NCLEX-RN prep courses and PN classes: what they include, what they cost, and where an app fits
An NCLEX prep course or class is a structured review with lessons and practice questions, sold for a set period. This page compares three of the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN courses candidates search for most, using only what each provider lists on its own pages.
ExamReady is an app, not a course
We make ExamReady, an NCLEX prep app with a question bank and study tools. We do not sell a course or classes. Our app is the last entry of the comparison, with the same details as the courses.
Updated
NCLEX test prep courses and review classes compared
Below is what each NCLEX prep course includes as the provider describes it on its own pages: the format, the question bank, how long access lasts, the price and the guarantee. We copied the facts on the date shown and did not rank the courses. The last card is our app, with the same details, so you can see what it covers and what it does not.
NCLEX-RN review courses as listed on each provider's pages on October 16, 2026
UWorld
- Format
- Self-paced question bank with review videos and adaptive (CAT) practice tests
- Question bank, as stated
- 2,600+ questions with 30 days of access, rising with the plan to 3,100+ with 360 or 730 days; 600+ NGN questions in each
- Access
- 30, 60, 90, 180, 360 or 730 days
- Price on the day we checked
- NCLEX-RN Review, 30 days: $139 (sale price on October 16, 2026; list $149)
- NCLEX-RN Review, 730 days: $449 (one price table on the page crossed out $488, the other showed no list price)
- Guarantee
None stated on the NCLEX-RN or NCLEX-PN page
- Free trial or version
- 7-day free trial with 50 sample questions
Archer Review
- Format
- Question bank and CAT, on-demand video review, a 3-day live review (23 hours), tutoring and small groups
- Question bank, as stated
- 3,100+ NCLEX-RN questions with standalone and unfolding case studies
- Access
- 1, 2, 3 or 6 months
- Price on the day we checked
- Q-Bank + CAT, 1 month: $79
- Q-Bank + CAT, 2 months: $99 (sale price on October 16, 2026; list $119)
- Q-Bank + CAT, 3 months: $129 (sale price on October 16, 2026; list $159; marked "Recommended")
- Q-Bank + CAT, 6 months: $149 (sale price on October 16, 2026; list $179)
- Q-Bank + CAT + Videos, 1 month: $99
- Q-Bank + CAT + Videos, 2 months: $109 (sale price on October 16, 2026; list $129)
- Q-Bank + CAT + Videos, 3 months: $139 (sale price on October 16, 2026; list $169; marked "Recommended")
- Q-Bank + CAT + Videos, 6 months: $179 (sale price on October 16, 2026; list $219)
- Sure PASS, 1 month: $159
- Sure PASS, 2 months: $169 (sale price on October 16, 2026; list $199)
- Sure PASS, 3 months: $189 (sale price on October 16, 2026; list $229; marked "Recommended")
- Sure PASS, 6 months: $209 (sale price on October 16, 2026; list $259)
- Intense PREP, 3 months: $399 (sale price on October 16, 2026; list $479; marked "Recommended")
- Intense PREP, 6 months: $599 (sale price on October 16, 2026; list $719)
- Guarantee
Sure PASS guarantee: a money-back refund, a program extension or a slot replacement, on the criteria in its terms
The terms, word for word
Archer Review’s Sure PASS plan comes with a program guarantee that can be redeemed in several ways on an individual student basis:
- 100% money-back refund
- Program extension
- Slot replacement
To be eligible for the Sure PASS guarantee, the student must meet the following criteria:
- Be a first-time user of the Archer Review Q-Bank
- Complete the Sure PASS program:
- Complete a minimum of 80% of the Q-Bank using the 6 or 12 week study plan
- Attend a minimum of 80% of the 3-day Live Review
- Receive four or more consecutive high or very high readiness assessments in the Archer Review Q-Bank prior to taking the official NCLEX exam.
From archerreview.com, read on October 16, 2026.
The NCLEX-RN page's plan comparison marks "Sure PASS Guarantee*" for both the Sure PASS and the Intense PREP plans. (nurses.archerreview.com)
- Free trial or version
- Question bank demo; no trial terms on the page
Hurst Review
- Format
- On-demand review, live virtual review and live in-person review
- Question bank, as stated
- 2,000+ questions with NGN case studies (1,500+ on the 30-, 60- and 90-day plan pages)
- Access
- On-demand: 30, 60, 90 or 120 days
- Price on the day we checked
- On-demand, 30 days: $159
- On-demand, 120 days: $339
- Live RN review: $399
- Guarantee
A full refund or a one-time 45-day remediation course, on the conditions in its terms
The terms, word for word
We guarantee that a student's first NCLEX® attempt will be successful if the student has completed either the Hurst Live, Hurst N-Stream, Hurst Now (online only), or Online Classroom review in its entirety* prior to test date and attempts the NCLEX® within 3 months of graduation from a U.S. or Canadian accredited school of nursing.
