You made it through nursing school! Before you get to celebrating, it’s important to consider the best NCLEX review courses for your prep to actually become a nurse! The NCLEX can be quite intimidating, even for the best nursing students, so it is important to find an NCLEX review course or study schedule that you are comfortable with and fits your learning style.
Best NCLEX Prep Course Overview
| 1. Kaplan: Best Overall 2. Nursing.com: Best Budget-Friendly Course 3. Princeton Review: Best Realistic Practice 4. Nurse Plus Academy: Best for Anxious Test-Takers 5. UWorld: Best Visual Explanations 6. Hurst Review: Best Student Support 7. NCLEX Mastery: Best App |
The 8 Best NCLEX Review Courses for 2023
Kaplan NCLEX Live Online
If you’re struggling on choosing an NCLEX course – you can’t go wrong with any of Kaplan’s offerings. The choices range from self-paced and live online courses to a more simple practice pack for those looking to get some quick review in before the NCLEX.
While I’m a fan of all the courses offered by Kaplan, I want to highlight their Live Online NCLEX review course which is led by actual nurse educators. You’ll get 18 hours of classroom time in with your instructor as well as 3 full-length CATs for realistic test-day practice before your big day.
All of the practice material has been updated to reflect changes to the NGN exam so you won’t be thrown off by new question types.
Overall, I think the Live Online course still remains pretty affordable, at $525 if purchased at full price.
Top Highlights:
- 3 simulated NCLEX Exams using CAT technology
- Questions in all formats, including alternative
- Over 2,100 NCLEX questions in their QBank
- Visual explanations for answers
- 24/7 access to Live and On Demand videos as well as faculty
- Full refund if you do not pass the NCLEX exam the first time
- Practice with Kaplan’s exclusive Decision Tree
Drawback(s):
It’s a bit harder to find Kaplan’s NCLEX-RN pass rate, but at around 95%, Kaplan’s students score lower than the other advertised pass rates of competitors.
Final Verdict:
Kaplan offers the broadest array of courses in the NCLEX prep space. This is a safe choice for most NCLEX test takers with a larger budget.
Kaplan NCLEX Review
High-quality NCLEX-RN review and simulated practice tests that includes the options of live online, on-demand, and practice offerings.
- Offers live courses in-person and online
- Extensive practice tests in the style of the NCLEX
- You can access video content 24/7 on demand or through their NCLEX channel
- Unique Decision Tree method
- Expensive compared to other NCLEX prep programs
- Practice tests are known to be tougher than the NCLEX
- Many students are discouraged by low scores on Kaplan tests
Don’t do courses? Check out the best NCLEX review books!
NURSING.com
NURSING.com is known for their high-quality video lessons (over 300 videos) and an extremely high pass rate of 99.86%. NURSING.com does offer a subscription-based prep for nursing students, but the bulk of their NCLEX-related study materials are offered in either their 1 or 2-year NCLEX prep plan.
Their courses are very affordable and can be purchased for $246 for 1 year (includes 3 SIMCLEX) or $492 for 2 years (includes 5 SIMCLEX).
For those who are concerned about the quality of practice questions on the NCLEX, you can trust that the 6,000 practice questions by NURSING.com are designed to match the real NCLEX, including alternate format questions.
In addition, you will also have access to their NCLEX eBook that packs roughly 400 pages of content review into bullet-point format for a quick study guide. This is among our favorite NCLEX review courses for its price and video library.
Nursing.com has expanded its content, with its brand new study app (which made our #1 spot among the best NCLEX prep apps).
Learn more on how Nursing.com stacks up against UWorld in our in-depth review: Nursing.com vs UWorld
Top Highlights:
- 200% NCLEX Pass Money-Back Guarantee
- 3-5 SIMCLEX attempts
- Free 3-day trial on any package
- Bullet-point style eBook for quick review
- Free mobile app
Drawback(s):
The main drawback with NURSING.com is that there are no live-online or in person options.
Final Verdict:
This is a great budget-friendly on-demand course for visual learners.
NURSING.com
A comprehensive and budget-friendly NCLEX-RN course that's great for visual learners.
- Well-developed mobile application
- High-quality, exclusive NCLEX simulator (SIMCLEX) that uses test-like algorithm
- Lots of practice questions (6,000+)
- Gold standard 200% pass guarantee (double-money back guarantee)
- No live instruction option
- User interface can feel clunky and harder to navigate
The Princeton Review NCLEX-RN
The Princeton Review is newer to the NCLEX game, but they just showed up with nearly 2,000 practice questions purchased directly from the NCSBN. The remainder of the NCLEX practice questions come from their content developing team, all of whom hold either a doctorate or masters.
