If you have been around the internet searching for GRE courses, the chances are that you have run into Magoosh at least once. Magoosh is one of the most prominent companies in test-prep circles, mainly due to its quality at an affordable price. The Manhattans and Kaplans of the test-prep industry, while premium-quality, the exorbitant cost puts them out of an average student’s reach.
Spending close to a thousand dollars on a GRE prep course is a luxury many can’t afford. Given the GRE’s price, especially if you have to retake it, that alone put quite a dent in your pocket.
This is why more and more test-takers opt for pocket-friendly options such as Magoosh, which costs less than half of most premium courses.
Magoosh is undoubtedly one of the most affordable programs out there. However, what if I told you that there is a GRE course that is multitudes cheaper than even Magoosh.
Costing only $5 a month, GREGMAT is the real king of affordable GRE courses on the market. It is so cheap that even a six-month subscription would cost less than most GRE prep-books.
This article will compare Magoosh and GREGMAT head to head to see which one is the better option for test-takers on a budget.
In this Article
Price Comparison
Since price is often the main concern of test-takers, let’s deal with it first. Magoosh Premium is a 6-month long GRE course that costs $179 upfront. This is their most popular course as it gives you ample time to prepare for the GRE. Their other offering is a one-month plan that costs $139, and it is geared towards those who are late to their GRE prep.
Compared to other heavy-hitters in the market, this is a really good price. If you look up premium brand-name courses such as Kaplan, Manhattan, and The Economist, Magoosh costs less than half of those.
GREGMAT, on the other hand, is on a different level altogether. They don’t have any fancy multi-leveled plans. Instead, you pay a $5 fee upfront for each month and get access to everything the program has to offer.
Going by numbers alone, it is apparent that there is no price comparison. GREGMAT is incredibly cheaper than Magoosh and the cheapest GRE course there is, period.
Conclusion: GREGMAT easily wins the price comparison as it costs significantly less than Magoosh per month.
Lessons and Delivery
Let’s start with Magoosh. Magoosh offers a total of 250 video lessons that are all five minutes long. The videos cover all three GRE measures and do a good job of teaching the different concepts and problems.
However, the videos themselves aren’t anything special. The instructor uses the marker-on-whiteboard approach to explore topics, and all videos are pre-recorded. If you are hoping to attend live-classes, there are none.
All lessons are delivered in a PowerPoint slide-by-slide format which I find mundane. However, this is strictly a subjective matter, and many people are fine with it. As far as the contents of the videos, I don’t have much to complain about. Anything that is tested on GRE can be found in the video library.
You will find all the videos under separate sections such as verbal, quant, and AWA. You are not bound to a linear progression of the course. Instead, you can jump around and study the topics at will. This is great because not everyone has the same weaknesses, and this way, you are free to study the concepts you want.
Overall, I would say that the lessons are very well organized. Everything seems to be where you would expect it, and navigating the interface is highly intuitive.
While the delivery lacks the frills of more premium courses, the substance of the videos is sublime. You wouldn’t have any problems following the instructions. Moreover, a detailed transcript of the voice-over can be found at the bottom of each video lesson.
As for GREGMAT, it is essential to know that it isn’t your typical GRE course. One thing that is common amongst traditional GRE courses is that they all have an underlying web-format. They are structured like a proper navigational website with buttons and icons taking you to different course areas.
GREGMAT doesn’t have all that. It is a far more casual website, and you can say it doesn’t have an “interface” like these other courses. Instead, GREGMAT is built more straightforwardly. There are no little icons on the sidebar. There isn’t an actual dashboard that displays the various components of the course.
You find everything in the member’s area when you purchase a subscription. The members’ area has four major sections:
- Classes
- Study Plans
- Practice
- Tools
The classes section contains a vast library of 400+ videos that are labeled by their respective topic. These videos were once delivered live and recorded at the same time to add to the library. This is perhaps one of the most significant differences between the two courses. GREGMAT, on top of having pre-recorded classes, also has three live classes every week.
The live classes are interactive, and you can ask questions live from the instructor. Each class is 1-2 hours long and contains a wealth of information. On top of all this, GREGMAT also features a live podcast every week that you can call in and ask questions.
As far as the video content is concerned, there is no denying that GREGMAT has a lot more footage. Even if you don’t want to attend the live classes, you can learn everything about the GRE from the repository of 400+ hour-long videos.
In short, Magoosh is much more organized and set up like a traditional online course whereas, GREGMAT is simple and contains far more video material.
