Best NCLEX Question Banks in 2024 : Uworld Vs Kaplan Vs BoardVitals Vs Nursing.com Vs Nurse Plus Academy

Do you need help to pick the best platform to do NCLEX practice questions? If you do, then this post is for you because we have stacked up UWorld, Kaplan, and BoardVitals alongside each other to help you figure out the most suitable option.

Comparing Best NCLEX Question Banks

The NCLEX has been known to be a grueling exam that requires you to maximize your study sessions. While it is impossible to get a perfect score, the questions bank below will help in becoming more comfortable with the questions and allowing you to develop an effective test-taking strategy.

UWorld NCLEX

UWorld is one of the top NCLEX review programs that focus on delivering the best questions and explanations to nursing students. Its question bank is developed with the main goal of pushing the user and driving them to achieve greater critical thinking skills, which are exceptionally crucial to pass the nurse exam.

Content : The questions in UWorld’s question bank are rather straightforward. However, the rationales are so detailed that it sometimes feels like reading a long paragraph that complicates the question even more. Still, the questions are very similar to the ones on the real test, making it a reliable option for nursing students.

Progress Tracker: One great thing about UWorld’s question bank is that it monitors and keeps track of your record while you are answering the questions. You can also see how well you compare against your peers so that you can target your learning objectives appropriately.

Feedback: If you take the Study Mode, UWorld will tell you how many students answered the question correctly after you submit your answer. We are surprised at first with how low the average scores were. But, then, we concluded that probably they rushed through these questions and did not think much about them.

Kaplan NCLEX

Kaplan’s question bank has been one of the popular choice among nursing students and we will not try to deny that. Besides practice questions, Kaplan also provides users with Live Kaplan access that is available 24/7 and features on-demand video courses.

Content Being one of the most renowned NCLEX test prep providers, Kaplan has armed its question bank with 2,100 practice questions accompanied by textbooks. For as low as $99, users are given access to these questions for six months. If you want to gain access to all three NCLEX-style practice tests, you must pay $399.

Progress Tracker: Users have reported that the questions on Kaplan’s question bank are neither too hard nor too easy. Moreover, they have also claimed that they can easily monitor how well they performed by checking the easy-to-understand chart, which shows the areas you need to focus more on.

Feedback: The next great thing about Kaplan is that for every question you have answered, you will be provided a link that gives you an additional explanation. In fact, there is a medical professional that may help you clarify the content in question. This is obviously a big plus for Kaplan.

BoardVitals NCLEX

Unlike other prep course providers that charge users based on facilities, BoardVitals charges customers for the NCLEX question bank based on the length of available access time. For instance, users should pay $79 for one month of access. On the other hand, they might get six months of access for $229.

Content: The question bank at Boardvitals is based on the NCLEX-RN exam model. It carries more than 3300 questions that feature comprehensive explanations and mini-lectures. According to the prep course provider’s official website, these questions were created and evaluated by experienced healthcare professionals and users can complete them in either a “Review” or “Timed” mode.

Progress Tracker: With BoardVitals, you are allowed to see your individual exam scores and the median score of every user. You may also check your percentile rank for a question in the NCLEX practice test. These features not only help you to better monitor your progress but also how well you perform against other nursing students.

Feedback: As mentioned earlier, if you want to have feedback on your performance and get detailed coverage of a medical topic, you can use the mini-lecture feature. But, if, on the other hand, you want to give feedback to Boardvitals, you can click the provided link. Customer care is also available at all times through email.

Nursing.com NCLEX

Nurse Plus Academy

The Takeaway

A disciplined, focused study routine is the key to your NCLEX success. Luckily, having the right tools, including using one of the question bank options above, will make the exam preparation process as pain-free and effective as possible. 

What to Expect from an NCLEX Question Bank?

The NCLEX is a standardized and computerized exam used by NCSBN to assess candidates’ nursing-related critical thinking skills. The final results of this exam will be based on nursing students’ real-time exam performance, so it is crucial for them to prepare adequately for it.

• Reliability

The more reliable the question bank is, the better it is at mimicking the real NCLEX exam. In other words, the questions within the Q-bank should be of the same topics, format, and difficulty level.

If the question bank is not similar to the real exam, it will do no good for you. Not only a reliable question bank helps you in familiarizing yourself with the exam format, but also in developing the best strategies to tackle those questions.

• Variety

A question bank should also provide you with a decent variety. As you may have known, the NCLEX includes a wide range of questions, including fill-in-the-blank, multiple-choice, and many other kinds of questions, so practicing with only one question variety will not be enough.

The variety of the question bank will also allow you to figure out your weaknesses. This way, you can push yourself to practice on a question variety so you can be better at it and improve your chance to nail the exam.

• Feedback

More importantly, the question bank you use should also be able to provide you with comprehensive feedback. This kind of thing will immediately tell you the areas you need to improve in and the areas you have excelled at. A feedback feature will also allow you to know how far you have progressed.

It is obvious that the NCLEX exam covers a wide range of topics and many of you may not have much time to prepare for it. That being said, spending your time on the wrong question bank can be a real waste of time. So, before choosing one, consider the above factors and see if that question bank can meet your needs.

In addition to question banks, taking NCLEX practice tests is a crucial part of exam preparation. These practice tests simulate the real exam environment, helping candidates familiarize themselves with the format and timing, identify knowledge gaps, and build confidence. Utilizing both question banks and practice tests ensures a comprehensive and effective study strategy.

FAQs about NCLEX Question Banks

Is there any free NCLEX question bank?

There are several prep course providers out there that allow nursing students to use NCLEX practice questions without charging anything. However, you should note that the questions within these free packages are limited and come with minimal features. Still, they can be useful to fill your curiosity about NCLEX question banks.

Can I practice for NCLEX without a question bank? 

There are a lot of tools besides a question bank that you can use during your NCLEX preparation period. There are a lot of study books and other resources that can provide you with the knowledge you need. However, by far, an NCLEX question is still the best way to simulate the real exam.

When is the best time to start practicing NCLEX questions?

Experts recommend that you set aside at least 10 to 12 weeks to prepare for your NCLEX exam, depending on your intended learning strategy and the materials you need to study more. Having enough preparation will allow you to focus more on the areas you struggle in and improve your test-taking strategies.