Best GRE Prep Courses

Review & Comparison, Last Update December 1, 2023
Receiving a master's or a doctoral degree will open a lot of doors for you. But, in order to do that, you will have to pass the GRE. ...Read more
PROS

The company's basic plan will provide you with a full month of access to three practice exams, three live 1-on-1 sessions, three essay markings, the ability to ask a tutor up to twenty-five questions, as well as over five thousand practice questions. The premium plan will also allow you to talk with live instructors and ask them for help and essay feedback.

CONS

The Basic Plan is relatively underwhelming in terms of features.

OUR VERDICT

The Economist offers the best GRE prep course on the market. Its plans include an impressive amount of flexibility. The number and the quality of educational services are top-notch. Whether you're a quick study or you prefer to take your time, there's next to no chance that this product will not improve your score.

detailed parameters
Price

$199, $299, $549

Free Trial

7 days

Money-Back Policy

100% refund for the Premier and Ultimate plans if you do not improve your score by 5 points

Mobile Application

Available

Practice Questions

5000

Practice Tests

3, 5, 8

Video Lessons

live 1-on-1 video session(s) with a tutor

PROS

Aside from the intuitive interface of their website, the company also offers their customers access to their very own application that is available for iOS and Android. Their services include a score predictor that does its job based on the data and official scores from previous students. 

CONS

A limited number of practice tests. 

OUR VERDICT

There are quite a lot of things that make the GRE study course from Magoosh such an attractive option for the future grad students. Aside from the comprehensive plans and the quality of questions, the best aspect of the course is its convenience, allowing you to focus on your studies instead of wasting your time with unnecessary features. 

detailed parameters
Price

$149 or $179

Free Trial

7 days

Money-Back Policy

100% refund if you do not improve your score by 5 points

Mobile Application

Available

Practice Questions

1000

Practice Tests

3

Video Lessons

200 hours

PROS

The LiveGrader tool will allow you to submit an essay for one of the company's experts to score and provide you with a number of suggestions. The suggestions will help you improve your essay-writing skills. The DrillSmart algorithm adapts to the user's level of knowledge and provides the sort of questions that will help you improve at a steady rate.

CONS

There's no free trial and the product doesn't include a mobile app. 

OUR VERDICT

If you're the kind of person who likes to study at your own pace, this is definitely the best GRE prep course for you. That said, though the company's training course features some of the best tools for improving your level of knowledge on your own, it still has enough to offer for those who prefer a more orthodox approach. 

detailed parameters
Price

$199 or $999

Free Trial

Unavailable

Money-Back Policy

100% refund if you do not score higher after completing the course 

Mobile Application

Unavailable

Practice Questions

3500

Practice Tests

8

Video Lessons

24 hours

PROS

The daily vocabulary emails will help you better prepare for the exam. You'll have access to the online forum that you can use for support and advice. A multitude of guides and guided reviews will provide you with the opportunity to cover every portion of the exam. 

CONS

No money-back guarantee. 

OUR VERDICT

We would recommend the GRE preparation course from Manhattan Prep to the type of students who would like to have access to as many pieces of educational literature as possible. A considerable number of different courses also make this option suitable for people of different financial means.

detailed parameters
Price

$79, $499, $999

Free Trial

Free practice test, live class, a number of free events

Money-Back Policy

Unavailable

Mobile Application

Available for $9.99

Practice Questions

10000+

Practice Tests

6

Video Lessons

27 hours

PROS

The app will allow you to enter an online classroom setting whenever you want, making it a great option for people who prefer a collaborative approach to education. You will also be able to answer and participate in the discussion questions that come from other members of your group.

CONS

There are no tutoring options. 

