Is Khan Academy good for SAT prep? Yes: its Official SAT Prep is free, built with College Board, and covers every skill on the digital SAT. Here’s what it includes, what it’s missing, and how it compares with paid options like PrepScholar, Magoosh and UWorld.
Pros
- Completely free
- Built with College Board, which writes the SAT
- Organized by skill and difficulty, matching the digital SAT
- Free peer-tutored bootcamps through Schoolhouse.world
Cons
- Full-length practice tests live in Bluebook, not on Khan Academy
- No score guarantee
- Light on test-taking strategy
- No set schedule or teacher to keep you on track
Is Khan Academy Good for SAT Prep?
Yes, and every SAT student should use it. Khan Academy’s course was built with College Board, so the skills it drills are the ones the digital SAT tests, and it costs nothing. Pair it with the full-length practice tests in College Board’s Bluebook app and you have the core of a solid prep plan for free.
Where it falls short is structure and strategy. It teaches the content well, but it won’t hold you to a schedule, it has little on pacing and test-taking technique, and there’s no guarantee. That’s what a paid course adds.
What Khan Academy’s SAT Prep Includes
Two Courses, Organized by Difficulty
Khan Academy’s Official SAT Prep is two courses: SAT Math and SAT Reading and Writing. Each one is split into Foundations, Medium and Advanced levels within every skill area the SAT tests. For Math, that’s algebra, problem solving and data analysis, advanced math, and geometry and trigonometry. For Reading and Writing, it’s information and ideas, craft and structure, and expression of ideas and standard English conventions. There’s also a highest-difficulty challenge set and separate grammar practice.
Each lesson pairs short videos and articles with practice questions and hints, so you can start at the level that matches your score and work up.
Practice Tests
Khan Academy doesn’t host full-length tests itself. It sends you to College Board’s Bluebook app, where the official practice tests adapt to you just like the real SAT. Use them to find your weak areas, then go back to the matching Khan Academy lessons. Our list of official SAT practice tests has every one.
Free Tutoring Through Schoolhouse
Schoolhouse.world, a separate nonprofit also founded by Sal Khan, runs free 4-week SAT bootcamps with certified peer tutors for students scoring between 400 and 690 in Math or Reading and Writing. It’s the closest Khan Academy comes to live help.
How to Use Khan Academy for the SAT
- Take a full-length practice test in Bluebook first. Your score report shows which skills are costing you the most points.
- Start Khan Academy at the right level. Work the Foundations, Medium or Advanced lessons in those weak skill areas, rather than going through the course front to back.
- Put sessions on your calendar. Khan Academy won’t schedule you, so pick fixed days and times and stick to them.
- Retest every few weeks. Take another Bluebook practice test, see what moved, and shift your Khan Academy practice to whatever is still weakest.
Who Should Use Khan Academy for the SAT?
Everyone, as a starting point. It’s especially good if you’re on a tight budget, you can stick to a plan on your own, or you want to shore up specific skills alongside another course.
If you need someone to keep you accountable, want a teacher to ask, or are aiming for a specific score with a guarantee behind it, add one of the paid options below.
Khan Academy vs. Paid SAT Prep
PrepScholar vs. Khan Academy
PrepScholar costs $397, and what you get for that over Khan Academy is structure and a guarantee: more than 4,000 practice questions, over 40 hours of lessons, and a 160-point score guarantee. It uses the same official tests through Bluebook. Live small-group classes are $895, and one-on-one tutoring costs extra. See our PrepScholar SAT review.
4,000+ practice questions, 40+ hours of lessons, up to 8 official practice tests and a 160-point score guarantee.
Magoosh vs. Khan Academy
Magoosh is a monthly subscription starting at $49 a month (often on sale), with 2,500+ practice questions, more than 200 video lessons, up to 3 full-length practice tests, an AI tutor for explanations, and a 100-point score guarantee. It suits students who want more structure than Khan Academy for a few months without a big upfront cost.
2,500+ practice questions, 200+ video lessons and a 100-point score guarantee, from $49 a month.
- Affordable
- Legit mobile app
- 100+ point guarantee
- Few practice tests and questions
UWorld vs. Khan Academy
UWorld is the pick if you learn best by doing questions: 1,700+ SAT-level questions with detailed visual explanations, starting at $99 for the question bank or $299 for the full course. There’s a 7-day free trial.
1,700+ SAT questions with step-by-step visual explanations, a test generator and a mobile app.
For more options, see our list of the best SAT prep courses.
Khan Academy SAT FAQ
Is Khan Academy SAT prep free?
Yes. Khan Academy’s Official SAT Prep is completely free, with no paid tier. The full-length practice tests it points you to are free too, in College Board’s Bluebook app.
Does Khan Academy SAT prep work?
It covers the right material, because it was built with College Board around the skills the digital SAT tests. How much it raises your score depends on how consistently you use it, and on pairing it with full-length practice tests in Bluebook.
Does Khan Academy have SAT practice tests?
Khan Academy has thousands of practice questions, but its full-length practice tests are taken on College Board’s side, in the Bluebook app, where they adapt the same way the real SAT does.
Is Khan Academy enough for the SAT?
For a disciplined student, Khan Academy plus the Bluebook practice tests can be enough. If you want a set schedule, a teacher to ask, or a score guarantee, add a paid course.
The Bottom Line on Khan Academy SAT Prep
- Khan Academy’s Official SAT Prep is free, built with College Board, and matched to the digital SAT
- Take your full-length practice tests in Bluebook, then use Khan Academy to fix what they show
- It’s light on strategy and structure, so add a paid course if you need either
Free official SAT prep built with College Board: thousands of practice questions, lessons and videos.
