Let’s be honest: you’re probably not taking the GRE because you want to. You’re taking it because the GRE stands between you and your dream graduate program, whether that’s an MBA, PhD, or master’s degree that will change your career trajectory. The test prep market is overwhelming: Manhattan Prep, GregMat+, Magoosh, and dozens more options ranging from $5 per month to $1,500+. Price doesn’t indicate effectiveness, and marketing materials tell you even less.
Before diving into courses, familiarize yourself with the GRE format and take an ETS practice exam to establish your baseline score.
This guide contains courses I’ve vetted for different needs: budget-friendly options, comprehensive prep, and targeted skill-building. I’ve spent weeks researching over 50 courses to save you from that rabbit hole. Let’s break down your options.
Shortcuts
Why Take the GRE?
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is the standardized test administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Since 2023, the test has been dramatically shortened to just under 2 hours, down from nearly 4 hours. While this is better for test-takers, it means every question counts more. There’s less room for a bad section to be balanced out by a good one.
Your score can determine whether you graduate debt-free or take out six figures in loans. It can compensate for weaknesses elsewhere in your application. A mediocre undergraduate GPA can be balanced by a strong GRE score, proving you’ve matured academically.
Why Trust Us And This Guide?
At Class Central, we’re the TripAdvisor for online education. We’ve helped over 100 million learners discover their next course from more than 250,000 options. Through our Best Courses Guides, we carefully review courses to save you hours of research.
I have over five years of experience in ed-tech and have reviewed over 500 courses this year alone. I’ve personally taken multiple GRE prep courses and spent weeks analyzing student outcomes, instructor credentials, and teaching methodologies to identify what actually works.
How Did I Pick These Courses?
I spent weeks researching over 50 GRE preparation courses across platforms—from Udemy’s budget options to premium services like Manhattan Prep and Target Test Prep. I evaluated:
- Curriculum comprehensiveness: Does it cover all three GRE sections thoroughly?
- Teaching quality: Are concepts explained clearly with practical strategies?
- Practice material realism: Do questions mirror actual GRE difficulty and format?
- Student outcomes: What do verified reviews say about score improvements?
- Value proposition: Does the price match the quality and results?
I sampled video content, reviewed syllabi, analyzed Reddit discussions, and cross-referenced student testimonials to identify courses that actually deliver results. I have organized the guide by need so you can pick the one that suits you and get started.
Best GRE Courses
| Course | Duration | Instructor |
| Top Pick (GregMat+) | 500 hours | Greg Mat |
| Best for Beginners (Manhattan Prep) | 25 hours | Multiple (99th Percentile) |
| Also Great For Beginners (Udemy) | 28 hours | Subeezy and Dr. Day |
| Best for Analytical Writing (ETS) | 2 hours | None (Self-Paced) |
| Best For Quant Prep (Udemy) | 52 hours | Jackson Kailath |
| Best For Verbal Prep (Udemy) | 5.5 hours | Vince Kotchian |
| Best Free Course (GMAT Ninja) | 25 hours | Charles Bibilos |
| Free GRE Prep Resources | Varies | N.A. |
Recommended Guides
Top Pick (GregMat+)
- Duration: 500 hours
- Cost: Paid (Subscription)
- Instructor: Gregory Matthews
This is my top pick because it offers the best combination of value, community, and comprehensive content. Greg Mat (who scored 340/340) is one of the renowned names of the GRE world. The subscription gives you access to 10+ live classes per week, 900+ practice questions, 25 mini GREs, structured study plans (1-month to 3-month), and an incredibly active community.
What sets GregMat apart is the teaching quality. Greg teaches you tricks to solve questions fast and how to think through problems the way the test makers expect. His vocabulary methods (word groups, mnemonics) are particularly effective. The live classes mean you can ask questions and get real-time feedback, something premium courses charge $1,000+ for.
