Choosing between LSAT prep courses can be difficult—especially when the two courses you’re considering are as similar as Kaplan and Princeton Review. Both companies have been around for decades, give you stacks of tried and tested study material, and have nearly identical price points. So how do you decide? We help you make an informed decision in this detailed review comparison.
Since this is a lengthy comparison, we’ve included jump-to links below for easy navigation:
Above, please find our video comparing the Kaplan and Princeton Review LSAT prep courses, where we cover how these prep packages stack up on pricing, quality of study materials, and other features. If you’re looking for a more in-depth analysis, keep reading for more detail.
To truly compare the LSAT prep courses from Kaplan and Princeton Review, it’s important to first understand the study materials and features that each company offers. So with that in mind, let’s start with Kaplan and why they are the better choice to help you prepare for the LSAT.
Kaplan piles on the study materials with its LSAT course. It just feels like the materials and resources never stop, almost to the point of being overwhelming.
Combined, Kaplan provides over 180 hours of video lessons (including its LSAT Channel videos), 70+ practice tests and over 9,000 practice problems.
And that doesn’t even include the drills, explanations and material in the prep books. There is no doubt that the quantity is worth the price.
In terms of video lessons, our team prefers Kaplan’s over Princeton Review’s (though not quite as good as the video lessons from Blueprint). In fact, video lessons are one of the weak spots of the Princeton Review LSAT courses. More information regarding this subject below.
Similarly, the quality of its coursework also rates out pretty high (right up there with Blueprint and LSATMax).
The lessons are detailed and provide actionable strategies for attacking problems. The lessons work methodically though LSAT sections in a logical fashion, oscillating between topics so not to become too dry. And all of the various problem types and concepts are covered throughout the coursework.
Overall, the quality and quantity of the coursework for the Kaplan LSAT course is rock solid.
To put it simply, Kaplan’s video lessons are just plain better than those from Princeton Review. Not only do the Kaplan video lessons have higher production value, but they also include instructors on-screen that explain key concepts, highlight notes, and break down practice problems.
Whereas in the Princeton Review video lessons, there’s no actual person on camera (it’s all voiceover). Therefore, I just think Kaplan’s video lessons are more engaging, and the simple difference of having instructors on-screen really helps with material retention
The next advantage in favor of Kaplan are their prep books, which track with the lessons, and provide strategies, practice problems, and drills. These books are super thorough, and in my opinion, they’re extremely helpful in working through the core lessons.
Bottom line, if you’re more of an old school type of learner that likes to carry hardcopy prep materials around with you in order to study on-the-go, highlight key points, or dog-ear pages that you can revisit later, then Kaplan is a great choice. Our team prefers their prep books over Princeton Review’s.
Our team loves the customizable quizzes from Kaplan (there are over 200 of them in total). They are an excellent way to really hone in on your weaknesses so you don’t waste any precious study time on question types or topics that you already understand and excel at.
The LSAT channel is one of the biggest selling points of the Kaplan courses in my opinion. Essentially, the channel features supplemental live lessons that dive deep into specific topics, concepts and question types (and these live lessons are offered almost on a daily basis).
If you can’t make the live sessions, don’t worry, the recordings are turned into on-demand videos and added to the channel so you can watch them at any point during your prep process. And the cool thing is that you can use filters to find videos based on subject, difficulty rating, and even individual instructors.
However, if you can make the live sessions, I highly recommend it, since there is a nifty chat feature for you to interact with your peers, ask questions when you’re confused, and answer the instructor’s live polls.
All in all, I was just super impressed with the Kaplan LSAT channel. I think it’s one of the most helpful resources in the entire LSAT prep space, especially if you’re struggling in a particular area.
Our team was also impressed by the performance assessments that Kaplan provide students throughout the prep process. To be fair, Princeton Review does this as well, but overall, I just found Kaplan’s to be more insightful. They’re just more personalized, and really help you to identify your weaknesses so you know how to allocate your time and what to study.
Before moving onto Princeton Review, let’s quickly talk about cost. Kaplan provides five course options for its LSAT prep:
All five course options track the same core curriculum designed by Kaplan’s experts; it is just the format of the course that generally changes. For those students that prefer to learn at their own pace and at various times, the On Demand Course will obviously be best. It costs $800.
For other students who need structure or the benefit of watching an instructor teach a course live, one of the other three formats will likely be more fitting.
The Live Online Course runs for around $1,200, the In Person class costs nearly $1,500, and the Tutoring + Live Online course starts around $2,000.
Then, Kaplan’s intensive Bootcamp option costs an eye-watering $4,000.
On average, these price points are pretty close to what you’ll find with Princeton Review.
➡ Read our full review of the Kaplan LSAT prep course here.
Now that you have a good idea of what Kaplan has to offer, let’s turn the tables and discuss the major reasons to choose Princeton Review for your LSAT prep needs.
