All the Best GRE Prep Courses of 2020
Updated May 25, 2020
ACT scores are a key part of your college application. They can be the tipping point that gets you accepted to your dream school.
There are LOTS of ACT course options out there. Whether you like to walk yourself through a course or want to have personal assistance; whether you have a year to study or just a month; whether you want to learn through video lessons or just drill practice questions, there is a course for everyone.
How do you know which option is right for you? We’ve made it EASY! We’ve personally researched and reviewed every major ACT prep course. The comparison chart below looks all of the top ACT courses to help you figure out which ACT course is best for you!
Please note that several of the links included below are affiliate links. At no extra cost to you, we may earn a referral commission if you use one of the courses below. Please understand that affiliate commissions do not affect the content we produce or the recommendations we make. Only use the links if you have been helped by our review!
Quick Links to ACT Prep Courses and Study Materials
ACT Prep Course Rankings
Magoosh ACT (Rank: #1)
OVERALL RATING:
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.
Princeton Review ACT (Rank: #2)
OVERALL RATING:
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.
TAKE ME TO PRINCETON REVIEW ACT
Prep Expert ACT (Rank: #3)
OVERALL RATING:
Bottom Line: Prep Expert’s ACT prep courses boast expert instructors and a stellar score improvement guarantee that make them solid options for any ACT student, but a considerable workload makes them best for students with free time who need a drastically better score.
Testive (Rank: #4)
OVERALL RATING:
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.
Kaplan ACT (Rank: #5)
OVERALL RATING:
Bottom Line: In the high-end price range, The Princeton Review and PrepScholar are a bit ahead of Kaplan ACT prep in lesson quality.
ACT Online Prep (Rank: #6)
OVERALL RATING:
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 decent deal.
PrepScholar ACT (Rank: #7)
OVERALL RATING:
Bottom Line: Although PrepScholar offers a great ACT score improvement guarantee, along with several quality course packages that personalize their schedule and assignments around students’ needs, they are more expensive than competitive alternatives from other top ACT prep providers.
Princeton Review vs. Kaplan ACT Prep
When you look into the top prep courses for almost any standardized test, these 2 names are bound to come up. The Princeton Review and Kaplan are some of the most well-established brands in the test prep industry, and the variety of their offerings means that both will have an ACT prep course to suit just about any student. Although these prep services are both dependable and somewhat similar, there are subtle differences to their course packages that will probably make one or the other a slightly better ACT course option for you.
Course Options and Price
As 2 of the largest and oldest test prep companies on this list, both The Princeton Review and Kaplan ACT prep services come in all 4 course formats: in-person, live online, online self-paced and private tutoring. For the self-paced and live online courses, Kaplan’s ACT prep courses are cheaper than The Princeton Review’s. For students looking for a private tutor, they would likely get a better deal through The Princeton Review’s private ACT tutor service. Although The Princeton Review’s ACT courses are slightly more expensive, they do offer both ACT and SAT prep materials with their self-paced course, all at the same price. This is a great deal for students who plan on taking both tests or for those who haven’t decided which to take yet. Lastly, although both companies have live online ACT courses with a higher score guarantee, The Princeton Review’s score guarantees are generally more robust than Kaplan’s. For instance, they offer a more expensive live online course called the ACT 31+, which guarantees that students will score a 31 or higher on the test, putting them in the top 4% of all ACT test-takers. On top of that, students who aren’t satisfied with their test score after taking a Princeton Review course can retake their course absolutely free, even if the score they received was higher than an earlier test.
Overall
Although these companies are pretty similar, The Princeton Review’s ACT prep courses are a bit more diverse and inclusive than Kaplan’s, but they do come at a slightly higher price. For students looking for a better score guarantee or an ACT and SAT course package, go with The Princeton Review’s ACT prep. For those who’d like a slightly cheaper, but still high-quality prep experience, choosing Kaplan’s ACT prep courses is a good way to go.
TAKE ME TO THE PRINCETON REVIEW TAKE ME TO KAPLAN ACT
Magoosh vs. PrepScholar ACT Prep
These 2 courses both advertise their highly-personalized materials, which students can access at their own pace. However, it’s clear that Magoosh ACT prep services and PrepScholar ACT prep courses are provided at vastly different prices and with different teaching styles.
Course Options and Price
Magoosh is one of the few top ACT prep courses that only offers self-paced online, and when compared to PrepScholar’s expansive ACT prep course offerings, it’s clear that PrepScholar has more variety for students that need specific teaching styles for their ACT prep. PrepScholar also has more customizable ACT prep materials and scheduling than most prep courses, but they don’t hold a candle to Magoosh when it comes to true customizability and accessibility. Magoosh ACT prep comes in the form of an app that is highly-optimized for web and mobile use, and which students can navigate and practice on at whatever pace they please. Lastly, Magoosh’s ACT prep is way cheaper than PrepScholar’s ACT prep, even though both come with the same 4-point score improvement guarantee.
Overall
PrepScholar provides a more standard ACT prep experience, but Magoosh ACT prep’s cheap price, user-friendly experience, and high score improvement guarantee make it the top option for anyone willing to do their ACT prep in a self-paced online format.
Best ACT Prep App
#1 Magoosh ACT Practice Apps
This ACT Prep app is the leader of the pack 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.
#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.
Best ACT Flashcards
#1 Princeton Review ACT Flashcards
The Princeton Review ACT Flashcards give students the best quick-study resource for the ACT on our list. They include 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 2 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.
#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.
FAQs
How much do ACT prep courses cost?