Above is a new question type being tested in a Princeton Review Qbank
The Princeton Review is very clear that they have purchased their practice questions directly from the NCSBN, which means these are going to offer the most realistic practice among all NCLEX prep companies listed. These questions include the 7 new question types that you’ll see on the NGN.
For each of the questions, you’ll receive detailed explanations for correct and incorrect options as well as a full score report that details areas to be improved upon. These question explanations have definitely improved from their past Qbank – I found these new explanations actually provide nuance and logic in their explanations for each question.
Top Highlights:
- 1,920 NCLEX practice questions purchased directly from the NCSBN
- Pass guarantee or your money back
- 7-day trial allows for 100% refund of course
- Affordable year-long access
- More practice questions than any other provider in this list
Drawback(s):
These are the most expensive course options across the NCLEX prep industry.
Final Verdict:
This is the best option for realistic NCLEX practice due to sourcing questions directly from the NCSBN.
The Princeton Review NCLEX-RN Prep
3,700 NCLEX practice questions (1,920 NCLEX Practice questions from NCSBN). Get 15% off with code: TPN15
- One of the most well-known and longstanding test prep companies in the world
- Updated Qbank with Next Gen NCLEX-RN questions sourced directly from NCSBN
- Live instructors are unrivaled in expertise and experience
- No books or video lessons
- More expensive than other options
- No adaptive (CAT) practice tests and only 2 self-assessments
Nurse Plus Academy
Ranking among the best NCLEX review courses in 2023 is Nurse Plus Academy. Pretty novel in the test prep world, you can actually jump in and start prepping with their free NCLEX practice tests without any registration or login required. Within this free mode, you can get a taste of their realistic computer adaptive NCLEX simulator that saves your progress (again, this is all in the free mode with no login or registration).
Should you test this free NCLEX course out and decide you’d like to purchase the course, you can invest in either a 30-day, 60-day, or full-year subscription. All of their courses include a pass guarantee, regardless of the length of prep you purchase.
The course content has been updated to reflect NGN question types and they have just recently added AI into their course with their NCLEX Genie AI. This full-fledge AI assistant is exactly what you need when trying to reference concepts.
As you can see here in Youngie’s review on Trustpilot, the AI implementation has been quite popular among students practicing for the NCLEX.
Top Highlights:
- Free mode saves progress
- All courses come with a pass guarantee
- Flashcard deck for active recall
- NCLEX Genie AI utilizes AI on the backend to aid studying
Drawback(s):
There is no live online or in person course option.
Final Verdict:
This is a good choice for nursing students if budget is the #1 priority.
Nurse Plus Academy
An affordable subscription-based NCLEX review course that's specifically designed for anxious test takers.
- Free mode available to test-drive the platform & materials with no login, registration, or credit card required
- Practice offline with the NCLEX Test Genie App
- More affordable than the average NCLEX prep course
- Pass guarantee
- No in-person/live online component option
- No physical books
UWorld
We couldn’t put together the list of the best NCLEX review courses without giving a shout out to UWorld. They offer over 3,500 questions in their QBank with the intention of challenging you as well as developing your critical thinking and analysis. Their Qbank comes with in-depth explanations and visuals to help you understand the rationale behind each question and its answers.
The UWorld QBank is pretty cool, as you can customize the exams based on your current study needs and also includes flashcards and performance graphs that you can check along the way.
For visual learners, their vivid illustrations for concepts can be extremely helpful and really help you to digest the clinical reasoning behind the right and wrong answers – and they have really beefed up their video content. With hundreds of short lecture videos, you can get more comprehensive review than ever before.
The number of self-assessment tests included depends on how long of a subscription you purchase, which can range from 1-4 tests. If you purchase a plan and decide you want more tests, you can simply purchase each for an additional $20.
I have taught at 4 different nursing schools and UWorld has helped numerous amounts of students to pass the NCLEX – which is saying something! In speaking to several students, UWorld is, unfortunately very expensive and students often struggle with the idea of paying for the resource. That said, many schools have partnered with UWorld, so there may be a chance you are able to receive reduced pricing for this course
Top Highlights:
- Visual and content-rich explanations for each question
- Effective study with multiple rationales per question
- Over 2,000 challenging questions
- Highly regarded reputation in the NCLEX industry
Drawback(s):
UWorld does not offer any sort of pass guarantee.
Final Verdict:
For visual learners looking for an on-demand prep, this is the one for you.