If a student is unsuccessful, Hurst will provide, the choice of either:
- Our one-time 45-day remediation course which must be completed within 9 months of a student's graduation date.
-OR-
- A full refund. To receive a refund, the student must:
- Notify Hurst within 2 weeks of receiving NCLEX® failure notice and promptly return all materials, including the student workbook or printed pages for online students
- Provide postmarked envelope of NCLEX® failure notice & candidate performance report (copy or actual)
*“its entirety” is defined as follows:
- For the Hurst Live or Hurst N-Stream Review:
- Completion of all Specialty Area Online Lectures
- Completion of the available 4 Readiness exams
- For the Hurst Now (online) or Online Classroom:
- Completion of all Online Lectures
- Completion of the available 4 Readiness exams
**For Hurst Now Plus or Online Classroom plus elevate students, entirety includes all of #2 plus all the videos and quizzes in the elevate modules.
From hurstreview.com, read on October 16, 2026.
- Our one-time 45-day remediation course which must be completed within 9 months of a student's graduation date.
- Free trial or version
- Free for 30 days
ExamReady (our app)
- Format
- App for iPhone and Android: question bank, NGN case studies, quiz modes, cheat sheets, Game Mode; no live classes
- Question bank, as stated
- 4,500+ NCLEX-RN and 3,100+ NCLEX-PN questions
- Access
- Premium subscription, monthly or yearly
- Price on the day we checked
- Shown on the subscription screen in the app
- Guarantee
- Pass Guarantee
- Covers: Included with every Premium subscription
- A free Lifetime Subscription if you don't pass, after at least 3 months of an active subscription, all practice questions completed and results sent within 30 days
- Money Back Guarantee
- Covers: Purchases made directly on the ExamReady website; purchases made through an app store are subject to that store's refund policies
- A refund if you don't pass, under the Exam Failure clause and the refund process of its terms:
“You may request a refund within 180 days of purchase if you did not pass your NCLEX exam, provided that NCLEX 2026 Exam Prep was your only paid preparation tool, the service was purchased at least 90 days before your scheduled exam date, and you submit all necessary proof of eligibility and exam results. Refunds are granted only after your request and documentation have been reviewed and approved by our team.”
“Access to the Service will be suspended immediately upon acknowledgment and processing of your refund request.”
- Free trial or version
- Free questions and case study questions to try before you subscribe; a free trial on the monthly plan
Sources, checked on October 16, 2026: UWorld (NCLEX-RN Review, NCLEX-PN Review); Archer Review (NCLEX-RN, NCLEX-PN, terms and conditions); Hurst Review (NCLEX-RN, on-demand review, live reviews, guarantee terms); ExamReady (Premium, pass guarantee). Prices change often; check the provider's page before you buy.
UWorld, Archer Review and Hurst Review are trademarks of their respective owners. ExamReady is not affiliated with them.
Which NCLEX review course is best? How we compared
Lists of the best NCLEX review courses usually rank the providers. We do not: we sell a competing product, and the right NCLEX prep course depends on how you study, how long you have before your test date and what you can spend. Instead, every card answers the same questions, from the provider's own pages:
- Format: live classes at fixed times, recorded lessons you watch at your own pace, or a question bank you work through alone.
- Question bank: the number of questions the provider states, and whether it mentions Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) items and case studies.
- Access: how long you can use the course after you buy it.
- Price: as listed on the date we checked, including any discount the page showed that day.
- Guarantee: what the provider promises and the conditions in its terms, which decide whether you can use it.
- Free trial: what you can try before you pay. None of the providers offers a full course for free; for the free ways to prepare, see the NCLEX prep guide.
We left out pass-rate claims: providers measure them in different ways, and NCSBN publishes the official NCLEX pass rates. The NCLEX pass rates guide explains them.
NCLEX course review: what to check before paying
An NCLEX course review written by another student tells you how the course felt to them. Before you pay, check four things on the provider's own pages:
- Refund terms. Some refunds have a short window or end once you start the course; read the refund policy before the first session.
