OVERALL RATING:★★★★★

Comprehensive Course: Manhattan Prep’s course gives students a number of in-depth materials to study for each area of the exam. Access to more than 27 hours of video lessons, strategy guidebooks for each area of the exam, the Official Guide to the GMAT book, and 6 practice exams make this a well-rounded course with an impressive amount of practice material.

Downloadable Video Lessons:With Manhattan Prep GMAT, users have the ability to study virtually anywhere. Their on-demand video lectures can be streamed live or downloaded to your computer or iPad so that you can study on the go, even if you are in an area without internet access. The high definition videos are easy to follow and taught by expert instructors.

Quality Practice Tests:In addition to in-depth lessons and study material, Manhattan provides 6 quality practice tests. Their tests are difficult, and some students report that the practice tests are more challenging than the actual test. Each practice test includes a detailed score report.

Qualified Instructors: Manhattan Prep is meticulous in selecting their instructors, who are knowledgeable in all areas of the GMAT.

Guarantees:Manhattan Prep clearly states on their website that all payments are nonrefundable and the company does not provide refunds to students for any reason. Most of the GMAT online prep courses on our list do offer a higher score guarantee, even though they aren’t used all that often; if a guarantee is essential for you, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

Bottom Line: Manhattan Prep provides a comprehensive GMAT course that covers all the bases for you to score high. We don’t find it as efficient of a process as Princeton Review or Kaplan, but if you want a large amount of practice problems, Manhattan Prep is a great option.

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Economist Education vs. Magoosh

Standard classrooms or college courses often remind people of dusty books and dull pencils—instead, Economist Education and Magoosh’s GMAT courses both aim to provide a cutting-edge, modern learning experience. They prioritize ease-of-use, course adaptability, and efficient material across all of their courses, but there’s still enough variety in their offerings and pricing to set them apart from each other.

Course Options and Price

Some courses might overwhelm you with online GMAT prep options; with both Economist Education and Magoosh, you only get 3. Magoosh’s 3 GMAT courses come in on the cheaper side at as low as $219 or as high as $799, and all 3 options come with 1 year of access. With Economist Education, students are paying a higher price across the board: their cheapest GMAT course costs $539, their most expensive costs $989, and they provide between 2 and 6 months of course access. This extra cost does come with a few premium features like essay reviews, which Magoosh doesn’t have, along with a higher amount of practice tests.

The cheapest courses from Magoosh and Economist Education’s GMAT services only address the Quantitative section of the test, so you can’t go with these options and expect a comprehensive overview of the exam. The most expensive courses from both companies include live 1-on-1 tutoring sessions, though Economist Education has tutoring with every course package, while Magoosh doesn’t. Lastly, both companies have higher score guarantees. With Magoosh GMAT, students get a guaranteed 50-point increase, while Economist Education’s GMAT Tutor gives students a guaranteed 70-point improvement, though these only apply to the more expensive packages from each company.

Overall

It’s clear that Economist Education and Magoosh’s GMAT offerings are similar in a lot of ways. Both emphasize online usability, come with good score guarantees, and even feature private tutoring with their most expensive packages.

However, we think Magoosh’s bang-for-your-buck beats out Economist Education’s by a good margin. Magoosh’s Premium GMAT course provides a year of access to great materials for only $249, while a similar course from Economist Education costs $589 and provides briefer access. It’s still worth noting that The Economist’s extra features—like essay review—might give students a greater value depending on their studying needs, so consider both courses and decide which best suits you.

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Manhattan Prep vs. Kaplan

While other online GMAT courses aim to be budget-friendly and accessible, Kaplan and Manhattan Prep position themselves as more prestigious and expensive packages. These companies have such similar philosophies that they’ve even partnered up to provide students with high-quality in-person classes. Though their courses are expensive, they come with additional features that every GMAT student should consider, so don’t let the dollar signs scare you away, and take a look at the individual offerings of both companies to determine which will help you make the most out of your GMAT preparation.