In terms of quality, Princeton Review offers some very high-end coursework. Their course isn’t the most modern or new age approach to teaching LSAT prep, but one thing you can’t say about Princeton Review is that their package isn’t robust.
The Princeton flagship live online class (the Fundamentals course) offers 30 hours of live lessons with an LSAT expert, which is supplemented by over 150 hours of additional video lessons and online content.
Personally, I found the Princeton Review lessons, both live online and on demand, to be highly effective. The lessons were thoughtfully designed and provide incredible levels of detail. I suppose that’s a byproduct of having taught to the LSAT for 30+ years. Your material is highly streamlined.
Though, while I found the on demand video lessons to be effective, the lack of onscreen instructor was a little bit of a letdown. Without a face to connect a voce to, the lessons felt a little cold and as a result, unengaging at times. They just weren’t my favorite from a format or delivery perspective.
However, Princeton Review’s coursework around the video lessons was top tier. While you don’t get quite the same level of study material with Princeton Review as you get with Kaplan, there is plenty to go around.
Between the assigned homework, practice problem sets, drills, prep book material and explanations, I never ran out of material to work on. Both Princeton Review and Kaplan each boast 8,000+ practice problems taken from real, past LSATs.
➡ RELATED: Princeton Review vs Blueprint LSAT Comparison
In case you didn’t know, just about every LSAT prep company on Earth leverages a subscription to LSAC to get access to past official official LSAT problems. Thus, the playing field is more or less level in terms of quality of practice questions.
With that said, Princeton Review does beat Kaplan in this category. For one, Princeton Review includes the LSAC subscription in the cost of their courses, which is a $99 value. Whereas with Kaplan, you have to purchase this subscription separately.
Another big difference revolves around the answer solutions that each company crafts for these problems. And I think Princeton Review’s are really good.
Every problem comes with a detailed explanation, including a breakdown of the optimal way to approach the question type, as well as analysis of both correct and incorrect answer choices. I think is super important.
By analyzing each component of the question and the accompanying answer choices, it will help you start to recognize patterns and keep you from falling into potential traps on future problems. So overall, Princeton gets two big thumbs up in this department.
The default access period for Kaplan is 4 months, whereas Princeton Review gives you access to their study materials for an entire year.
Therefore, if you plan on taking your time and studying for the LSAT over an extended period of time, this is something to keep in mind. With that said, Kaplan does give you the option to extend past four months, but it does cost extra unfortunately.
The last advantage in favor of Princeton Review is their score guarantee. Specifically, I’m referring to their 165 Plus prep course, which guarantees that you will score at least 165 on the LSAT or you get your money back.
This is something that Kaplan does not offer, even for their comprehensive Bootcamp package. So if you are eyeing admission to a top-25 law school, the Princeton Review 165 Plus course is an excellent option to help get you there.
With that said, this guarantee doesn’t come cheap. The company’s 165 Plus course is about $1,000 more than its flagship Fundamentals course.
Plus, there is some fine print behind the guarantee that you should check out prior to purchasing. For example, you need a starting score of 158 to be eligible. Still, it’s hard to argue with a 165 score guarantee, that’s pretty amazing. Most companies in the LSAT prep space, including Kaplan and LSATMax, only offer a “higher score” guarantee.
The Princeton Review course options, while similar to Kaplan’s, do take a slightly different approach. Princeton Review offers 4 basic course options:
The Self-Paced course is priced right around $800, which is right on par with Kaplan’s analogous On Demand Course. So for students seeking an affordable and flexible self-study program, this will make the decision a little tough.
The Fundamentals class prices in at around $1,100, while the LSAT 165+ course, which is a more robust prep option designed for students targeting a very high score, costs around $2,100.
Finally, Princeton’s Immersion 165+ course, which is similar to Kaplan’s Bootcamp offering, costs around $4,000.
If you are seeking a more affordable LSAT prep course, you may want to check out what Magoosh has to offer.
➡ Read our full review of the Princeton Review LSAT prep course here.
After using and evaluating the course offerings from both companies, our team believes Kaplan is the superior choice.
Sure, Princeton Review scores points in a few key categories, but ultimately, our team agrees that Kaplan offers the more complete and well-rounded LSAT prep course from top to bottom, thanks in large part to their engaging video lessons, top-notch instructors, detailed prep books, and bonus features like the Kaplan LSAT channel.
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Both companies offer comparable pricing for their prep courses. The self-paced options are about the same at around $800 all in, while Princeton Review offers slightly better prices on their live courses.
Yes, both companies’ prep courses come with a set of their signature hardcopy lesson books.
Both Kaplan and Princeton Review each employ solid instructors. While it is not clear if their instructors must score in a certain percentile to teach at each company, it is clear from our experience that they are LSAT experts and great communicators.
Although it’s an extremely close call, our team gives Kaplan the slight edge over Princeton Review, primarily due to their high-quality video lessons and engaging live classes.