Quick Links to ACT Prep Courses and Study Materials

ACT Prep Course Rankings

Magoosh ACT (Rank: #1)

OVERALL RATING:★★★★★

Best Value: Magoosh offers the best combination of features and pricing. For only $49.50, they provide study schedules, video lessons, mobile accessibility and a 4+ points guarantee.

Customized Practice Sessions: Based on your needs, you can drill yourself on specific subjects and difficulty levels. If you get stuck on anything, there is both a detailed text explanation and a video tutorial to help you.

+4 Points Guarantee: Magoosh and PrepScholar are the only two on our list who offer a 4+ point guarantee. If your score doesn’t improve by 4 points or more, they’ll give you your money back. This is the best guarantee of any major ACT prep course out there.

Limited Options: Magoosh only offers Self-Paced Online courses. They do not offer Live Online or In-Person courses, and do not offer private tutoring.

Bottom Line: If you’re looking for a Self-Paced Online program, Magoosh offers one of the best online ACT prep options, with a good combination of features and price.

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Princeton Review ACT (Rank: #2)

OVERALL RATING:★★★★★

Practice Questions: The Princeton Review’s ACT course provides more practice questions than any other company on our list – 3,200! While that does seem a little excessive, it ensures that if you’re struggling in an area, you’ll pretty much always have more questions to practice with.

Video Lessons: With over 280 video lessons in the Self-Paced Online course, The Princeton Review offers more videos than any other company on our list. They’re great quality and easy to follow along.

The Most Options: The Princeton Review and Kaplan ACT prep are the only two ACT course providers on our list that offer courses in every format – Self-Paced Online, Live Online, In-Person, and Private Tutoring. If you start with a self-paced program and realize you would also like tutoring, you can get it from the same source rather than needing to go to an entirely different company.

Pricey: The Princeton Review commands the second-highest price for its Self-Paced Online course (behind PrepScholar) and In-Person course (behind Kaplan), and the third-highest price for its Live Online course (behind both PrepScholar and Kaplan).

Bottom Line: The Princeton Review offers one of the best act prep courses, with top-quality instruction and premium features, but at a steeper price.

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Testive (Rank: #3)

OVERALL RATING:★★★★★

Practice Tests: Not only does Testive offer 8 Practice Exams, but they also feature a “Testive Grader” Mobile App. This allows for grading exams and accessing reports right on your phone!

Live Coaching: Testive’s ACT Prep courses are built entirely around access to their trained staff of coaches (all graduates from top universities such as Yale, Harvard, and Johns Hopkins, and others). Students have access to at least 1 live session/week, in addition to daily feedback and support.

Parent Involvement: Testive Coaches provide weekly meeting notes for parents, as well as a Parent Portal that helps to track progress. Testive believes that motivation and cooperation are the keys to ACT success.

No Self-Paced: Testive does not offer options for Self-Paced ACT prep, instead focusing on providing high-quality programs with top coaches. Your personal learning style will be an important factor when deciding. Technically, you can access their software and move at your own pace – but you’ll still pay have to pay for the coaching plan in order to do so.

Bottom Line: If access to a live coach and constant feedback are your preferred methods of test prep, then Testive might just be the right choice for you! Although they only offer Live Online style course formats, they are less expensive than similar plans from other companies.

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Kaplan ACT (Rank: #4)

OVERALL RATING:★★★★★

Practice Exams: With nine practice exams, Kaplan ACT prep offers more than any other company on our list. One of their practice exams comes from the makers of the ACT.

Printed Books: Kaplan is the only company on our list that includes a printed book with their Self-Paced Online course. The Princeton Review includes one with their Live Online and In-Person courses. Magoosh and ACT Online Prep offer books at an additional cost.

The Most Options: Kaplan and The Princeton Review are the only two on our list that offer courses in every format – Self-Paced Online, Live Online, In-Person, and Private Tutoring. If you start with a self-paced program and realize you would also like tutoring, you can get it from the same source rather than needing to go to an entirely different company.

Pricey: Kaplan ACT prep is the most expensive option for In-Person courses and private tutoring. They are the second-most expensive for Self-Paced Online and Live Online courses

Bottom Line: In the high-end price range, The Princeton Review and PrepScholar are a bit ahead of Kaplan ACT prep in lesson quality.

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ACT Online Prep (Rank: #5)

OVERALL RATING:★★★★★

Straight from the Source: ACT Online Prep is the only prep solution directly from the makers of the ACT. This means that all practice questions come from previous ACT tests. With over 2,400 practice questions, this is a massive resource that is sure to help you with those tricky subjects.