OUR VERDICT

The GRE preparation course from GraduateX may not be the most comprehensive option on the market. But it is certainly one of the most accessible courses there is. The simple layout will allow anybody to navigate through the course's tools with absolute ease. And the so-called Pathway to Success approach will make the educational process just a bit more fun.

detailed parameters
Price

$289

Free Trial

Unavailable

Money-Back Policy

N/A

Mobile Application

Available

Practice Questions

1500+

Practice Tests

N/A

Video Lessons

146 videos

GRE Prep Courses GRE Prep Books

A Comprehensive Free Trial

We all learn at a different pace. Some people are naturally bright as a button and catch on really quick. Some aren't that quick on the uptake, so they require more time and effort to catch up with the former. And that is exactly what makes the product from The Economist arguably the best GRE prep course on the market. Whether you're a quick study or you wouldn't be able to describe yourself as a fast learner even if you wanted to, the people at The Economist have you covered.

Of course, in order to get started, you will first have to sign up for their services. And given that their services aren't cheap, the company has made sure to include a 7-day free trial. Regardless of the speed at which you proceed, you will definitely be able to go through a few of the lessons and get a pretty good idea of what it is that the company offers. And if you're the nimble-minded kind, there's a good chance you will even be able to test out the tutor feature before the free trial comes to an end. Another element that makes the GRE prep course from The Economist so popular is their money-back policy. If you opt for the Premier or the Ultimate Plan and your score doesn't go up at least 5 points, the company guarantees to refund 100% of the money you spent on the plan.

Choose Your Plan

Now that we have briefly mentioned the company's plans, it is probably time to talk about them in more detail. Naturally, first comes the Basic Plan. The plan costs $199. For that money, you will receive a full month of access to three practice exams, three live 1-on-1 sessions, three essay markings, the ability to ask a tutor up to twenty-five questions, as well as over five thousand practice questions. Unfortunately, the aforementioned money-back policy doesn't include the basic plan, so you will not receive a refund regardless of how well you test. But this is still a fairly extensive number of services for that kind of money.

That said, the majority of the company's customers prefer to stick with the Premium Plan. Though the price goes up to $299, what you get in return is nothing short of impressive. The access to the company's services extends from a month to 3 months. The 5000 practice questions are still there. But the number of full-length practice exams goes from 3 to 5. Now, in addition to all of that, the plan will provide you with access to live instructors for help and essay feedback. You will also receive the ability to talk to the tutor whenever you want as the number of questions you can ask them goes from 25 to a 100. In addition to all of that, you'll get six essay markings that will allow you to better prepare for the AWA section. And if your score doesn't improve by at least 5 points, you will get those 300 bucks back.

Mobile-Compatible Studying

Finally, it is time to talk about the Ultimate Plan. Naturally, the price for the plan goes up and you will have to cough up $549 in order to afford its services. But that price point is actually far more modest than you'd think. For less than a twofold increase in the price, you'll receive access to 4 times the amount of time to the company's services. With a full-year access, you will be able to spend far more time with The Economist's instructors and tutors. In addition to the unlimited number of questions that you can ask any of the company's tutors and all of the benefits that you get from the Premium Plan, you will also get more live one-on-one sessions. An additional practice test adds up to a whopping 8 tests in total. Plus, you will also receive an extra essay marking.

But regardless of the plan that you decide to go with, you'll still be able to enjoy all of the company's extra benefits that make studying less of a chore and more of a fun experience. Those benefits include the adaptive learning technology that does an impressive job adapting to the academic strengths of the user as well as his weaknesses, meaning that you will be able to better focus on what you need to know. You'll also be able to reap the benefits of mobile-compatible studying, so you will have the ability to prepare for the GRE test while sitting at the doctor's office or riding the bus.

All things considered, it wouldn't be that far-fetched of a conclusion to call The Economist's product the best GRE prep course on the market. The company's plans offer an impressive amount of flexibility. The number and the quality of educational services are top-notch. Whether you're a quick study or you prefer to take your time, there's next to no chance that this product will not improve your score.


