Archer vs Kaplan for NCLEX

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through my links, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I genuinely believe help students pass.

---

Archer wins on value and Kaplan wins on structure. Archer Sure Pass gives you 3,100+ questions, live review sessions, and unlimited readiness assessments for $139-239. Kaplan gives you 3,000+ questions, the Decision Tree method, and full content review for $399-699. Unless you need your nursing content re-taught from scratch, Archer covers what Kaplan covers for roughly a third of the price.

Archer vs Kaplan at a glance

Feature	Archer Sure Pass	Kaplan NCLEX Prep
Questions	3,100+	3,000+
NGN items	1,100+ (175+ standalone, 63+ unfolding case studies)	Included, count not published
Price	$139 / $199 / $209 / $239 (30 / 60 / 90 / 180 days)	$399 self-paced / $599 live online / $699 in person
Live review	Included at every tier, plus 3-day live intensive	$599 and $699 tiers only
Readiness assessments	Unlimited	Included, limited
Content review	110+ hours of video	Full structured curriculum
Test-taking method	Taught in live review	Decision Tree
Published pass rate	98.98% for students scoring High on 4 consecutive assessments (vs 71.6% national, Q1 2025)	Not published

Where Archer is stronger

Price for what you get. Live instruction is the thing students pay Kaplan a premium for, and Archer includes it at $139. The question bank is slightly larger, the Next Generation NCLEX coverage is explicit (1,100+ items), and unlimited readiness assessments mean you can test your readiness every week instead of rationing two attempts.

The published pass rate is real but conditional. The 98.98% figure applies to students who score High on four consecutive readiness assessments. It tells you the assessments predict well; it does not tell you that buying Archer makes you pass.

Where Kaplan is stronger

Content review depth and a named method. If you left nursing school without a solid grip on pharmacology, prioritization, or delegation, Kaplan’s curriculum is built to re-teach it in order. The Decision Tree gives anxious test-takers a fixed procedure for every question. Archer’s 110+ hours of video cover the same topics but are organized as review, not as a course.

Kaplan also has the longer track record and the brand recognition that some nursing programs still steer students toward.

Which should you choose?

Your situation	Choose
Passed your program comfortably, want practice plus live review	Archer
Tight budget	Archer ($139-239)
Need Next Generation NCLEX case-study practice	Archer (1,100+ NGN items)
Need content re-taught from the beginning	Kaplan
Want in-person classes	Kaplan ($699)
Retaking after using Kaplan	Archer for a fresh question bank

The honest caveat

Kaplan’s higher price is not padding for nothing. Some students genuinely need a course, not a bank plus review sessions, and Kaplan is a better course. If you failed the NCLEX once and your readiness assessments were low across the board, that is a content problem, and content is what Kaplan sells. If your assessments were mixed and you ran out of fresh questions, that is a practice problem, and Archer is the cheaper fix.

For how both stack up against UWorld, ATI, and Hurst, see our NCLEX prep course comparison, and for a closer look at Archer alone, Is Archer Review worth it?

Pricing is current as of this writing and changes often. Check each vendor before buying.