In this comprehensive Nursing.com review (rebranded from NRSNG), we’ll dive into all the details about the course, its relative benefits and drawbacks, and its standout features. By the end, you’ll have a solid idea about whether this prep course is right for you.
All About Nursing.com
Nursing.com, which was previously known as NRSNG, purports to have helped in excess of 300,000 students pass the NCLEX exam with its prep courses. Given the widespread presence on the web and its popularity, that figure makes sense. They also claim a 99.86% pass rate (backed up with an industry-leading refund guarantee).
My Thoughts on Nursing.com’s NCLEX Course
Here are my unfiltered thoughts based on my firsthand experience using Nursing.com in my own NCLEX prep work before the exam (I passed, btw).
Platform
From an aesthetic perspective, the platform isn’t as glossy as other more flamboyantly-designed prep courses, but it functions solidly. Form over function, right?
Anecdotally, I’ve heard accounts online about technical issues with signing up/accessing the course material, but I didn’t encounter any such issues myself.
The mobile app is well-designed and intuitive. I used it extensively on the road going to and from school, work, etc. If you love studying on the go, you can check out our full list of NCLEX prep apps.
Curriculum
In addition to 6,000+ practice questions, you get unrestricted access to 300+ 10-minute on-demand recorded video lessons. These come in the form of:
- Tutorials
- Guides
- Podcasts
The graphics that accompany the practice questions are rich and helpful for the visually inclined like me. I won’t say they’re superior in quality to those in UWorld or Nurse Plus Academy, for example, but they’re not sub-par either.
You also get an eBook to go along with the video and practice test questions. I referenced it a few times for supporting material on, for example, Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies (one of my weak spots), but other than that I didn’t often use it. However, who am I (or anyone) to turn down one extra resource?
The standout downside of Nursing.com compared to some other nursing options (we’ll review them head-to-head coming up) is the lack of an option for live learning.
Ideally, though, as was the case in my own experience, your NCLEX prep is really just a review of stuff you’ve already learned in your years of training at nursing school. So a lot of you probably don’t need a live instruction component.
But, if you do need live instruction, you might want to consider alternative NCLEX programs that we’ll explore later.
In addition to the lack of live instruction, there’s also a notable lack of structure to the study program. Unlike other companies, Nursing.com doesn’t clearly lay out a step-by-step study procedure; it’s more self-paced. However, the company does offer proprietary NCLEX study plans, so there is some minimal structure there.
Personally, I appreciated the freedom to bounce around between lessons and practice problems – but if you’re a naughty nurse who requires some external source of discipline to guide you and keep you on a well-laid track, you might want to consider that before joining.
Everyone (even if you don’t sign up for a paid course) can get a free weekly PDF nursing cheatsheet straight to their inbox, so you might want to check that out either to get a feel for the company’s study materials or just as a complementary study tool to go along with your overall prep.
Speaking of dipping your toes before diving in, you can get 3 days of unlimited access to the program for just $1 – no pressure. So give it a try if you’re interested; you’ve got nothing to lose.
Practice Tests
The SIMCLEX is the flagship feature of the Nursing.com prep package. The company emphasizes its practice test heavily in promotional materials and real-life NCLEX students frequently reference the SIMCLEX in their Nursing.com reviews.
Although Nursing.com’s characterization of the SIMCLEX as “the world’s most accurate NCLEX simulator” seems lofty, in my experience it might not be total hyperbole. The SIMCLEX is really a great practice test.
Similarly, the company’s untested claim that 99.86% of its students who take and pass their SIMCLEX exam end up passing the NCLEX might seem like hype – but its robust 200% refund policy backs up the talk (see refund policy section below for details).
Nursing.com engineered the practice test using an adaptive algorithm designed to mimic that on the real test. This creates a super-realistic experience for the test-taker. The SIMCLEX review design (as indicated by the ™ tag whenever the term appears) is proprietary and protected by intellectual property law.
The adaptive algorithm means that the software calibrates the difficulty of the test questions (with thousands in the repository to choose from) based on your performance as you move through the material. When you improve in your accuracy, the questions become progressively more difficult and vice versa.
Also, whether you get the answer right or wrong, you get a thorough explanation for each and every question – so you know why you got the answer correct or not.
Find more NCLEX practice with these 19 Places to Get FREE NCLEX Practice Tests
Nursing.com Review – NCLEX Options
1-Year Plan
With the 1-year plan, you actually pay $82 each month for three months of access. However, since you get an additional 9 months of bonus access, it’s effectively an annual subscription. The total cost is about $250.
In addition to everything included in the monthly subscription, here are the extra features you get with the 1-year plan:
- NCLEX review eBook
- Study plan
- NCLEX double-money back score guarantee
- 3 SIMCLEX exams
With this option, you can track your study progress as you work through the lessons and practice questions to help you pace yourself as your test date approaches.
2-Year Plan
The cost for the 2-year plan is $82/month each month for 6 months. You then get 18 additional months of access for a total of 2 years. The total cost is approximately $500.
The main advantage of the 2-year plan is that you get 5 NCLEX tests instead of just 3 with the 1-year program.
You get mostly the same study materials with the 2-year plan as the 1-year plan. The essential difference is the length of access.
30/90/180 Day Access
With the 30, 90, and 180 day access, you gain all the same features of a one or two-year plan. The difference lies in how many SIMCLEX attempts you receive, however. With the 30-day access, you’ll get 1 free SIMCLEX attempt, 3 for the 90-day, and 5 for the 180-day access. The prices are $199, $249, and $329.