Time to Study

If acing the GRE isn't just something you're interested in doing sometime down the line but an actual obstacle that you would like to overcome in the near future, we couldn't recommend the Magoosh Online GRE Prep & Practice courses highly enough. Thing is, just like the majority of these courses, the company offers a couple of plans for you to choose from. Normally, their 1-month premium plan goes for $149 and their 6-month premium costs $774. However, right now, the company offers a considerable discount on the 6-month plan and you will be able to get one for just $179. And given what they offer in return, that is easily the most affordable option on the market right now.

Now, before we get down to the nitty-gritty and examine everything that the company's GRE online practice course has to offer, we would first like to talk about the free trial and the money-back policy. Similar to The Economist's services, the company provides you with the access to a 7-day free trial. It may not be as comprehensive as some of the competitor's ones, but the trial does offer access to over 20 questions and lessons, and that should be more than enough to figure out whether their courses will work for you.

200 Video Lessons

The company's money-back policy is also quite similar to The Economist's one. If you complete their premium program and do not get a 5-point increase to your old score, the folks at Magoosh guarantee that you will receive 100% of money back.

Speaking of the program, the only difference between the 1-month and the 6-month plan is the amount of time you will get to spend with their services. So, both of those plans include comprehensive coverage of Math, Verbal, and AWA, meaning that they cover everything you'll need to learn before your GRE. That comprehensive coverage includes over 200 video lessons, with each of those video lessons covering just about every subject that's been added to the revised GRE as well as everything that was part of the previous iteration's curriculum. In addition to the video lessons, you will also receive access to over 1000 practice questions. And, in order to help you understand these questions, the GRE prep course from Magoosh feature detailed explanation videos for every one of those questions. Once you're done with those lessons and questions, the course will generate you up to 3 full-length practice tests that will help you better prepare for the actual exam.

Intuitive Interface

Of course, the number of lessons and questions is all well and good, but it wouldn't be worth much if those materials were of subpar quality. Fortunately, all of the practice questions in the company's course are as close to the ones that you will encounter at the GRE as they get. Plus, the questions are ranked in order of difficulty, so you will be able to focus on the ones that you find particularly challenging and disregard the questions that you know the answers to.

Having said all of that, we believe that the best thing about the Magoosh GRE prep course that sets it apart from the competition is just how convenient their services are. Since their entire plan is available online, you will not have to go to any class meetings, bother with DVDs and textbooks, and there's no timeline that you will have to keep in mind as you proceed. Their website includes a personalized dashboard that is easy to navigate. The dashboard suggests video lessons based on your progress. On top of that, the website compares your results with other students, meaning that you will be able to get a pretty good idea where you stand and what is it exactly that you will have to work on.

In conclusion, there are quite a lot of things that make the GRE study course from Magoosh such an attractive option for the future grad students. But aside from the comprehensive plans and the quality of questions, the best aspect of the course is its convenience, allowing you to focus on your studies instead of wasting your time with unnecessary features.


Drill Smart

The Princeton Review offers one of the most comprehensive GRE preparation programs there is. The philosophy of the company behind these programs has always been to cater to every individual student's needs and tailor a program specifically for those needs. And the company has always been quite successful in doing so thanks to their very own DrillSmart algorithm. The algorithm is an exclusive technology that adapts to the user's level of knowledge similar to the actual GRE and provides you with the sort of questions that will help you improve at a steady rate.

As you continue your preparations, the company's software will continue feeding you the questions with just the right level of difficulty. With the help of this algorithm, you will be able to spend less time on the areas where you already possess a sufficient amount of knowledge and spend more time honing your skills in the "non-strength" areas, as the company likes to put it.

Learn at Your Own Pace

Setting the algorithm aside, another thing that makes the GRE study course from Princeton Review so popular and so effective is their pricing policies. If you're willing to spend about a thousand bucks, the company will provide you access to one-on-one test reviews with a teacher. And if you don't mind paying even more, they will put you in an actual classroom with an instructor, making it the best bet for people who prefer learning things in a traditional way. But if you do not have that kind of money at your disposal, for $179, you will be able to access the company's "Self-Paced" plan that incorporates a large variety of different learning elements. 