- Guarantee conditions. Every guarantee compared here has conditions, such as testing within a set time after graduation, finishing the whole course or reaching readiness targets. Make sure you can meet them before you count on one.
- NGN coverage. The NCLEX measures clinical judgment with case studies and new item formats, so check that the questions include them. Our NCLEX question types guide lists every format.
- Question counts. Compare like with like: a count can cover one exam or both, and some providers state different counts for different plans.
NCLEX prep class formats: online, in-person or self-paced
Online or in-person: choosing an NCLEX review class
Of the providers compared here, Hurst Review lists live in-person reviews next to live virtual and on-demand ones; Archer Review lists a 3-day live review next to its question bank and videos; UWorld sells a self-paced question bank. A class with set times, online or in person, gives you a schedule; a self-paced course leaves the schedule to you.
Live or self-paced: choosing an NCLEX-RN review class
A live NCLEX-RN review class runs over a few days: Archer Review describes its live review as 3 days and 23 hours. Self-paced classes come as recorded lessons with a question bank. Either way, the practice questions are what you return to between classes, so compare the question bank as closely as the lessons.
NCLEX-PN review courses for LPN and LVN candidates
An NCLEX-PN review course follows the PN test plan, which reflects the practical nurse's scope of practice. Check that an LPN or LVN review course is written for the NCLEX-PN and not adapted from RN material. What the providers compared here list for the PN, on the same date:
- UWorld: 1,500+ NCLEX-PN questions with 30 days of access, rising to 2,000+ with 360 or 730 days; 300+ NGN questions in each; NCLEX-PN Review, 30 days: $129; NCLEX-PN Review, 730 days: $329.
- Archer Review: 1,600+ NCLEX-PN practice questions; Q-Bank + CAT, 3 months: $99 (sale price on October 16, 2026; list $119); Sure PASS, 3 months: $169 (sale price on October 16, 2026; list $199).
- Hurst Review: Separate NCLEX-PN on-demand and live reviews; prices on its NCLEX-PN pages.
- ExamReady: 4,500+ NCLEX-RN and 3,100+ NCLEX-PN questions, in the same app.
For the exam itself and our PN practice questions, see the NCLEX-PN page.
Refresher courses, crash courses and tutors
NCLEX refresher course or remediation course after a failed attempt
After a failed attempt, an NCLEX remediation course or refresher course is one way to prepare for the retake. Some boards of nursing set their own rules for retakes, so ask yours what it requires before you pay for a course. The NCLEX retake policy covers the waiting period, re-registration and fees.
Short crash courses vs a daily routine
An NCLEX crash course packs a review into a few days. It can help you see the whole test plan quickly, but the exam rewards applying knowledge, which comes from answering questions over weeks. If you take a short course, plan the daily practice around it; the NCLEX study plan shows how.
Private tutor, course or app
Archer Review lists private tutoring next to its courses. A tutor works through your weak areas with you; a course gives you a structure; an app gives you questions and feedback whenever you have time. ExamReady does not offer tutoring.
An NCLEX study course or an app: where ExamReady fits
ExamReady covers the practice part of a prep: a question bank with rationales, NGN case studies, quiz modes, a Readiness Score and cheat sheets. It has no live classes and no tutors, so it does not replace a content review course if you want one; it is what you answer questions with every day, alone or next to a course.
Not sure where to start? The NCLEX prep guide explains the four parts of a prep and links a free guide for each.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a board-approved NCLEX review course?
NCSBN, which develops the NCLEX, says in its NCLEX FAQ that it does not recommend or endorse any review courses or study materials, and suggests asking a nursing education professional. No course is required to sit the exam. If your board of nursing sets requirements, for example before a retake, ask the board.
How long is a typical NCLEX review course?
A live review runs over a few days: Archer Review's is 3 days and 23 hours. Access to the online materials is what varies most: 1 to 6 months at Archer Review, 30 to 120 days for Hurst Review's on-demand plans and 30 to 730 days at UWorld, as each provider lists it.
Can an app replace an NCLEX course?
It replaces the question bank, not the teaching. ExamReady has 4,500+ NCLEX-RN and 3,100+ NCLEX-PN questions, rationales, NGN case studies and progress tracking; it has no live classes or tutors. If you learn best from a teacher, take a course and practice with an app between classes; if you mainly need practice and feedback, an app may be enough.