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LSATMax vs Magoosh LSAT
LSAT tutors weigh in on how the prep courses from Magoosh and LSATMax stack up
One very tough decision many law school-bound students face is whether to go with LSATMax or Magoosh to help them prep for the LSAT. On the one hand, everyone loves the Magoosh price tag and value they offer. On the other hand, everyone senses that LSATMax is probably a better, more robust course, though priced higher. So the question always is whether LSATMax is good enough to warrant paying the higher price tag. We explore just that query in this detailed comparison.
To most effectively compare these two LSAT prep courses head-to-head, we’ve divided up our team’s thoughts based on the areas where we see each company winning. Let’s start with the categories where LSATMax is stronger.
Curriculum & Coursework Quality
When it comes to the overall depth and quality of each company’s study plan, our team unanimously gives the nod to LSATMax.
Not only do LSATMax’s problem breakdowns and study materials go deeper, but we also liked the structure of LSATMax’s prep program better than Magoosh’s.
To be fair, we do like the nature of Magoosh’s content – we just weren’t crazy about their free-wheeling library-style approach to content organization.
LSATMax’s guided study plan is a course highlight
In short, Magoosh doesn’t create a personalized study plan for you, telling you what to study and when. Instead they sort of lump all of their study materials into a library of content, and you drive your own studies, picking and choosing what to study and when.
This is in comparison to LSATMax, who delivers a very robust study schedule, where you flow through learning modules in a thoughtful order (similar to Kaplan and Princeton Review).
All in all, LSATMax just provides a stronger bundle of coursework.
Video Lessons
Though neither company provides engaging, knock-your-socks-off type of video lessons (see Blueprint or LSAT Lab for that), LSATMax is the clear winner here.
Both companies utilize a slideshow-style approach with instructor voiceover and onscreen notes, but LSATMax’s quality is clearly better.
The content and teaching points in Magoosh’s videos are solid, but the videos just seem like they’re from the late 1990s. The picture is just grainy and outdated.
We believe LSATMax’s video lessons are better than those from Magoosh
By contrast, LSATMax’s videos feature a multitude of colors, bolding, key point callouts, and other cool features that keep the content as engaging as it can be given the restricted delivery format.
So for visual learners, LSATMax will be your preferred choice.
LSAT Prep Books
Funny enough, despite billing itself as the modern, digital-first prep company with cool tech and a mobile app, LSATMax provides some really solid old school printed textbooks.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around that, but the point remains: LSATMax’s prep books are right up there with Kaplan and Princeton Review. They’re analytical, provide tons of great detail, and perhaps most importantly, are smartly organized.
This is in opposition to Magoosh, who really sticks to their digital-first nature by not offering any prep books. I mean, Magoosh does have written lessons online, but you can’t even really compare the written study materials here. LSATMax by a mile if you’re a text-based learner.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the user experience and interface of LSATMax’s platform blows Magoosh out of the water.
In fact, it blows just about every other LSAT prep course’s dashboard and functionality out of the water. And that’s largely because LSATMax makes their platform the same across every device type.
We love LSATMax’s clean and easy-to-use interface
It doesn’t matter whether you’re on the mobile app, working on your laptop at home, or hitting some flashcards on your tablet – every interface is identical.
This makes studying totally seamless for students on the go and is a major value add in our opinion, as it adds efficiency to your studies if you’re bouncing around a lot.
Now that you have a better understanding of what LSATMax has to offer, let’s turn the tables and discuss the main advantages of using LSATMax to help prepare you for the LSAT exam.
Magoosh Is More Affordable
There’s no debating that Magoosh is the better value between the two companies. The Magoosh LSAT course costs just a shade under $300, while the LSATMax course options range from around $500 to $1,400.
And even at that, the most popular LSATMax package costs $900 – so you’re talking a $600 difference for the closest apples-to-apples comparison.
Not to mention that Magoosh frequently runs sales and special promotions, and you can often find their course on sale for 10% off. With that said, it’s worth noting that LSATMax includes free tutoring with their course.
It’s clear from stacking these two prep courses up side-by-side that Magoosh is more affordable and offers better bang for your buck.
LSAT Practice Problem Explanations
This is a VERY hard category for our team to call, and it was far from unanimous, but when it comes to practice question explanations, we give the edge to Magoosh.
To set the stage, we love the problem explanations that both companies provide. Both prep providers offer text explanations that are insightful and leave you with key takeaways.
Magoosh’s video answer solutions are awesome for visual learners
But what separates these two is the fact that Magoosh offers video solutions with over 800 of their practice problems. To be clear, these videos aren’t the best quality, as they have the same outdated format as their video lessons.
Nonetheless, these videos are super helpful for seeing problems visualized (especially logic games). This is a major boost for visual learners and is what seals the deal for Magoosh here.
Magoosh actually guarantees students that if their score doesn’t increase by at least 5 points, they can get their full payment back.
In other words, LSATMax promises a 1+ point score increase, and Magoosh 5+ points. You don’t need me to tell you who wins this category.
Supplemental LSAT Resources
When talking about extras, Magoosh provides a surprising amount of value for their ultra-low price point. And without a doubt, the most valuable of these resources is their email support.
You can email one of their LSAT tutors any time of day, and one of their remote experts will get back to you within a day or two.
Magoosh provides some really nice extras
I used this feature a couple times and was happy with the result in both instances. Both responses came within 24 hours and were sufficiently detailed to get me what I wanted. And this is in addition to some other cool extras like suggested cram schedules, blog articles and the like.
Overall Win: LSATMax. Though Magoosh offers a ton of value for their super-approachable price point, in our team’s opinion, there are some shortcomings with this prep option. Their lack of a guided study plan, weak video lessons, and no accompanying prep books leave a lot to be desired.
It’s a solid prep option for the price, but we just believe LSATMax is a stronger course and study option.
Not only is their curriculum more robust and guided, but we also prefer their video lessons, written study materials, and interface.
For a few hundred dollars more, LSATMax is worth the money in our opinion. It’s just the better all-around course from top to bottom.
Which LSAT prep course is better, Magoosh or LSATMax?
Our team has used and thoroughly reviewed the prep courses from both LSATMax and Magoosh, and can say without a doubt that LSATMax provides the stronger prep option.
Is LSATMax worth the money over Magoosh?
Yes. Though a few hundred dollars more than Magoosh, we believe LSATMax provides a far superior LSAT prep curriculum and suite of study materials.
Does Magoosh or LSATMax have better video lessons?
Though both companies take a similar approach in the style and delivery of their video lessons, LSATMax’s videos are simply better.