Those elements include 120 days of online access to the Princeton Review's services as well as 24 hours of recorded video lessons, provided by GRE content experts. In addition to that, you will have more than 470 practice drills, 3500 practice questions, and 8 adaptive practice tests at your disposal. The plan also includes a higher score guarantee, meaning that the company will give you your money back if you do not score higher after going through their training course.

The Highly Useful LiveGrader Tool

Similar to a lot of these courses, the company offers a private tutoring program. Problem is, it costs $1,800 and the majority of people do not have that kind of money at their immediate disposal. Which is why the team of experts at the Princeton Review came up with the so-called Semi-Private Course. The course puts you as well as 3 other students in a physical or online classroom setting and offers you a total of 24 in-class hours where you will be able to receive a lot of personal help from the instructor.

As far as we know, Princeton Review is also the only company out there that provides essay feedback. The highly useful LiveGrader tool will allow you to submit an essay for one of the company's experts to score and provide you with a number of suggestions. The suggestions will help you improve your essay-writing skills, which, as you probably know, is an important part of the GRE. Unfortunately, the company's services do not include a free trial. However, you will receive access to a free practice test and an online sample class, so we're willing to let this little mistake slide.

So, if you're the kind of person who likes to study at your own pace, this is definitely the best GRE prep course for you. That said, though the company's training course features some of the best tools for improving your level of knowledge on your own, it still has enough to offer for those who prefer a more orthodox approach.


Crunch Time Workshop

If there's one course out there that could rival The Economist in terms of versatility and flexibility, it would certainly have to be the Manhattan Prep. The sheer number of programs that the company has to offer is astounding and what each and every one of those programs include in terms of learning opportunities is nothing short of impressive. Naturally, we would like to start with the company's most affordable program and work our way up to the more expensive options. 

For just 79 bucks, you will be able to access a 2-hour online instruction session for a specific part of the exam, a Q&A session after the exam, as well as post-workshop email support. In addition to that, the so-called Crunch Time Workshop will offer you a timed and proctored set of GRE problems designed to simulate the actual GRE experience. You will also be able to improve your practice work with the help of the company's guided review as the said review explains in great details the most effective ways to analyze that work. And in case that isn't enough, there are also post-workshop assignments that will help you practice by yourself and a set of strategies that should prove to be quite useful on the day of the exam.

Strategy Guides

Of course, no matter how much you study on your own, there's nothing that beats a personal approach when it comes to learning. Which is why the GRE prep course from Manhattan Prep also includes the ability to arrange hourly tutoring sessions. Though they're a bit on the pricey side, for $255/hour, you will get a minimum of 2 hours of instruction with the company's expert tutor. These sessions can take place online or on-site.

With that out of the way, we would like to talk about the GRE Guided Self-Study Course, the company's most popular plan. For $499, you will receive access to 27 hours worth of video lessons that you can watch online or download them to your mobile device. The plan also includes a complete set of 8 Manhattan Prep GRE Strategy Guides that go to great details in order to cover every portion of the exam. And if that's not enough preparation literature for you, how about The Official Guide to the GRE revised General Test, Official GRE Quantitative Reasoning Practice Questions, and the Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions? Not dissimilar to the company's competitors, the GRE prep course will allow you to take 6 practice tests that adapt to the test-taker the same way the actual exam does. However, in addition to the ability to take those tests, you will get detailed assessment reports, on-demand class recordings for review, and challenge problems, all of which will allow you to greatly increase your chances of acing the upcoming GRE.

Daily Vocabulary Emails

Other than that, we could also talk about the GRE Complete Course that will cost you about a thousand bucks. Though, to be fair, there isn't that much of a difference between this course and the self-study one. In addition to everything that the latter plan has to offer, the complete course will also provide you with the opportunity to work with live online instructions spread over 9 sessions. Some students find the daily vocabulary emails to be particularly useful. But if you ask us, the best thing about the complete package is the fact that you get to ask the company's instructors an unlimited number of questions. Furthermore, the online forums are at your disposal. Use them for support and advice.

