PrepScholar vs Magoosh GRE Prep Course 2023: Who Is The Best?

Are you looking to get a high score on your GRE? Today, we’ll evaluate and compare two of the most popular GRE prep courses online: Magoosh and PrepScholar. 

Which prep course is better? Which one is more worth investing? We’ll answer all of your questions about these two courses in this comparison review. 

At the end of this article, you’ll find out which course is more effective and more user-friendly. Plus, we’ll give you a glimpse of what you’re getting out of each course with actual screenshots. 

Ready? Let’s begin.

PrepScholar vs Magoosh GRE: The Basics

Compared to other prep courses online, PrepScholar and Magoosh are relatively new. The former is a purely online course that was developed in 2013 by Allen Cheng and Fred Zhang, while the latter emerged as an online prep course in 2009. 

Before diving into the full details of each course, let’s first look at the curriculum overview of both courses.

 

PrepScholar

Magoosh

Live instruction (online and in-person)

No

No

Self-paced

Yes

Yes

Tutoring services

No

Yes

Practice questions

1200+

2300+

Practice tests

3

2

Subscription length

1 year or lifetime access

1 month or 6 months

Video Lessons

Yes

Yes

Score improvement guarantee

+7 score improvement

+5 score improvement

Student support options

Email

Email, chat, forum

Free trial

Yes

Yes

Students have different study styles, goals, and budget. This is why in this comparison review, we’ll take a closer look at both courses’ features and determine which one is better based on the following aspects:

  • Content
  • Pricing
  • User Experience

PrepScholar vs Magoosh GRE: Content

Resources

In terms of the major content of the course, PrepScholar and Magoosh have the same things to offer. Both courses provide practice questions, video lessons, and practice tests. It’s only a matter of quantity. 

PrepScholar provides more practice questions, almost twice as Magoosh. Magoosh, on the other hand, provides one more full-length practice test than PrepScholar. 

Both courses provide higher score guarantees. Magoosh guarantees a +5 score improvement, while PrepScholar guarantees +7, which is one of the highest guarantees among GRE prep courses. 

Although Magoosh has one practice test more than PrepScholar, it has fewer practice questions and a lower score guarantee. For that, I give PrepScholar a very slim advantage. This edge, of course, comes with a higher price, as PrepScholar is slightly more expensive than Magoosh. 

Winner (by a slim margin): PrepScholar

Study plan

Both prep courses make GRE preparation an easier experience by providing customized study plans. They use algorithms to customize a study plan just for you. One difference, however, is the basis for the study plan.

PrepScholar gives a diagnostic test before you start the course. The test has 20 questions and covers Verbal and Quant topics. You’ll also answer a survey asking for details like your scheduled GRE test date and target score.

After the survey and diagnostic test, PrepScholar will create a study plan in line with your strengths and weaknesses on the diagnostic test, as well as your target test date and score. 

Magoosh, on the other hand, creates your study plan based on your test date, target score, and familiarity with the GRE. Unlike PrepScholar, Magoosh does not give a diagnostic test.

I personally prefer PrepScholar’s study plan because it’s created based on my actual strengths and weaknesses. 

Winner: PrepScholar

Analytics

PrepScholar and Magoosh both provide analytics to help you track your progress throughout your GRE prep.

PrepScholar’s Progress Tracker (1) tracks your effort to compare it with your goals on the GRE. This feature allows you to see your progress over time, skill by skill. It is very detailed and specific, which makes you fully aware of where you stand and how far you have to go.

Magoosh, on the other hand, has the Score Predictor feature. It estimates how you’ll perform during the actual GRE exam based on a score that is generated from your overall performance on the practice tests and then compared with the scores of other Magoosh students.  

The Score Predictor is designed to provide feedback so you can improve your performance and assess your weak and strong areas. You will then know where to focus your time and energy more.  

Both analytic features are extremely helpful, so I’ll make it a tie for this category.

