By Tech Powered Dad | March 23, 2020
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A few months back, I wrote a Magoosh SAT prep review. I am aware that there is even more interest in Magoosh’s GRE test prep, so I’m circling back to take a look at what Magoosh has to offer in their GRE (and GMAT) products. There are a few key differences between Magooh’s GRE prep and GMAT prep, so depending on which flavor of test prep you need for grad school, you’ll want to be aware of those differences.
In addition to reviewing Magoosh’s GRE / GMAT prep, I also wanted to compare Magoosh to some of its biggest competitors. Specifically, I wanted to compare Magoosh vs. Princeton Review and Magoosh vs. Kaplan. Magoosh is the new kid on the block, while Princeton Review and Kaplan have been around for a really long time. It only makes sense to see how Magoosh compares to these test prep giants.
Let’s go ahead and jump in on my Magoosh GRE / GMAT reviews.
Magoosh offers a 7-day free trial on all courses. Click here to try out their GRE or GMAT service risk free.
Magoosh GRE Review
There are several reasons that test takers go with Magoosh for GRE prep:
- Polished online experience: Magoosh’s GRE review is strictly online. They have designed all of their review course, practice tests, etc. from the ground up with the online experience in mind.
- Score guarantee: Magoosh offers one of the most generous GRE score improvement guarantees available, with a money-back guarantee that your score will increase by at least 5 points.
- Price: You’ll want to check the GRE pricing page for Magoosh to see where they are currently pricing their courses, but their prices are almost always cheaper than their competitors.
Obviously, the price point is a crucial one for a lot of test takers. You’re postponing entering the work force, or leaving work, by heading to grad school and you don’t want to add a $1000+ test prep course to your list of expenses. I totally get that.
Don’t overlook the first point, though. The web experience Magoosh has designed is really slick. Magoosh’s site, video courses, and their apps all make it clear that they are experts in designing online course content. I’d highly recommend that you check out their apps for Android and iOS, which are really intuitive and will help you build your skills. The flash card app can even be accessed for free.
“It looks just like the real test.”
Magoosh has a “smart review system.” It Knows how you are progressing in terms of the content you still need practice on the subject, and the time you have left until your test date. When you login, you can see yourself progress on a dashboard that tracks your progress and will estimate your score. The practice tests you take are adaptive, just like the real GRE tests.
Magoosh GRE Alternatives
If you are a comparison shopper, you might be thinking about alternatives to Magoosh for your GRE prep. What about Magoosh vs. Kaplan or Magoosh vs. Princeton Review? These are the most popular alternatives on the market. For most students, the choice of Magoosh vs. an alternative is going to come down to two factors:
- How important is cost to you? Magoosh is generally hundreds if not thousands of dollars cheaper?
- How do you feel about Magoosh’s self-guided, study-on-your-own-schedule approach? If you don’t need a teacher taking you by the hand with live instruction, Magoosh is great. If you need a live instructor or a tutor, they don’t have that.
The truth is that for most GRE test takers, I do recommend Magoosh. However, I want you to have all the facts, so I’ve created this chart that compares Magoosh, Princeton Review, and Kaplan on the GRE. Note that these comparisons are for the “self-guided” versions of Princeton Review and Kaplan’s GRE reviews since Magoosh does not offer a live course. If you are having a hard time choosing which to pick, I’d strongly advise checking out a YouTube video to see the teaching style of each prep company and a free event.
| Available Feature * | Magoosh | Princeton Review | Kaplan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practice Tests | 3 | 10 | 7, “Test Day Experience” |
| Personalized Study Plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| On Demand Video Content | 250 videos | Not Available | 180+ hours of online instruction and practice |
| Most Popular Self-Paced Course | 6-Month Premium | Self-Paced | Self-Paced Plus |
| Mobile Apps | GRE Prep & Practice by Magoosh / GRE Flashcards | None | Kaplan Mobile Prep |
| Prep Books | None | Available for purchase | 2 books |
| Online Tutor Option | Email tutoring | Available for purchase | Available for purchase |
| Score Guarantee | 5 points higher | Higher score | Higher score |
| Sample Video | YouTube | YouTube | YouTube |
| Free Trial | 7 days of full course | Free events | Free events |
| Check Pricing |  |
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Click here to start improving your GRE score with a free 7-day trial of Magoosh.
