Which prep company's books are more expensive – Barron's or Princeton Review?
On average, Barron’s review books are a few dollars cheaper than Princeton Review’s. But with both companies having price points in the low- to mid-$20 range, we seem them offering equal value.
Are Barron's or Princeton Review's prep books better?
Both companies offer highly-rated and effective study books. For our team, which set of books is better turns on which exam you’re studying for, as well as what type of learner you are.
Are the prep books from Barron's and Princeton Review worth it?
Yes. No matter which company you decide to go with (they each have their own strengths and weaknesses), we found the guides from both companies to be worth it.