ACT prep courses, like most things, have a range of prices. Nowadays, most ACT test prep services offer both budget-friendly and more expensive options, so you may be able to find an ACT course in your price range through any of these top ACT prep companies.
A low-price ACT prep course can range from as low as $100 to as high as $400. These lower-price ACT courses are often self-paced, rather than taught in-person or through live class sessions. To see an example of what these courses look like, check out Magoosh’s 1-month ACT prep package. Although they don’t usually include live instruction, courses like these come with plenty of material and instructive lessons that can seriously improve your ACT scores.
On the higher-end side of the spectrum, expensive ACT prep services have list prices between $1,000 and $2,000+. Prep Expert’s In-Person Flagship 6-week ACT Prep Course is a great example of this type of course, which often includes more intensive personal instruction.
Mid-range ACT prep courses can cost anywhere between the $400 mark and the $1,000 mark, and plenty of these are offered by the top courses we’ve listed here. Finding out which ACT prep course meets your needs without breaking the bank just takes a little bit of research. To see the specifics of what good ACT course packages include, check out our full reviews—such as our review of The Princeton Review’s ACT Prep Courses. That will give you a good idea of what various ACT prep courses from top companies cost, and what they offer in return.
What ACT prep courses are near me?
Although online learning has become much more popular in recent years, there are still countless students out there that prefer in-person learning over sitting at a screen. Luckily, plenty of the best ACT prep companies offer in-person ACT prep courses around the country.
Out of all the top test prep companies on our list, The Princeton Review’s ACT prep and Kaplan’s ACT prep are the most likely to be hosted near you. These companies hold in-person courses around the country, which are taught by their instructors and hosted at local institutions. These 2 companies are some of the most well-established brands in the industry, so you know that they’re a great option if you want to opt for something a little less virtual.
TAKE ME TO PRINCETON REVIEW TAKE ME TO PREP EXPERT ACT
What is the top ACT prep course?
Each ACT prep course offers something different, and with vastly different prices, teaching strategies, and philosophies, every one of the top ACT courses on our list has something to offer everyone. Even with all of this variety, one course stands out to us as providing the most content for the best value: Magoosh ACT prep.
With Magoosh’s cheapest ACT prep course package, students receive access to tested study schedules, hundreds of video lessons, and thousands of practice ACT questions and study materials—along with a fantastic 4-point score improvement guarantee—all for $100.
An ACT score improvement guarantee of 4 points is the best you’ll find among Magoosh’s competitors, and for such a low price, it’s hard to go wrong when you pick Magoosh ACT prep.
What is the best ACT prep book?
There are plenty of ACT prep books out there, many of which have been around for a long time. Some of the best books you’ll find, however, aren’t the standalone products you’ll find on Amazon—instead, the most helpful ACT book experience you can have usually happens thanks to books provided as part of an already-helpful ACT prep course.
Out of the top ACT prep courses on our list, The Princeton Review’s ACT prep has some of the best books. Prep Expert’s ACT courses also include a thorough 6 book series with each of their ACT prep courses; these books go over the test in general and each of the ACT’s individual sections. Lastly, Kaplan’s in-person, live online, and self-paced online ACT courses all include their most up-to-date ACT prep books.
Most ACT prep books are truly designed to accompany an ACT prep course. Because they accompany these courses, you probably won’t get the most out of them by just reading them on their own. Instead, if you know that reading is one of the methods that helps you learn best, check out some of the top ACT prep courses that we’ve mentioned here, and find out which ones offer the best reading material.
Top 9 Best ACT Prep Courses of 2020
| ACT Courses | Best For… | Course Price |
| Magoosh ACT | Best Value | $79 |
| The Princeton Review ACT | Premium Features | $299 |
| Prep Expert ACT | Top Instructors | $499 |
| Testive ACT | Live Coaching | $399 |
| Kaplan ACT | Printed Materials | $249 |
| ACT Online Prep | Cheapest | $40 |
| PrepScholar ACT Prep | Extended Access | $397 |
| Barron’s ACT Prep | Practice Questions | $99 |
| Kranse Institute ACT | Video Lessons | $599 |
Thanks for the review, how do you determine your rankings?
Makosan,
To determine our ratings we consult with successful GRE test takers, teachers, aggregate data from around the web, and compare the specific benefits and features of each course as well as testing them out ourselves when we can. We try to do as thorough of reviews as possible and remain unbaised. The goal is to lead exam takers to the review courses that best suit their needs.
Hi there. Thanks for the article a great read. I’m looking into prepscholar because they seem to have a solid product. What have you hear about them are they worth it? Thanks!
They have a 7+ point increase guarantee which is nice, but I primarily view PrepScholar as an ACT/SAT company who’s just getting their feet wet in the GRE space. I’d go with more established companies like a Magoosh, Kaplan, or Princeton Review. Best of luck!
How does the score increase work for Kaplan it seems like a good deal?
Rilan,
Great question. You have to submit a baseline score to Kaplan before using their course materials. You then would submit your test score to them if it did not increase or you were unsatisfied with your results. If your score doesn’t increase they will give you a full refund or allow you to retake again with their review materials. It’s a killer deal because unless you succeed you don’t really pay for the course. Additional details are on their site when you buy. Let us know if you have any other questions!
Thank you for this great and well-organized information! I noticed that no mention is made of ETS, the official test maker, and their test preparation material. What are your thoughts about ETS?
Hi Tony,
Great question. ETS provides great resources to help you prepare for the GRE and understand what to expect on test day. However, in my opinion, their materials alone aren’t sufficient for those really trying to maximize their score. I think the best approach is to utilize their materials alongside a full GRE prep course like those listed on this page. Hope this helps.
Best of luck!