GMAT vs. GRE for Business School, Plus 10+ Free GRE Prep Resources

Updated 2026/10/16

Readers often message me asking how to prepare for the GRE. Many are put off by prep courses with wildly different prices and worry they will pay for a class, gain nothing, and still miss the score they want…

This post collects free GRE resources that are genuinely useful. Some are the free materials I used myself, and the rest are good resources I found along the way. They helped me score 332 on the GRE, and the friends I studied with found them very useful too. If you are preparing for the GRE right now, these are worth your time.

You can apply to business school with the GRE

A lot of readers still assume the GMAT is for business school and the GRE is for science and engineering. In fact, more than 1,300 well-known business schools around the world now accept the GRE. Beyond science, engineering and the humanities, it is widely accepted for master’s, PhD and MBA programs in business, law and other fields. I applied to MBA programs at US business schools with the GRE myself.

There is more. If you are applying to business school and decide to take the GMAT (Focus Edition), Harvard MBA has already moved first: applicants who submit a GMAT (Focus Edition) score must also take a separate writing assessment (details: Harvard HBS MBA application process page)

GMAT vs. GRE in detail

4 advantages of the GRE

1. Wider acceptance: you can use the GRE to apply to more than 20,000 graduate, business and law schools, while the GMAT is limited to business schools.
2. Lower cost: the GRE costs up to US$80 less than the GMAT, and if you would also need the GMAC business writing assessment (GMAC™ Business Writing Assessment), you save up to US$110.
3. Easier on test takers: in the GRE quantitative reasoning section you can change your answers and use a calculator.
4. Shorter exam: the GRE takes under 2 hours.

✨ In 2023, the GRE had 4 times as many test takers as the GMAT.

GRE and GMAT side by side

	GRE	GMAT
Sections	Verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, analytical writing	Verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, data insights *The GMAT has no writing section, so some schools may require an additional writing test
Exam fee *Check the official site for current fees	About US$220 (about NT$7,100)	About US$250, plus US$30 if you need the GMAC business writing assessment (about NT$8,000 to 9,000)
Question order	Flexible; you can change answers as many times as you like within each section	Fixed; you can change up to three answers per section
Writing	Includes 1 essay that shows your analytical writing	No writing section; if you need a writing score, you book a separate 30-minute writing test
Difficulty	Section-level: the difficulty of the next section depends on how you did in the previous one, and you can freely change answers within each section	Question-level: the next question’s difficulty depends on your answers, but you cannot change the order and can only revise a limited number of answers
Score release	Scores released within 8 days	Scores usually released in 1 to 3 days, but can take up to 20 business days

10+ free GRE resources

Official free GRE practice: ETS Powerprep Practice Tests

First up is the official free online test, which many people overlook. Before you use any third-party material, work through the official resources first. They give you the most accurate feel for the exam and a better understanding of how it works.

More ETS official resources:

▶️ ETS Webinars
▶️ ETS Official Sample Questions

A roundup of common TOEFL & GRE prep resources

TOEFL Taiwan has put together a collection of common TOEFL & GRE prep resources: Google Drive link.

GRE basics: Manhattan Review

If you know nothing about the GRE yet, or you are still unsure where to focus, Manhattan Review can give you a full picture before you start. The site explains each part of the exam in detail, so you can see which skills you need, work out your strengths and weaknesses, and plan your prep around them.

GRE study planning: Goconqr

Once you understand the GRE reasonably well, preparing systematically around your strengths and weaknesses, with a proper study plan, saves a lot of effort. Goconqr is a handy tool for both studying and exam prep. You can set study goals and a prep outline for free, which helps you spend limited energy where it counts and manage your time better.

GRE practice questions: MajorTests Free Test Questions

One of the questions readers ask me most is how to drill questions efficiently, or where to find a big enough question bank.

MajorTests is a free practice site built and updated by industry experts. It has plenty of GRE questions and explains the ones you get wrong, so you always know where you slipped.

More full-length GRE practice tests:

▶️ Manhattan Prep Free GRE Practice Test
▶️ Princeton Review Free GRE Practice Test
▶️ Kaplan Free GRE Practice Test
▶️ McGraw-Hill Free GRE Practice Test
▶️ TPR (Test Prep Review) Full-Length Practice Test

More question banks:

▶️ My GRE Tutor Free Practice Questions
▶️ Veritas Prep Free Book and Questions

GRE vocabulary in use: Magoosh 1,000 Most Important GRE Words

Another common question is how to build GRE vocabulary fast. I recommend Magoosh, a vocabulary site made specifically for GRE prep. It sorts words into Basic, Intermediate and Advanced levels, so you can work up step by step and grow your vocabulary steadily.

GRE vocabulary memorization: Quizlet

Besides Magoosh, Quizlet is another good site for learning words. You can search thousands of study sets (flashcards) or build your own, and learn vocabulary in a fun, interactive way (a big help for someone like me, whose attention drifts when memorizing words).

GRE writing guide: CrunchPrep Free GRE Practice Test

For many people, writing is the weak spot on the GRE. If you want to sharpen your writing strategy or technique, try CrunchPrep. Prep experts helped write parts of the site, and it has 70+ GRE writing resources.

GRE reading practice: Readspeeder

If reading passages takes you forever, or you often run out of time, look at this site. Readspeeder trains English reading speed, comprehension and focus. It helps with exam prep, and it is also good training for the heavy English reading load you will face when you study abroad.