* Not all options available with every package. Packages subject to change. See Magoosh, Kaplan, or Princeton Review websites for current details. Numbers based on self-guided packages.
Magoosh GMAT Review
Magoosh’s GMAT prep is probably their most diverse offering. Most of their prep plans just ask you to choose between a short term plan, usually a month, and a longer term plan, something like 3-months. On the other hand, Magoosh actually offers 3 different tiers of prep service for the GMAT.
- Self-study Math + IR: If you are only need access to the Math and IR content, this is the most affordable option.
- Premium: For those that need the Math, Verbal, IR, and AWA content, this option costs just a bit more.
- Tutoring + Premium: This option costs significantly more, but will get you access to a video tutor. You’ll get 6 hours of video tutoring on Skype in addition to the Premium package. This package puts Magoosh on par with some of their premium competitors like Princeton Review or Kaplan.
The arguments for choosing Magoosh for the GMAT are very similar to those above:
- Fantastic web experience: Magoosh designed the entire course for the online GMAT test prep student, and it really shows whether you use their site or their mobile apps.
- Price: Magoosh is typically quite a bit cheaper than their competitors, although this is not as true if you decide you need the tutoring package.
- Score guarantee: Magoosh guarantees your score will increase by 50 points if you purchase their Premium GMAT Prep package.
Again, I totally understand the attraction to going with Magoosh for the price. Magoosh’s GMAT prep is a little more expensive than most of its other offerings, but still cheaper than competitors. That said, the real argument for choosing Magoosh is that it’s got a great online experience. It’s great to save some money, but you’re going to get an MBA. If Magoosh doesn’t get you ready to get into the MBA program you nee to get into, it’s not worth saving the money. Magoosh does have excellent instructors, though. Here’s an example of the kind of instruction you get with Magoosh.
Magoosh also offers the same adaptive testing technology that is on the real GMAT, so while you’re taking your practice test session at your computer with Magoosh, it’ll feel just like the real GMAT. And just as with their GRE prep, they do have a customize dashboard that tracks your progress and adapts to the pace at which you are learning and the test is approaching.
Magoosh GMAT Alternatives
Again, you may be considering some considering GMAT prep alternatives to Magoosh. If you are comparing Kaplan and Magoosh or Princeton Review and Magoosh, I still think it’s going to come down to those earlier questions (plus one):
- How flexible is your GMAT test prep budget?
- How comfortable are you with the self-paced, study on your own time philosophy of Magoosh?
- (Bonus) Am I willing to pony up for the Tutoring package? Given what you get in that package, it’s a fair price because test prep tutoring is expensive nowadays, but does come at a significant premium. It also puts Magoosh on par with some of their premium competitors like Kaplan and Princeton Review.
My bottom line is that for most GMAT test takers, Magoosh is a great option. However, I want you to have all the facts, so I’ve provided a table for comparing Magoosh, Kaplan, and Princeton Review on the GMAT. As with the GRE table above, this includes the self-paced versions of GMAT prep for Kaplan and Princeton Review since Magoosh does not have a live option like those two. Also as above, I’d recommend checking out a video lesson from each as well as their pricing structure.
| Available Feature * | Magoosh | Princeton Review | Kaplan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practice Tests | 2 | 10 | 9, “Test Day Experience” |
| Personalized Study Plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| On Demand Video Content | 340+ video lessons in Premium | Not available | 14 hours |
| Most Popular Self-Paced Course | <a href=“https://imp.i154272.net/Mrn6n | ||
| ” rel=“nofollow”>Self-study Premium | Self-Paced | Self-Paced Plus | |
| Mobile Apps | Magoosh GMAT Prep & Practice, GMAT Flashcards | None | Kaplan Mobile Prep |
| Prep Books | None | GMAT Official Guide eBook | 2 prep books and MBA admissions guide |
| Online Tutor Option | Email tutoring, video tutor available in Tutoring + Premium package | 1 hour | Available for purchase |
| Score Guarantee | 50 points higher | Higher score | Higher score |
| Sample Video | YouTube | YouTube | YouTube |
| Free Trial | 7 days of full course | Free events | Free events |
| Check Pricing | |
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Click here to start improving your GMAT score with a free 7-day trial of Magoosh.
* Not all options available with every package. Packages subject to change. See Magoosh, Kaplan, or Princeton Review websites for current details. Numbers based on self-guided packages.
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