Affordable: At only $39.95 for six months of access, ACT Online Prep is the most affordable option on our list.

Live Online Deal: Through a partnership with Kaplan, ACT Online Prep provides Live Online classes at a reduced rate of $99.95 for six weeks, $179.95 for three months, or $249.95 for six months.

Lack of Lessons: ACT Online Prep provides ample practice questions and games to reinforce concepts, but they do not offer the dynamic lessons and video content that other companies do.

Bottom Line: ACT Online Prep is an affordable way to access thousands of previous ACT practice questions, making it one of the best online ACT prep options, but it doesn’t provide in-depth instruction. If you’re interested in a Live Online course, ACT Online Prep’s partnership with Kaplan is a great deal.

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Barron’s ACT (Rank: #6)

OVERALL RATING:★★★★★

Practice Questions: For a lower-priced option, Barron’s ACT prep provides a surprising number of practice questions – a whopping 3,000! The only other company close is The Princeton Review, which provides 3,200 and is priced significantly higher.

Affordable: At only $99 for Self-Paced Online, Barron’s ACT course is one of the least expensive.

Limited Options: Barron’s ACT only offers Self-Paced Online courses. They do not offer Live Online or In-Person courses, and do not offer private tutoring.

No Score-Based Guarantee: With only a 3-Days-Money-Back Guarantee, Barron’s ACT course is the only one (aside from the course offered by the ACT itself) that does not offer a score-based guarantee. This means that even if your score doesn’t improve after completing the course, you won’t be eligible for a refund.

Bottom Line: Barron’s ACT Self-Paced Online course is not one of the best online ACT prep courses out there. It lacks the features of the more affordable offering from Magoosh.

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Other ACT Prep Courses:

Kranse Institute

OVERALL RATING:★★★★★

Score Improvement Guarantee: Kranse Institute boasts an average score improvement of 210 for students who finish the course. That lends a lot of legitimacy to their promise that if your score doesn’t improve, you get your money back.

Mobile App: The Kranse Mobile App provides streamlined access to study materials on your mobile device, with video lessons and practice questions boiled down to bite-sized pieces.

18 Months of Access: Kranse provides students with the longest access period of any competitor on this list, giving 540 days of access for one price.

Self-Paced Only: Kranse only offers students a Self-Paced course, with no options for live classes or personal tutoring.

Bottom Line: Kranse Institute is a great choice for a student with enough time to take advantage of the 18-month access period and can study at their own pace to get the very best out of their ACT prep experience.

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Best ACT Prep App

#1 Magoosh ACT Practice Apps

This ACT Prep app is the leader of the pack and for good reason. Created by ACT experts, students can choose between the Magoosh ACT Flashcard App and the Magoosh ACT Test Prep app. Each one gives great resources but with different focuses. The Test Prep app comes complete with over 80 lessons and loads of strategies and tips for tackling the ACT, while the flashcard app zeroes in on core concepts for math, science, and English. Magoosh has made its name on mobile test prep, so if you are looking for the best ACT mobile app then look no further.

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#2 Kaplan ACT Study App

Kaplan once again found a way to cram their full prep course into a tiny ACT mobile app, giving students access to all of the lessons, practice questions, and test-taking strategies that they are getting with their full prep course package. Plus, there is always the Kaplan Qbank App, which is the perfect ACT prep app for helping students maximize their time and minimize their effort by organizing customizable quiz packages based on difficulty, subject matter, or frequency.

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#3 Kranse Institute ACT Mobile App

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Best ACT Flashcards

#1 Princeton Review ACT Flashcards

The Princeton Review ACT Flashcards give students the best quick-study resource for the ACT on my list. With 500 cards that cover all 5 test sections (reading, writing, math, science, English) as well as 50 bonus cards for general tips and strategies. These cards also come paired with an option to review them online, combining two of the most effective study methods—online and in-hand. With such comprehensive coverage and a reasonable price of $13, the Princeton Review provides students with the best option for ACT prep flashcards.

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#2 Magoosh ACT Flashcards

Magoosh offers students 300 online and mobile ACT flashcards that can be accessed completely FREE. The cards cover all ACT topics, from reading to math to science. The fact that they come free and are so easily accessible puts them near the top of the list, despite 300 feeling like a pretty low number of cards. It would also be nice to have physical cards available, since a lot of students find that cards in-hand help them learn.

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Top 7 Best ACT Prep Courses of 2020