Course Options and Price

Both companies offer their most budget-friendly course, a self-paced online course, in the $500-$600 price range. Every other GMAT course from Manhattan Prep or Kaplan will cost at least $1200, and at most, $2600. On the whole, Kaplan’s GMAT courses are less expensive than Manhattan Prep’s, coming in at $1249 for their live online course and $2450 for their tutoring package. To compare, Manhattan Prep GMAT courses cost $1399 for their live online option, and $2450 for their tutoring package.

Even though Manhattan Prep’s courses are more expensive, they are the only company on our top GMAT course list that doesn’t include a score improvement guarantee with their services. Kaplan, on the other hand, includes a standard higher score guarantee, so if you score worse on the GMAT after taking Kaplan than you did on a previous test attempt, you can get your money back.

Overall

Both companies stand out from the rest for offering self-paced, live online, and private tutoring course options for those studying for the GMAT—this variety is a big plus for those that believe a standard self-paced course won’t be the best for them. While Manhattan Prep has a variety of books and guides, we don’t believe their materials are that much better than those provided by Kaplan, who has some of the best GMAT study materials in the business. On top of that, Kaplan’s services come in at less than their competitors, so we believe that overall, Kaplan’s GMAT prep will provide more value for students over Manhattan Prep’s.

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Best GMAT Apps

#1 Magoosh GMAT App

Magoosh takes the cake when it comes to GMAT apps, combining its natural affinity for mobile platforms with all of the resources of Magoosh’s prep course. With either a premium membership or your existing Magoosh login, you can gain access to over 1,300 practice questions, 340 video lessons, tutor assistance, progress tracking, and much more. This makes the Magoosh app a perfect companion to your existing Magoosh prep course and makes Magoosh the best app for GMAT preparation.

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#2 Manhattan GMAT Prep App

Although Manhattan Prep sank down on our list of the top courses overall, the Manhattan Prep GMAT app is one of the program’s saving graces. With this app, students get access to over 15 quizzes, 1500+ GMAT vocabulary flashcards, immediate feedback and progress tracking, and coverage of all four sections of the GMAT. Although they might rank higher overall, the truth is that the Princeton Review GMAT app and Kaplan GMAT app don’t quite measure up to Manhattan Prep. Condensing all of Manhattan Prep’s resources into a slick and useful mobile setting is useful for those who need a streamlined on-the-go study option.

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#3 Kaplan GMAT Prep App

What makes the Kaplan GMAT Prep app stand out is its ability to squeeze the full array of course features into mobile form. Including access to the Kaplan Qbank app, all Kaplan mobile apps come complete with access to the video lessons, practice questions, and other resources that you’ll find in your main self-paced or live prep course. If you thrive on traditional teaching materials, but your schedule forces you to be on the move, the Kaplan GMAT Prep app might be a good choice for you.

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Best GMAT Flashcards

#1 Magoosh GMAT Flashcards

Magoosh offers students 400 free GMAT flashcards that cover both the verbal and math sections. The verbal section drills you on the tricky idioms that you’ll find on the GMAT, and the math cards teach concepts like algebra, statistics, and geometry. The fact that these cards are not only free but plentiful makes them the best GMAT flashcards of the choices on our list. Magoosh flashcards are not only offered on the web, but can also be accessed on a downloadable mobile app.

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#2 Kaplan GMAT Flashcards

Kaplan brings up second place with a package including 260 math, 190 verbal reasoning, and 50 extra cards to help with analytical writing, integrated reasoning, and general test-taking strategies. 500 cards is the most you’ll find of the courses on our list, but it’s hard to compete with Magoosh’s missing price tag. Kaplan’s cards are available for $17 and are a great supplement to one of their study packages. You can use the cards online and in-hand.