Winner: Tie

Accessibility

This is where Magoosh has a huge advantage. I personally think that Magoosh is the most accessible GRE prep course online. You can access the prep course on your computer, tablet, and smartphone. It also provides mobile apps specifically for vocabulary and flashcards (2).

Magoosh’s flexibility is advantageous for students who are always on-the-go and do not have access to a computer. Plus, the apps are very easy to use.

PrepScholar, on the other hand, does not provide a mobile app and is only accessible through an internet browser. 

Winner: Magoosh

PrepScholar vs Magoosh GRE: Pricing

Since both PrepScholar and Magoosh provide only self-paced courses for GRE, they have similar ways in pricing their courses. The inclusions in each course’ options are almost the same. It’s only a matter of choosing the duration of access you desire.

Here are the prices of PrepScholar and Magoosh’s course options:

PrepScholar

Duration of access

Price

12 months

$456

Lifetime

$345

Magoosh

Duration of access

Price

6 months

$179

1 month

$149

In terms of pricing and value for money, it’s a no-brainer – Magoosh wins. Magoosh is popular among students not only for the quality of its materials and content but also for its affordability. 

Except for getting lesser practice questions, you’re basically getting the same content from Magoosh and PrepScholar. Magoosh even has better quality instruction at a cheaper price. Plus, you can get a cheaper package for a shorter access duration (6 months or 1 month), just in case you’re not planning for a long GRE prep. 

Winner: Magoosh

PrepScholar vs Magoosh GRE: User Experience

Dashboard

Above is a screenshot of PrepScholar’s dashboard. What I like about it is that everything that I have to accomplish for the week, depending on my goals on the GRE, are shown. It also displays my weekly progress and skill progress. Unlike other prep courses’ dashboard, PrepScholar focuses on customization and progress, which I like.

Now, this is Magoosh’s dashboard. In Magoosh, your prep is scheduled day-by-day, so your tasks for the day are in full display. You can also quickly access some practice tests. Plus, you get to see and choose an upcoming class on a particular topic, which you can watch live or later. 

Both dashboards are easy to use, so I’ll make it a tie for this category.

Winner: Tie

Video Lessons

In terms of videos, Magoosh is the winner. Magoosh has always been a video-centric prep course, and it never disappoints when it comes to the quality of its videos. Take a look at the screenshot below to have a glimpse of Magoosh’s video lessons.

Magoosh’s videos are clear and straight to the point. The instructor uses a marker to highlight texts easily. The video presents the step-by-step process effectively too, and the instruction is very easy to understand.

Above is a screenshot of PrepScholar’s video lesson. Their videos are not bad, either. I just find Magoosh’s videos more effective, clearer, and easier to understand. 

Winner: Magoosh

Text Lessons

Magoosh provides video and text explanations for every practice question. When you get an answer wrong, you would know right away why you got it wrong.

PrepScholar, on the other hand, has great text lessons. Everything you’d need to know on a particular topic is presented well. See the screenshot below:

Both text lessons are helpful and easy to understand. However, I’ll give the edge to PrepScholar for presenting them better and in more detail.

Winner: PrepScholar

PrepScholar vs Magoosh GRE: Who is the best?

Considering every area we looked at in this comparison review, I choose Magoosh as the winner. 

Yes, PrepScholar gives you more practice questions, but the flexibility, ease of use, instruction quality, and affordability that Magoosh provides are just very difficult to defeat. 

Given that Magoosh also provides a score predictor feature and a higher score guarantee, I think that taking the Magoosh GRE prep course is worth it for its price. 

Overall winner: Magoosh

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, both prep courses offer free trials. PrepScholar offers a 5-day trial, while Magoosh provides a 7-day trial. No credit card needed for both trials.

Only Magoosh offers tutoring services. You can take tutoring sessions just for Quant or for Verbal, but you can also take the Premium package covering both sections. They also offer a Starter package, a 1-hour session for $100.

References

  1. https://gre.prepscholar.com/features/
  2. https://gre.magoosh.com/flashcards/vocabulary