Conclusion: I have to give this one to GREGMAT due to live-classes and interaction.
Interface and user-experience
As I said previously, Magoosh is a much more professional-looking course built like a traditional online course. You get a dashboard with various progress metrics and a sidebar for quick navigation. Videos are far better organized and broken down into topics and modules. It is no secret that Magoosh has an excellent user-interface because they have the budget of a big company to run such an operation.
If ease-of-use means a lot to you, then Magoosh might be the best choice for you. They have done a fantastic job of making a highly intuitive course with tons of features and quick-access buttons. Everything is precisely where you would want it to be. All icons and buttons are labeled, and there isn’t much to complain about. Overall, it is a smooth and hassle-free experience.
GREGMAT, on the other hand, is a considerably smaller operation. Their UI is nothing to write home about. It isn’t unusable per se, but it isn’t the best thing out there either. However, you have to keep in mind that at just $5 a month, they can’t exactly create a premium experience.
Conclusion: Magoosh wins this one due to having a much cleaner and user-friendly interface.
Practice Questions and Full-length Tests
Magoosh offers a total of 1400 practice questions and 3 full-length practice tests. Since Magoosh is a proper online course, they have their adaptive system that replicates GRE. The questions are all contained within the web-interface, and you don’t have to purchase any extra material.
This is where GREGMAT’s vulnerabilities as a full-fledge GRE course start to show. As I said earlier, GREGMAT is a way smaller project. It is lead by the founder himself, who assumes an active role on the website.
Since GREGMAT is not a high-level test-prep company in the same way Magoosh is, it doesn’t have many of the features offered by Magoosh. The most significant of these is the absence of practice questions and full-length tests.
The founder of GREGMAT believes in official practice material such as ETS GRE guides. I, too, agree with him that nothing can come close to the authenticity of official practice questions. However, the problem is that you have to purchase these guides separately.
Magoosh has a dedicated system for practice tests and questions whereas, GREGMAT relies on official GRE books.
Essentially, GREGMAT is more concerned with teaching you the various topics and methods of tackling GRE questions. The practice material is not its forte.
In a way, this is both a good thing and a bad thing. It’s good because official practice material will always be superior to third-party material. However, it is also bad because you miss out on variety.
Someone who studies from Magoosh will have access to 1400 questions and 3 tests. If they choose, they can go for the official books too if they want.
GREGMAT, on the other hand, has no practice questions or tests of its own. I always say no practice goes unrewarded, and this is especially true for GRE.
Moreover, it isn’t as if Magoosh’s practice questions and tests are outright useless. It is, in fact, quite the opposite. Sure, they can’t be as good as official GRE questions, but they do come very close, which is the next best thing.
Conclusion: Magoosh is the winner here due to its vast collection of practice questions and three full-length practice tests.
Score Guarantee and Refund Policy
Magoosh offers a 5 point score guarantee, meaning that if you fail to improve your previous score by 5 points, they will return your money. To be eligible for this, you must have taken GRE at least once before signing up for the course.
If you don’t improve at least 5 points over your previous GRE score, Magoosh will return all the money you spent on the program. No questions asked.
Moreover, if you don’t like Magoosh’s GRE course, you can ask for a 100% refund within the first week of purchase.
This is something that I don’t see in many online courses, and I appreciate Magoosh’s no-nonsense approach to customer satisfaction.
Of course, no one expects GREGMAT to refund their $5, which they don’t do, if you are wondering. The point of mentioning Magoosh’s refund and score guarantee policy is to make you aware simply so you can have peace of mind.
Conclusion: Although refunds are a lesser concern with GREGMAT, it is commendable that Magoosh has excellent policies that promote trust amongst customers.
Final Verdict
So which one should you purchase, GREGMAT or Magoosh? It is a simple decision. If you don’t want to spend close to $200 on a GRE course, go for GREGMAT. If you only want to learn the concepts and interact with the instructor and attend live classes, go with GREGMAT.
If you are happy with the idea of purchasing additional books to practice the questions and don’t care for third-party practice material, go with GREGMAT.
However, if you want an overall professional and well-organized course with all the thrills and frills, go with Magoosh. Not only is it a comprehensive solution to GRE, but you also get a ton of additional features. Most importantly, you get to use practice material that you cannot purchase from anyplace else. If you decide you want to buy the official guides too then, you have that freedom.
If you have the budget for it, I’d say go with Magoosh. Otherwise, GREGMAT is your best bet. Just make sure you buy the relevant practice material, so you don’t miss out on practice questions and tests.