UWorld NCLEX RN Test Prep | 3,500+ Practice Questions
A robust Qbank that is best for supplementing your existing NCLEX-RN comprehensive prep course.
- Extensive, well-researched bank of classic and NGN questions
- Hundreds of brief lecture videos on the most important topics on the exam
- Adaptive (CAT) Practice tests mimic the format of the exam
- Multiple Self-Assessments can be purchased separately
- Tracks your improvement in a detailed manner
- Accessible with mobile app; convenient when away from home
- No live or online review course included with the subscription
- Doesn’t offer a comprehensive curriculum review
- No “pass guarantee”
Trying to decide between UWorld or Kaplan? Find out our thoughts in Uworld vs Kaplan – Which is Better for the NCLEX?
Hurst Review
With a 97% pass rate, students have really thrived after using Hurst Review for their NCLEX prep. They have a pretty robust first try pass guarantee – though you likely won’t need it.
Hurst Review practice questions track harder than the NCLEX which may be a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it. But those who can do well on the Hurst Review practice can definitely rest easy that they’ll pass on the first try when going in for the real thing.
Top Highlights:
- 4 simulated NCLEX tests with at least 30% alternate format questions
- High quality support from nursing coaches
- Question review options allow for flashcards or quiz mode
- Access to specialty topic lectures
Drawback(s):
Questions are noticeably harder than the real NCLEX
Final Verdict:
A great choice for students who feel safer with a pass guarantee that goes above-and-beyond.
Hurst Review NCLEX
A fully comprehensive NCLEX-RN course that features responsive customer support and Nurse Coaches to guide your studies through core content.
- Core Content Review
- Offers in-person and live online review sessions
- On-demand video content
- Hurst’s QBank doesn’t mimic the look and feel of the NCLEX
- Gated readiness exams - users must unlock access to the 4 readiness exams by completing a live or online review or purchasing a Hurst Now subscription
NCLEX Mastery
NCLEX Mastery makes it among our list of the best NCLEX review courses because it is an extremely affordable (one version is free) way to prep for the NCLEX-RN. NCLEX Mastery offers the best app out there for NCLEX prep.
The NCLEX Mastery app is a free app that allows you to access 163 practice questions, 26 quiz questions, as well as view basic progress metrics. This free version cannot stand alone as a sole NCLEX prep method, but can be helpful if you choose to purchase one of the other NCLEX review courses in our list. If you find that you enjoy the NCLEX Mastery app, then you can choose between their Standard, Premium, or NCLEX Mastery Exam Program. These paid-for courses range from as low as $19.99 to $69.99, pricing it well below its competitors.
Their most popular NCLEX Prep option, the NCLEX Premium, gives you access to over 3,000 practice questions with detailed explanations, 250 quizzes, free online access, and audio tracks that allow you to study on the go. It will also take students through must-know terminology as well as mnemonics to help remember concepts. You can also choose to purchase two of their NCLEX simulations to test out your progress.
Top Highlights:
- Lowest priced NCLEX review options
- Mobile app as well as audio allows for truly mobile NCLEX prep
- 3,000 high-yield questions in NCLEX RN Mastery
- 540 difficult SATA questions
- 75-question pre-test
- 75-question post-test + passing probability
Drawback(s):
NCLEX simulations are sold separately, which means you may need to make an additional purchase depending on what upgrade you choose.
Final Verdict:
NCLEX Mastery is a great app for practicing NCLEX on-the-go but should be supplemented with NCLEX simulation tests or another NCLEX prep book.
Master The NCLEX-RN Exam Prep
Use Promo Code: TestPrepNerds20A to receive an additional 20% off NCLEX-RN!
- Lowest priced NCLEX review options
- Mobile app as well as audio allows for truly mobile NCLEX prep
- 3,000 high-yield questions in NCLEX RN Mastery
- Must purchase simulations separately
- Only a monthly subscription option
Related: Throw an Awesome Nurse Graduation Party
Best NCLEX Review Course FAQ
What is the best NCLEX reviewer?
Kaplan and Nursing.com are the highest-rated NCLEX-RN review courses among nursing students who pass the first time.
Is Kaplan or UWorld better for the NCLEX?
Kaplan is a better comprehensive review for the NCLEX, while UWorld will provide you with practice. The better NCLEX course will depend on whether you need more content review or practice.
How many weeks should I study for the NCLEX?
We recommend that students dedicate at least 1-2 months studying for the NCLEX-RN.
Is your favorite NCLEX prep on our list of the best NCLEX Review Courses? Let us know by commenting below!