The platform includes everything you need: video lessons organized by topic, practice questions with detailed explanations, timed section tests, full-length practice exams, and study schedules. The community forum is incredibly supportive, with students sharing strategies, study plans, and encouragement. It is great for budget-conscious students who want comprehensive prep with community support.
Strengths
- 25 mini exams for consistent practice.
- 10+ live classes weekly with Q&A sessions.
- Active, supportive community of 100,000+ members.
- Excellent vocabulary teaching methodology.
- Regular content updates and test strategy discussions.
Drawbacks
- Self-paced learning requires discipline.
- Limited one-on-one personalized feedback.
Best for Beginners (Manhattan Prep)
- Duration: 25 hours
- Cost: $399 (Self-Paced Interact) to $1,399 (with tutoring)
- Instructor: Multiple, 99th Percentile
Manhattan Prep is the gold standard for comprehensive GRE preparation. Their self-paced interactive course includes 70+ engaging video lessons with humor and skits (making dense content actually watchable), adaptive practice tests, a mobile app with flashcards, and their famous strategy guides.
What makes Manhattan Prep exceptional is the quality of instruction. All instructors score in the 99th percentile and undergo rigorous training. The videos are professionally produced with multiple instructors, animated examples, and real humor that makes studying less painful.
The course includes access to their complete set of 8 strategy guides (normally $26 each), which are considered the best-written GRE books on the market. The Book of GRE Practice Problems alone has 2,000+ questions with detailed explanations. The practice tests use Manhattan’s own algorithm that closely mimics the real GRE’s adaptive format.
Strengths
- Highest quality video production and instructor engagement.
- Eight comprehensive strategy guides included.
- Unlimited practice problems across all materials.
- Six full-length adaptive practice tests.
- Question bank organized by difficulty and topic.
Drawbacks
- Higher price point.
- Video-heavy formats may not suit reading-focused learners.
Also Great For Beginners (Udemy)
- Duration: 28 hours
- Cost: Varies
- Instructor: Subeezy and Dr. Day
I’ve taken the GRE Complete prep, and it stands out for how systematically it builds mastery across the GRE. The instructor breaks down each core skill (math, verbal, and writing) through short, focused lessons that gradually increase in difficulty in a way that feels natural.
I liked that the course doesn’t assume prior knowledge; it starts from the basics (digits, fractions, divisibility rules) and progresses into advanced topics like quantitative comparison and data interpretation. For verbal, the strategies for text completion, sentence equivalence, and reading comprehension are practical and grounded in real test logic, not just theory.
What impressed me most was the consistent emphasis on reasoning. Each concept comes with examples and guided practice, and the detailed video explanations help you understand why an answer is correct.
Strengths
- Highly structured video lessons with step-by-step examples and logical pacing.
- Newly updated content reflecting the 2024 GRE revisions.
- Focus on reasoning and strategy, not just rote formula memorization.
- Clear essay frameworks for both Issue and Argument tasks with sample breakdowns.
- Responsive instructor support and active student discussion.
Drawbacks
- Some quiz answer options are missing.
- No dedicated offline reading or summary PDFs; content is almost entirely video-based.
Best for Analytical Writing (ETS)
- Duration: 2 hours
- Cost: Free
- Instructor: None (Self-Paced)
You can write all the essays you want, but you’ll need to practice. The ScoreItNow! Online Writing Practice is a tool that gives you direct, automated scoring aligned with ETS standards. The experience mirrors the GRE’s Analytical Writing section closely, especially if you use the “Test Experience” option, which simulates timed test conditions.
You can also choose the “Practice Option” for untimed writing if your goal is to focus on developing structure and coherence before testing under pressure. The platform’s value lies in its realism and efficiency. You write essays on authentic GRE topics, submit them online, and receive scores within seconds from ETS’s e-rater® system, the same technology used to score actual GRE essays.
Alongside your score, you get access to scored sample responses and general improvement advice, which makes it easier to calibrate your writing against GRE benchmarks. It’s practical, straightforward, and completely self-paced. It is ideal if you prefer to test, reflect, and iterate on your own schedule.