All in all, we would recommend the GRE preparation course from Manhattan Prep to the type of students who would like to have access to as many pieces of educational literature as possible. A considerable number of different courses also make this option suitable for people of different financial means.


Simplicity is Key

The majority of GRE prep course services try to attract customers by including as many educational features as possible. And although there is nothing necessarily wrong with that, a number of features can sometimes scare off as many people as it attracts. It doesn't help if the interface of the website or the app is bloated and confusing. Which is why the people behind the GraduateX GRE Prep decided to go with a completely different approach. You won't find here a ridiculous number of features nor will you have a bunch of plans and programs to choose from. And while some people may call it the product's disadvantage, we like to think of it as the course's biggest selling point.

Yes, as we have just mentioned, the company offers only one plan that will cost you $289. But what they have managed to include in that plan without bloating it up with unnecessary features is nothing short of impressive. Dissimilar to the Manhattan Prep, their course will not offer you tens of thousands of questions. But the fifteen hundred practice questions that were included in the course will help just about any test taker prepare for GRE.

Pathway to Success

Practice questions aside, the GRE prep course will also allow you to access 146 educational videos. The videos contain a number of lectures that include visual descriptions. Plus, the letters are written in such a manner that makes them palatable and easily understandable. Of course, while the company's video content is second to none, there's nothing particularly unique about a number of video lessons.

What makes the course unique, however, is the so-called "pathway to success". Simply put, the people at GraduateX designed their course in a manner that takes you down a path. And just like any path, it has different steps that you can take. It also provides a progress bar that shows how far you've come. Since the entirety those steps will be available to you all at once, you will literally be able to make your own path. Regardless of the section you choose, the GRE prep course from GraduateX will provide you with a video that'll explain the details of the subject that you'll to learn. In addition to that, you will also be able to answer and participate in the discussion questions that come from other members of your group.

Add Some Fun to the Process

That's right, if you feel so inclined, you'll be able to enter into an online classroom setting whenever you want. Obviously, his little feature is great for people who prefer a collaborative approach to education. But it will also prove to be quite useful to others as well thanks to a number of user-generated questions that are answered by GraduateX experts.

On that note, we would like to transition from the contents of the GRE prep course to the aesthetics and interface. As we have mentioned earlier, you will not find here a ton of pages and dashboards. The layout is simple and finding everything that you need for preparation won't prove to be a challenge whatsoever. And we aren't just talking about the company's website but also about their mobile application. Where most of the companies behind these courses offer the most basic apps, GraduateX invites you to take full advantage of the application's tools that make studying on the run a task as easy as it is enjoyable.

To rephrase our earlier point, the GRE preparation course from GraduateX may not be the most comprehensive option on the market. But it is certainly one of the most accessible courses there is. The simple layout will allow anybody to navigate through the course's tools with absolute ease. And the so-called Pathway to Success approach will make the educational process just a bit more fun.


What Is a GRE Prep Course?

If you're looking to further your education and transform that bachelor's degree into a master's or a doctoral, there's a considerable number of graduate schools to choose from. But the absolute majority of grade schools require GRE results as part of their admission process. And there's a good chance it's been years since you finished your undergraduate education. You're a bit rusty and you'd like to brush-up your knowledge in a number of areas. That is exactly where these GRE prep courses come in. With the help of one of these courses, you will be able to better prepare for the upcoming exam. Though there's quite a bit of a difference between the courses, most of them will provide you with the opportunity to answer thousands of practice questions, study hours of video lessons, and take a number of practice tests that simulate the actual GRE environment. Certain options will allow you to work with a live tutor or study with other people in a group both online and offline. Though some of them are a bit pricey, the majority of GRE preparation courses guarantee to give you your money back if you do not receive a higher score on the exam. Plus, most of them will allow you to work with the free trial first.

While we're still on the subject of online education, why not pick up a foreign language? Sure, it's not going to be easy, but with the help of one of these French or Spanish online courses, you should be able to catch on pretty quickly.

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