What Are the Best MCAT^® Prep Books?

Those are publisher or bookseller list prices, and retailers often sell for less. Each set has its own strengths:

• Kaplan. The 2027-2028 edition came out in late summer 2026 with 3,596 pages, according to Kinokuniya's listing. Osiander's listing describes more than 500 new full-color science images, a redesigned CARS book, and content that reflects AAMC materials through the exam released in September 2025. Online access to the 3 practice tests lasts 12 months and starts when you register.
• Princeton Review. The 5th edition box set was published November 4, 2025, with 2,976 pages, according to Penguin Random House. It has 7 subject books, 3 online practice tests and, in the publisher's words, thousands of practice questions in end-of-chapter reviews and MCAT^®-style passages.
• Examkrackers. The Examkrackers site sells its package of 7 print books for $289, with 44 online mini-MCAT^®s and 3 full-length online MCAT^®s.
• UWorld. The UWorld book set has 6 science books and 2 CARS books, in print and as digital books with 180 days of access. The $289 price also includes more than 3,000 MCAT^®-level questions, 450 concept check questions and 2 UWorld practice exams, and UWorld says it comes with the 7 AAMC practice exams too.
• AAMC Official Guide. This one isn't content review. It's a 394-page guide to the exam with 120 practice questions, 30 for each section, with solutions. The AAMC Store sells it for $21 and calls it the AAMC's only print product. It was published in 2017.

Here's how the page counts compare for the options that publish them.

How much reading each option is

Total printed pages, current editions

Kaplan has 620 more pages than Princeton Review. At 20 pages a day, Kaplan would take about 180 days to finish (3,596 divided by 20) and Princeton Review about 149 days (2,976 divided by 20). That's longer than most study schedules, before you've done any practice questions.

That's why most people shouldn't read a set cover to cover. Prep companies estimate 300 to 350 hours of total study, as the study-hours breakdown covers, and reading every page would use up a big share of that. Skim the chapters on topics you already know, read closely where your practice questions show gaps, and treat the books as a reference you return to.

Not much for the content. In a June 2026 article, Kaplan wrote that "The MCAT^® has not changed in 2026," and that the AAMC hasn't altered the exam's sections, time limits, scoring scale or core science prerequisites. On a Medical School HQ podcast episode about how often prep books change, the speaker says "anything after 2015 is fine," since that's when the current exam launched, and suggests editions from 2017 or later so publishers had time to refine their material. As the episode puts it, "physics isn't changing, chemistry isn't changing."

So a used set from a few years ago will teach you the same science. What you can lose is the online part. Kaplan's 12 months of practice-test access begins at registration, so a used set may come with an access code someone has already used. If the practice tests are why you're buying, check before you pay.

Every science section uses the same four reasoning skills, and only one of them, knowledge of scientific concepts and principles, is close to straight recall. It's 35 percent of the science questions, according to the AAMC content outlines summarized in the MCAT sections guide. The other 65 percent ask you to reason through a passage, judge a study or read data. A review book mostly helps with the 35 percent.

The rest comes from practice, and the AAMC's materials are the closest match to the real exam because the AAMC writes it. The AAMC Store's product comparison lists these prices for one year of access:

The CARS Question Bank is the newest of these, and it works out to about 12 cents a question ($70 divided by 575). The free practice test guide covers which official materials cost nothing and where else to find free full-lengths.

• You want the most detail. Kaplan has the most pages of the sets that list a count, and its 2027-2028 edition is the newest.
• You want a shorter read for less money. Princeton Review is 620 pages shorter and $40 cheaper at list price.
• You want a quiz after every chapter. Examkrackers' 44 mini-MCAT^®s give you that, which matches the advice in the content review trap breakdown to test yourself early instead of rereading.
• You want the questions bundled in. UWorld includes more than 3,000 questions with its books, but the digital access runs 180 days, so time your purchase.
• You're on a tight budget. The AAMC's $21 guide and its free practice exam cover the exam's format, and the free and low-cost question packs cover the practice side.

Whichever set you pick, build your plan around practice tests first, then fit the reading in around them. The study schedule guide shows where the AAMC full-lengths go week by week. When a chapter leaves a topic unclear, look it up in the PurpleCAT concept library, which is organized around the AAMC content outline.

Last verified October 30, 2026, against publisher and bookseller listings and the AAMC Store. Prices and editions change often.