Strengths
- Provides immediate, automated scoring reflecting official GRE rubrics for progress.
- Includes Practice and Test modes for both learning and authentic simulation.
- Access sample essays with commentary to align writing with top scores.
- Enables repeated practice across topics, including six free bonus prompts.
- Promotes authentic assessment by mirroring actual GRE writing conditions.
Drawbacks
- No instructor feedback; automated scoring may miss nuanced writing issues.
- The limited topic pool (ten total) restricts long-term skill-building for frequent users.
Best For Quant Prep (Udemy)
- Duration: 52 hours
- Cost: Varies
- Instructor: Jackson Kailath
The NEW GRE 46 Hours Quant Prep lives up to its promise of taking you from absolute basics to advanced GRE quant concepts. Jackson Kailath structures the 52.5-hour curriculum around a “fundamentals-first” philosophy; you don’t jump into practice problems until you’ve built solid conceptual understanding.
The course begins with foundational topics like prime numbers, fractions, and exponents, then progresses through algebra, percentages, averages, speed/time/work, number theory, permutations/combinations, probability, and geometry (including trigonometry and coordinate geometry). Each major section ends with a quiz (20-22 questions) followed by complete video solutions, creating a reinforcement loop.
Jackson teaches you why formulas work, not just what they are. For instance, in the percentages section, he doesn’t just give you the percentage change formula; he illustrates the logic behind constant-product problems and income comparison problems through 27+ solved examples.
Strengths
- 500+ solved questions across all topics with step-by-step video explanations.
- Six full quizzes (20-22 questions each) after major topic clusters.
- Real-world contextualization in word problems.
- Visual learning support with animated explanations for geometry.
- Structured topic sequencing (topics built logically).
Drawbacks
- The instructor paces unevenly according to student reviews, rushing through complex topics like probability while dwelling on basic arithmetic.
- Lacks strategic instruction; doesn’t teach time management or skipping difficult problems.
Best For Verbal Prep (Udemy)
- Duration: 5.5 hours
- Cost: Varies
- Instructor: Vince Kotchian
The GRE Verbal Precision course is lean and effective. The videos are short, yet packed with clarity and purpose. I progressed through modules in manageable chunks, applied what I learned immediately, and stayed motivated. Meanwhile, additional resources such as the study-tracker, the private Discord support group, and the bonus vocab materials rounded out the experience.
From the start, I appreciated that Vince builds every lesson around genuine ETS GRE verbal questions. He explains exactly how the questions are written and what traps to watch for, which made a noticeable difference in how I approached each question type.
I love how practical the course is. You will learn why it works and how to transfer that understanding when you see a new question. It gives you a deeper, cleaner, more strategic verbal foundation. I would recommend combining this course with solid official mocks.
Strengths
- Uses solely real ETS verbal questions, meaning you’re learning from the same style and logic used on the test.
- Covers all major verbal question types (sentence equivalence, text completion, reading comprehension, critical reasoning) systematically.
- Clear explanations of test-day strategy: timing issues, adaptive scoring, and reading answer choices like a pro.
- Includes essay coaching (Issue and Argument tasks) with templates and examples.
- Access to the Vocab Cartoons course and a 30-page guide to cut through vocab-study frustration.
Drawbacks
- If you have a very weak verbal background, you will need supplemental foundational resources (grammar, broad reading practice).
- This course requires you to practice separately to get a better score.
Best Free Course (GMAT Ninja)
- Duration: 25 hours
- Cost: Free
- Instructor: Charles Bibilos
I’ve taken the GMAT Ninja Free GRE Course myself and found it to be both ambitious and accessible. The course covers both Quantitative Reasoning (roughly 20 hours) and Verbal / Analytical Writing sections. You begin with foundational modules like how to approach GRE Quant, Arithmetic & Algebra, Figure Geometry, and Inequalities. Then you shift into the Verbal and AWA modules.
