Best for: students who want a big-brand safety net and content taught from scratch alongside the hours
VS
MedLife Mastery
8.1/10
Best for: students who know the content and are losing points to strategy, timing and passage approach. Tutoring from $547, or the 6-week live course at $1,800
Our call, and we are one of the two
If you have real content gaps, Kaplan will close them more thoroughly than we will, and we would rather say that than win the argument. If you already know the material and the score will not move, you would be paying Kaplan a premium for a curriculum you do not need.
Who each one is built for
Kaplan is built for students with genuine content gaps who want everything taught from scratch by the biggest name in test prep.
We built the live course for students who can already explain the material and are losing points to timing, trap answers and passage approach.
That distinction is doing most of the work on this page. Two programmes can both be good and still
be wrong for you, because they are solving different problems. Before comparing features, work out
which of the two descriptions above is actually yours.
Where Kaplan beats us
Kaplan has a far larger materials library than we do, a curriculum that covers every topic on the
AAMC outline to a consistent standard, and continuous start dates rather than one cohort a month. It has
been doing this since 1938. If you want the reassurance of the largest institution in the field, that is
a real thing to want and we cannot offer it.
We have left those rows in the table above rather than quietly dropping them. A comparison that shows
one company winning every row is an advertisement, and you should treat it as one.
Free quiz
The Unbiased MCAT Prep Course Decision Quiz
Three different problems stall an MCAT score, and buying the wrong fix costs
months. Six questions sort out which one is yours and what to spend on it. We name competitors and
free resources when they beat us, and say so when the answer is spend nothing.
No email required. Your plan appears on screen.
Transparency, before you start. We sell MCAT tutoring and courses, so here are
the rules this quiz follows.
Zero budget, nothing paid. Free resources only, and we say so.
Content gap, buy content first. From whoever does it best, which is usually not us.
Our tutoring comes up only as an optional add-on for a big gap.
Competitors named and linked when they beat us: UWorld, Kaplan, Blueprint,
ExamKrackers, Khan Academy.
We appear only where we fit, with the budget to match, and always beside a
cheaper option.
Our free MCAT resources show up wherever they fit, and they ask for nothing.
How to decide between them
Count your last full-length. If most of your wrong answers are things you did not know, Kaplan is
the better purchase and we would tell you so. If most of them are things you knew and still missed, a
second pass through a content curriculum is the most expensive mistake available to you, and that is the
case we are built for.
One practical note either way: Kaplan bundles tutoring into course tiers rather than selling hours, so
work out how many one-to-one hours the step up actually buys before you compare prices with anyone.
How MedLife Mastery and Kaplan compare, row by row
Kaplan's one-to-one tutoring against MedLife Mastery 1:1 tutoring. Like for like: this compares tutoring to tutoring, not tutoring to a course. A check marks whichever has the advantage on that row.
Kaplan
MedLife Mastery 1:1 Tutoring
Cost
Published price for tutoring
No standalone hourly rate published. Hours are bundled into course tiers running $1,599 to $7,299
$547 for 5 sessions up to $2,097 for 30. Published on the page
Cost per hour
Not stated, because the hours are not sold separately
$99/hour at the 10-session package ($997), our own published figure
Payment plans
Financing offered
Payment plans on every package, 2 or 3 instalments
Who teaches you
Tutor standard
Trained instructors; scores vary by tier
515+ scorer matched to your goal score and strongest in your weakest section
How you are matched
Assigned largely on availability
Personalised mentor matching within 24 hours
Hired for teaching ability
Trained to deliver a standard curriculum
Hired and trained for ability to teach and connect, not only for scores. We test for this
Recency on the exam
Many instructors sat the MCAT years ago
Mentors recently sat the current exam
In the sessions
Session length
Varies by package
60-minute 1:1 video sessions
Session recordings
Not published as a standard feature
AI-enhanced session recordings, used to target weak areas
Teaching focus
Content-led, following the Kaplan curriculum
Strategy-first: how you work a passage, triage and manage the clock
Prep before sessions
Not published
Your mentor prepares before every session
Extras and risk
Group help included
Depends on the tier you buy
Unlimited weekly 90-minute office hours Q&A included
Free trial or sample
No sample tutoring session
No free trial, no sample session and no consultation calls
Switching tutors
Possible through support
Free tutor switching at any time, for any reason
If you do not use the hours
Access ends with the tier
Sessions never expire; unused ones transfer to med-school application coaching
Materials library
Very large: books, QBank, full-lengths
AAMC and UWorld recommended rather than replaced
Brand and scale
Founded 1938, the largest name in test prep
Founded 2014. 374 Trustpilot reviews at 4.88, 29,000+ hours tutored
Tally on the rows above: MedLife 12, Kaplan 2, 3 even. We wrote the table, so read it as our argument rather than a neutral audit, and the rows we lose are left in.