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#3 Princeton Review GMAT Flashcards

The Princeton Review’s GMAT flashcards come in as a close third place, offering students 500 more study cards that cover verbal, math, and general GMAT test-taking tips. They can also be picked up for about $17, just like Kaplan’s, but there is no online accompaniment. Lots of students feel like studying flashcards in-hand is a great way to maximize retention, but it is always better to have a digital option whenever possible.

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What’s the Best GMAT Prep Course?

There are several top-quality options for those studying for the GMAT, including: Magoosh, Veritas Prep, and Target Test Prep, to name some of our top picks. But determining which one is best depends on factors such as your budget, your learning style, and your timeframe. We believe that Magoosh GMAT prep will provide the best bang-for-your-buck for most students, but other courses—even more expensive ones like Kaplan or Manhattan Prep’s—may be exactly what you need as an individual. To learn more about the top GMAT prep courses, take a look at our GMAT course rankings and reviews: they’ll help you find the right course FOR YOU!

Magoosh GMAT (Full Review)
Veritas Prep GMAT (Full Review)
Target Test Prep GMAT (Full Review)
Economist Education GMAT Tutor (Full Review)
The Princeton Review GMAT (Full Review)
Kaplan GMAT (Full Review)
PrepScholar GMAT (Full Review)
Manhattan Prep GMAT (Full Review)

What’s the most affordable GMAT prep course?

GMAT prep courses come in at a variety of price ranges—some of the ones featured on our top 7 GMAT course list cost as low as $99, but don’t actually cover all sections of the GMAT exam. If you want a GMAT course that is as thorough as possible and gives you ample time to study for the test, we’d recommend taking a look at a course like Magoosh’s Premium plan, which provides 1 whole year of access to quality, easy-to-use GMAT preparation materials for $249. If that price-tag seems a bit much, there are still options for you. You can check out PrepScholar’s Self-Guided Online GMAT Prep course, which comes in at a low $139, but provides only 3 months of access.

These courses are the cheapest comprehensive courses available, but if you’re only interested in reviewing the numbers-heavy sections of the GMAT—the Quantitative Reasoning and Integrated Reasoning sections—there are even cheaper options out there. PrepScholar’s Quant Package costs only $69 and provides 4 months of access, while Target Test Prep (who currently provides GMAT Quant prep courses exclusively) has a Flexible plan that costs $99 per month.

Though they offer different amounts of material, these are the most affordable GMAT prep courses online; to find out which will best fit your specific budgetary and academic needs, check out our in-depth reviews of the best GMAT prep courses, such as our Magoosh GMAT review.

What are the best GMAT study materials?

Each of the courses on our list provides quality GMAT preparation materials, but some of them offer materials in a wider variety of formats. For students that really appreciate learning with physical guides and books, this variety can be a lifesaver.

If you’re looking for the best GMAT prep books, we’d recommend you look at Kaplan GMAT prep, which provides 2 books and an MBA admissions guide with even their cheapest prep course. These materials come on top of the online quizzes, question banks, and practice tests that they provide, making their materials really well-rounded. Manhattan Prep also provides printed materials—and a unique online workbook—with their GMAT prep courses, so if you’re willing to shell out their more premium prices, you’ll be sure to get quality texts through them as well.

What’s the best GMAT prep course near me?

Nowadays, many companies in the test prep and education industry are moving their focus to online learning, but there are still plenty of GMAT prep services that teach in classroom settings for students that prefer it. The best in-person GMAT prep courses you’ll find are those from Kaplan and Manhattan Prep. These two companies have actually partnered to provide their in-person GMAT class, which is hosted at institutions across the country.

With the Kaplan + Manhattan Prep in-person course, students will receive instruction from a top 1% instructor, someone who scored in the 99th percentile on the test themselves. The course includes 27 hours of class time over 9 sessions, plus 1-on-1 sessions with an instructor to make sure you’re getting the individualized support you need. For students who believe a self-paced GMAT course won’t work, this in-person option is your best bet.

Top 13 Best GMAT Online Prep Courses of 2022