The value lies in the clarity of explanation and the flexibility of pacing. The course lets you pick your sequence. If your Quant is weak, you can start there; if your Verbal is your concern, you can begin with that.
I found the course to be practical because I could apply the concepts directly in practice questions right after each video module rather than waiting until “later.” The course avoids gimmicks: there are no mandatory live sessions or high-cost add-ons required for the free component. Instead, you receive video lessons that you can revisit, and you build a base of understanding.
Strengths
- Clear learning progression: concept introduction moves through guided application.
- Detailed Quant breakdown uses good chunking (e.g., Geometry, Statistics, Algebra).
- Verbal/AWA addresses key GRE types, aiding learner task analysis.
- Links content to test-day performance for learning transfer.
- Flexible navigation lets you jump to topics needing more work.
- Design avoids overload; manageable modules support focused micro-learning.
Drawbacks
- Free course lacks built-in adaptive testing and tools to track timing/progress.
- Analytical Writing coverage is less detailed.
Free GRE Prep Resources
Not ready to invest in a paid course? These free resources can supplement your prep or serve as your primary study materials if you’re on a tight budget. I’ve organized them by format to match your learning style.
Official Practice Sets
- The two free practice tests from ETS PowerPrep are non-negotiable. These use the actual GRE algorithm and provide the most accurate score predictions available. Take one as a diagnostic before starting prep to establish your baseline, then save the second for 2-3 weeks before test day as a final readiness check.
YouTube Channels
- The GregMat YouTube Channel could serve as a complete GRE course for an intermediate learner. The strategy videos cover everything from sentence equivalence patterns to reading comprehension shortcuts. Many students have scored 325+ using only YouTube and official materials.
- The Tested Tutor Philip scored a perfect 340/340 and shares his exact methods through 200+ videos. His full test walkthroughs show you how a top scorer thinks through problems in real-time.
- Magoosh GRE YouTube Magoosh’s free channel contains 1,300+ videos organized by section and difficulty level. The vocabulary lessons are comprehensive, and the idiom videos help non-native English speakers significantly.
Practice Resources
- While not GRE-specific, Khan Academy‘s math review videos are excellent for students rebuilding fundamentals in algebra, geometry, and arithmetic. The practice exercises with instant feedback help solidify concepts.
- Quizlet GRE Vocabulary Sets contains thousands of user-created vocabulary flashcard sets. Search for “GRE common words” or “Magoosh GRE vocab” to find high-quality sets with 1,000-3,000 words.
Writing Resources
- Purdue OWL (Writing Resources) provides comprehensive free writing guides, grammar tutorials, and style resources. The sections on analytical writing, argument structure, and essay organization are directly applicable to GRE Analytical Writing.
Forums
- The GRE Prep Club is a massive forum with 100,000+ practice questions organized by difficulty and topic. Users discuss solution strategies, share resources, and provide detailed explanations. The “Question of the Day” feature provides daily practice.
- With 100,000+ members, r/GRE is incredibly supportive and active. Search for “score report” to find detailed debriefs from students who recently took the test, including what surprised them and what to prioritize.
Blogs
- Vince Kotchian’s Blog posts on Text Completion strategies, vocabulary building, and score improvement are data-driven and practical. Particularly strong on Verbal Reasoning approaches. He also offers free weekly live Q&A sessions on Reddit.
- Manhattan Prep GRE Blog contains hundreds of strategy articles covering every question type. The “Thursday with Ron” video series breaks down complex Quantitative problems step-by-step, showing multiple solution paths.
The right GRE prep course depends on your budget, timeline, and learning style. If you’re budget-conscious, start with GregMat+. Need a comprehensive structure? Manhattan Prep delivers. Targeting specific weaknesses? The focused Udemy courses work well.
Remember: the best course is the one you’ll actually complete. Pick one, commit to a study schedule, and start today. Your graduate program is waiting.
P.S.: Check out our other Best Courses Guides for your next learning adventure. We’ve got 200+ more guides covering everything from Python to project management.
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