Kaplan has been one of the biggest names in GMAT prep for decades, but recently combined their GMAT prep program with sister company Manhattan Prep’s to form a new, more powerful GMAT Focus prep course. In this post, we explore how this new combined GMAT course compares against one the other most popular courses out there—Target Test Prep.
Given that this is a lengthy, detailed comparison, we’ve included jump-to links above for your convenience.
🚨🚨 Update: When we reference Kaplan in this post, we are also referring to Manhattan Prep, as the two companies merged their GMAT prep courses last year under the “Manhattan Prep Powered By Kaplan” brand.
In the video above, John from the Test Prep Insight team compares the GMAT prep courses from Kaplan and Target Test Prep. For more detail, be sure to continue reading our full written review below.
In this post I am going to focus on the key areas where I see each company having an advantage over the other (as opposed to a broad overview of each GMAT course). So with that in mind, let’s start with Kaplan. I have them winning in four key categories.
The greatest highlight of the Kaplan course is the video lessons. To put it simply, they’re just better than the video lessons from Target Test Prep. I know Target Test Prep likes to make a big deal about the number and quality of their “video lessons,” but in reality, these videos are just practice problem explanations.
The videos from Kaplan, on the other hand, are actual lessons, not just short problem explanations. The Kaplan lessons are in-depth, engaging and offer tons of useful content review.
The content in the Kaplan videos is on point and the production quality is first rate. Thus, if you’re more of a visual learner, take note.
While we’re on the subject of visual learners, Kaplan also wins when it comes to live classes.
With Kaplan’s live online, you get nine, three-hour classes for a total of 27 hours of live instruction.
I was personally very impressed by the Kaplan GMAT instructors. They are some of the best in the business. Not only do they know their stuff inside and out, but they also do a really good job of keeping the live sessions engaging and fun too.
Kaplan also beats Target Test Prep when it comes to prep books. Frankly, this is another easy win for Kaplan as Target Test Prep does not offer its students any hardcopy prep books whatsoever.
Now, to be fair, Target Test Prep does offer a digital eBook, but really this doesn’t even compare to Kaplan since they provide their students with a bundle of comprehensive prep books packed with substantive instruction, test taking strategies, practice problems, and more.
In my opinion, these prep books together make for a very powerful prep resource, especially if you’re more of an old-school type of learner like me that likes to read through actual physical books, highlight key points, and dog-ear pages to revisit later.
Lastly, Kaplan beats Target Test Prep when it comes to practice tests. Kaplan offers six (6) full-length simulated exams, whereas Target Test Prep only offers two (2). Not to mention, the Kaplan exams are official exams from past administrations of the GMAT Focus.
Therefore, Kaplan effectively offers 3x as much opportunity to practice under exam-like conditions, and considering the fact that students often make the biggest gains by taking and reviewing practice tests, this is pretty big advantage for Kaplan.
👉 Read Also: Kaplan vs Princeton Review GMAT
Now that you have a better understanding of what Kaplan has to offer, let’s discuss Target Test Prep. I have the company beating Kaplan in three categories.
The first area in which Target Test Prep beats Kaplan is extremely important: cost.
Target Test Prep offers several different plans, ranging from just $229 per month to $1,600. However, the one I most want to discuss is their month-to-month recurring subscription.
At $229/month, this is a killer value. Given that it only takes 60-90 days to effectively prep for the GMAT Focus (when you can dedicate the time), your all-in cost will be somewhere between $460 and $690. This is a great value.
Compared to Kaplan, you’re looking at $200-$400 in savings by opting to go with Target Test Prep.
👉 Side Note: If you are working with a limited budget, you may also want to consider the GMAT course from Magoosh.
The second win for Target Test Prep is their score improvement guarantee. Essentially, after completing the Target Test Prep course, if your GMAT score does not improve by at least 130 points, the company will issue you a refund.
Now there is some fine print behind this guarantee, so you’ll definitely want to read up on that before purchasing, but with that said, it’s still a nice insurance policy, especially considering Kaplan does not offer the same type of guarantee with their GMAT courses.
For the record, Princeton Review also offers some pretty stellar GMAT Focus score guarantees (like 645+).
Lastly, Target Test Prep does a really good job with performance data and analytics. I was very impressed with the level of detail included in their reports.
The company’s tech is able to identify your behavioral tendencies, answer habits, and subject area weaknesses so that you know what topic areas to focus on and how to tweak your test taking strategies moving forward in order to keep improving.
👉 Also Worth Reading: Target Test Prep vs Magoosh GMAT
Although there’s a lot to like about the GMAT course from Target Test Prep (namely its affordable price, score improvement guarantee, and performance insights), I ultimately have to give the win to Kaplan and Manhattan Prep here.
Yes, their courses are more expensive, but all in all, I just think that their program is far more comprehensive and effective. Kaplan pretty much beats Target Test Prep in every category that truly matters: video lessons, practice tests, live classes, prep books, and more.
Therefore, if you’re serious about scoring high on the GMAT Focus, our team recommends Kaplan.
👉 Next: Best GMAT Prep Courses Guide
Target Test Prep takes a streamlined, digital approach to GMAT prep that revolves around practice problems and a heavy focus on quant, while the Kaplan GMAT courses are more comprehensive in terms of features and study materials (e.g. live classes, prep books, video lessons).
After testing and evaluating the GMAT study materials from both companies, our team believes Kaplan offers the more complete and effective GMAT Focus course from top to bottom.
Both companies offer live GMAT classes. After using both courses, we found the Kaplan/Manhattan Prep classes to be more insightful and useful.