If you are comparing courses instead
Kaplan also sells a course, so here is that side by side with our 6-Week Live MCAT Accelerator. Buy from the table that matches what you are actually shopping for.
Kaplan
MedLife 6-Week Live Accelerator
Cost
Published price
$1,599 to $7,299 by tier
$1,800, or $650/mo x3. Published on the page
What you get
Live class time
Varies by tier; classroom and online options
12 live classes, two hours each, twice a week
1:1 time included
Only in the upper tiers
Seven 60-minute 1:1 sessions included in the seat
Self-paced courses included
Course content is the product
Every self-paced strategy course included
Class size
Large classes
One cohort a month, capped at 20 to 25 students
Teaching focus
Content-led curriculum, taught from scratch
Strategy-led, with content as a gap-filler
Flexibility and risk
Start dates
Runs continuously, many start dates
One cohort a month
If your test date moves
Depends on the tier terms
Switch to the next cohort at no cost if your date moves
Guarantee
Higher Score Guarantee on qualifying tiers
Score Growth Commitment on every seat, at every price
After it ends
Access ends with the tier
A year of support afterwards; unused sessions transfer to application coaching
Materials library
Very large
AAMC and UWorld recommended rather than replaced
Tally on the rows above: MedLife 5, Kaplan 2, 4 even. We wrote the table, so read it as our argument rather than a neutral audit, and the rows we lose are left in.
What students who tried both told us
★★★★★5.0 out of 5
He also made sure to understand my strengths and weaknesses and made an effective plan to help me. I scored a 515 and recommend him as a tutor! **Our reply** (2026-02-25): > Huge congratulations on your amazing 515 score, Keshav! That is such an incredible accomplishment! 🎉 We love hearing how Sami’s clear strategies, personalized plan, and belief in you made such a difference across every section.
Keshav Patel
★★★★★5.0 out of 5
Before MedLife Mastery matched me with Mollie and Sophie, I plateaued around 496 and had 4 weeks until test day. My sciences were wonky and CARS would not pass 123. Sophie and Mollie were relatable, not-judgemental, knowledgable and took the time to understand my issues. They quickly responded to emails, changed my mindset, and supported me each step of the way.
Natasha M
Verified reviews from students who used Kaplan before working with us. See all 370+ on our student reviews page.
For a student whose score has stalled despite knowing the content, we think so, and that is the case we built for. For a student with genuine content gaps who has never learned the material properly, Kaplan may well be the better fit. We have tried to make the table above honest enough that you can tell which of those you are.
How much does Kaplan cost compared to MedLife Mastery?
Our live course is $1,800, or $650 a month over three months, and that price is on the page. Kaplan is covered in the comparison above with whatever it publishes. Where a company does not publish pricing we say so rather than guessing, because we will not print a figure we could not verify at source.
Can I trust a comparison written by one of the two companies?
Not blindly, and you should not. We wrote this table, we chose the rows, and we score ourselves highest. What we have tried to do instead of pretending to neutrality is leave in the rows we lose, name our own limitations, and tell you when a competitor is the better answer. Read it as our argument and check it against the company itself.
What are MedLife Mastery’s weaknesses?
We have no free trial and no sample session, we discontinued sales calls in 2026, and we are a much smaller brand than most of the names we compare against. Our answer to the first is free tutor switching at any time, for any reason, with sessions that never expire. If a free trial is what would make the decision for you, that is a real point against us.
What does the MedLife live course include?
A seat is $1,800 and includes 12 live classes, seven 60-minute 1:1 sessions usable from the day you enroll, every self-paced strategy course, weekly office hours, a study buddy and 24/7 Q&A. Cohorts run about one a month and are capped at 20 to 25 students. Unused sessions never expire and transfer to med-school application coaching.