What’s the Refund Policy?
Like many NCLEX prep providers, Nursing.com offers a money-back guarantee. Unlike other providers, Nursing.com review guarantee covers 200% of the course cost.
This means that, if you jump through the qualifying hoops, you can get double your investment back if you fail the NCLEX – which seems to indicate high confidence in their ability to successfully prep you.
The company dubs it their “Famous (and Semi-Crazy)” guarantee.
Here’s how to qualify for the money-back semi-lunacy:
- Pass at least one of the SIMCLEX tests
- Take the actual exam
- If you fail the exam, qualify for 200% of your money back
This is hands-down the most generous money-back guarantee I’m aware of, not only in the world of NCLEX prep but in the entire test prep industry.
In addition to the money-back guarantee, it’s worth mentioning again that you can also sign up for $1 to take a test run. Then, you can cancel your subscription to the service within 3 days hassle-free if you join the platform and don’t like what you see.
Nursing.com Reviews from REAL Students
Let’s take a sampling of the available Nursing.com reviews from real students on the web.
Reddit user Remydarr says the course is worth it and she particularly notes the convenient utility of the app during her long commutes to and from work.
Reddit user busybee comments on the quality of the NCLEX simulation (SIMCLEX) in his/her Nursing.com review:
Reddit user Key_Reflection compares and contrasts Nursing.com and another leading NCLEX prep course, UWorld:
For a more comprehensive head-to-head comparison of Nursing.com review and other NCLEX prep programs, see the “course alternatives” section below.
Lastly, check out this (mostly unbiased) video review from YouTuber Nursejanx:
Who Needs the Nursing.com Course?
Here are the nursing students who will benefit most from nursing.com’s prep course (in comparison to other options):
- You’re interested in a highly affordable monthly subscription (but with limited prep materials)
- You are interested in the best money-back guarantee on the market
- You want high-quality practice tests that mimic the real thing
If you are interested in having a hard, physical book to go along with your course, you can also consider purchasing Nursing.com’s Comprehensive NCLEX Review. This is a great investment that offers 20% off a NURSING.com course discount!
This book is 458 pages of full color review content that will help you feel prepped for the test.
Nursing.com Review Course Alternatives
Here’s how Nursing.com stacks up against other more high-profile prep courses.
Nursing.com vs UWorld
UWorld is one of the definitive leaders in NCLEX prep. You get 2,100+ NCLEX-RN questions + 2 practice tests.
UWorld costs are in the range of $129-$279 (depending on the course type), so its cost is roughly comparable to Nursing.com’s.
Unlike nursing.com, you won’t get any free trials or a score guarantee with UWorld.
Learn more of our thoughts on which course comes out on top in our in-depth Nursing.com vs Uworld NCLEX Review
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”
Nursing.com vs Nurse Plus Academy
Read our Nurse Plus Academy NCLEX Reviews
NPA is probably the most similar prep course to Nursing.com in terms of price and features.
Program costs for NPA run between $49-$139. Like Nursing.com, you can sign up for a monthly subscription with limited features.
The plentiful practice questions (2,500+) are plentiful yet less than Nursing.com’s 6,000+. However, you get access to 80 practice tests and 300+ flashcards with the higher price tier.
And, like Nursing.com, there is no live instruction offered nor do you get any physical books.
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
Nursing.com vs Simple Nursing
Simple Nursing has nearly a perfect TrustPilot rating and a 4.7/5-star rating on Facebook out of a combined 2,000+ reviews.
The quantity of available practice questions (1,500+) is significantly lower than Nursing.com’s 6,000+, but they are of excellent quality, so it’s not always about the raw figures.
Simple Nursing’s program cost is $199 for a year of access – slightly lower than Nursing.com’s $250 cost for the same period of time.
There are a few academic areas that Simple Nursing doesn’t touch but Nursing.com does, including Community Health Nursing, Communication for Nurses, and Diagnostic Testing.
Simple Nursing
A subscription NCLEX-RN course with video-based lessons and detailed analytics.
Nursing.com vs Nurse Achieve
Nurse Achieve offers 2,150+ practice questions (about a third of Nursing.com’s 6,000+), 200+ flashcards, and unlimited access to computer-adaptive tests.
You get a range of pricing options with Nurse Achieve, starting at $105 for 30 days of access to $389 for a two-year subscription. These are similar to Nursing.com’s.
The standout feature of Nurse Achieve is the unlimited attempts you get at its excellently-designed practice tests. However, there is no score guarantee.
NCLEX Practice Questions & NCLEX Review
NCLEX-RN review course with 2,100+ practice questions complete with detailed rationales as well as 200+ flashcards
Nursing.com Review FAQs
Let’s run down some frequently asked questions (FAQs) that nursing students have about Nursing.com.
Is Nursing.com worth it?
Yes. The course is well-reviewed and the 200% money-back guarantee is bulletproof.
Is Nursing.com affordable?
Yes. The monthly subscription is one of the most affordable on the market, and the lengthier options are more or less within the industry average compared to competing courses.
How accurate is SIMCLEX?
Extremely accurate. The test uses a nearly identical adaptive algorithm so you get plenty of realistic practice before the real-world exam. I can see from firsthand experience that the SIMCLEX questions are notably similar to the actual NCLEX ones.
The Bottom Line on Nursing.com
Here are the key points you should ideally take away from our Nursing.com review:
- Industry-leading best money-back guarantee
- Flexible pricing options
- Realistic, proprietary practice tests (SIMCLEX)
- Decent mobile application
- No live instruction element
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
