Magoosh is excited to offer you a free GRE practice test that emulates the real deal! Experience all 3 sections—Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, Analytical Writing—in an interface similar to what you’ll see on test day.
At the end of your online GRE practice exam, you’ll receive an estimated score for each section—including an AI analysis of your essay—as well as your overall GRE scaled score.
You’ll also be given a breakdown of your strengths and weaknesses by question type. Plus, every question comes with video and text explanations for you to review.
On the practice test start page, you’ll be able to select from these choices:
For the best experience and most accurate GRE practice score estimate, we do recommend that you take the full mock test if you can. But if you’re short on time, feel free to take the shorter diagnostic or practice just a single section of the exam.
The GRE became shorter in 2023, so our GRE sample test matches the current format:
The essay section always comes first, but note that the other sections are randomized.
❗ If you’re brand new to the GRE, we recommend taking a look at our guide What is the GRE? as an introduction. There, we cover in detail what the GRE is, why you should take it for graduate school, and much more.
Additionally, you may want to try some sample GRE questions before diving into the full-length test.
Just like the real GRE, our practice test is section adaptive . That is, your performance on the first Quant or Verbal section impacts the questions you’ll see on the second section. The better you do on the first section, the more challenging questions you’ll face on the next.
As with the official exam, our example GRE test allows you to navigate back and forth between questions with ease. At any time, you can jump to any question within a section. Additionally, you can flag any question to remind yourself to take another look at it later on.
First of all, if you’ve never done a GRE math problem before, we highly recommend trying some out before you take a practice test. For sample practice questions, along with a more in-depth look at the GRE math section and all of its question types, check out our GRE Math Review .
The GRE Quantitative Reasoning sections consist of several different question types:
As far as subjects, the GRE primarily tests Arithmetic, Algebra, and Geometry. If that has you nervous, you’re not alone! A lot of test-takers won’t have studied these since high school or college. But that’s OK! You may remember more than you realize, and you can always brush up on these topics. Regardless, taking a GRE practice exam will help you to see what you already know and what you need to study more of.
We’ll repeat our recommendation here: if you haven’t tried a GRE Verbal question before, now’s a great time to sample some before taking the practice test. You can find example practice problems as well as full details about the GRE Verbal section in our GRE Verbal Review .
The GRE Verbal Reasoning sections test your vocabulary, reading comprehension, and critical reasoning skills through several different question types:
The GRE essay is also known as the Issue Task. Given a brief prompt, you need to pick a side, present your argument, and support it. Think of a 5-paragraph essay with a clear thesis and conclusion, along with plenty of supporting details in the body paragraphs.
For a closer look at the GRE essay as well as a sample prompt, please see GRE Essay: Tips to Approach the GRE Analytical Writing Section .
The answer to this is complicated: it can be, but it depends!
In terms of content, the actual exam will be similar. You’ll see the same kinds of question types, in a similar distribution. You’ll also see a mix of question difficulties within a section. The difficulties will also adapt from one section to the next as well.
With that said, your particular GRE exam on test day will vary. That may be the day that the GRE has 3 challenging geometry questions, which makes it seem harder. Or perhaps all your Text Completion questions will only test vocabulary that you’re completely familiar with. And in that case, it’s going to feel easier for you.
Overall, keep in mind that different people will find different questions easy, medium, or hard depending on their training or background. A particular exam might seem like a breeze for you while being objectively difficult—or vice-versa.
Lastly, for most people, the actual test is harder psychologically. Test-day pressure can make you more anxious than when you take a practice test at home. However, with enough practice in test-like conditions, you can prepare yourself to succeed in this environment, too.
What’s the best thing you can do to prepare for variations in question difficulty on test day? Practice as much as you can with a variety of questions of all different difficulty levels. That way, nothing you see on the official exam will throw you off your game!
For more thoughts on the difficulty of the GRE in general, see How Hard is the GRE?
Congratulations on finishing the GRE practice test! But don’t stop there. Here are some important next steps to take:
First of all, remember that your GRE practice test score is just one data point. If you didn’t do as well as you had hoped, know that your score is just an indicator of where you’re at currently . Likewise, if you scored well, that’s great! But either way, there is still opportunity to learn and improve to ensure you can get the score you need on test day.
So, what score do you need? We cover this topic in GRE Score Range: What’s a Good GRE Score? Check that out to see where you currently stand both in general and in terms of percentiles .
Now that you have an idea of your strengths and weaknesses as well as how close you are to your target score, you can start thinking about how to study for the GRE . One of the best ways is to follow a study schedule . There are several different options depending on how long you have to study and which areas you want to focus on.
Also take a look at How Long Should I Study for the GRE?
Don’t let your GRE prep stop after just seeing your practice test score! For any question that you missed on the sample GRE exam, be sure to look over the explanations. That’s one of the most important steps you can take during your studies. In fact, we strongly encourage you to keep an error log . The more you can learn from your mistakes, the more you can avoid them in the future.
In the following video, watch how our GRE expert took this mock test. See what they focused on, how they approached each question, and what they highlighted to watch out for.
Also, don’t let this be the last GRE practice test that you take! It’s a good idea to take multiple practice tests over the course of your studies to prepare you for the real exam.
In fact, ETS—the makers of the GRE—offers two free GRE practice tests called POWERPREP Online . You’ll receive a score at the end of either of these exams, but there are no explanations provided. Since these are official practice exams—and thus the closest you can get to the real thing—we recommend saving them for later in your studies to serve as the best gauge of what score you can expect to receive on your upcoming test day.
ETS does still host a couple of GRE practice test PDFs on their site. However, these GRE sample papers were made before the GRE became shorter in 2023. While these are still a good source of practice questions , these practice exams do not match the updated and shortened format of the GRE in present day. Additionally, since these are paper tests, they are not able to adapt from section to section like the real GRE. Therefore, we don’t recommend using these GRE sample papers as mock tests—it’s best to stick with the online, computer-based exams for that.
If you’re looking for more questions after finishing the full practice test or want to work through some beforehand, be sure to check out these resources:
Practice tests are a key part of how to best study for the GRE . We hope this free GRE practice test is the springboard that propels you on your way to greater heights.
For even more questions and practice tests, as well as lessons covering all the content you need to know for the GRE, take a look at a Magoosh GRE Premium plan . Happy studying!
Yes, to take the Magoosh GRE Practice Test with extra time, update your profile before answering any test questions (see here for screenshots ):
Please see GRE and Disability Accommodations for more information on requesting accommodations on the actual exam.
Yes, just like the real GRE, we have a basic calculator built into the interface . On test day, you can’t use a physical calculator or an app on your phone, so it’s best to start practicing with the on-screen calculator now.
Yes! There’s no penalty for guessing on the GRE, so be sure to answer every question.
Rachel has helped students around the world prepare for various standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, TOEFL, GRE, and GMAT, and she is one of the authors of our Magoosh ACT Prep Book . Rachel has a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from Brown University, an MA in Cinematography from the Université de Paris VII, and a Ph.D. in Film Studies from University College London.
Chris graduated from UCLA with a BA in Psychology and has 20 years of experience in the test prep industry. He’s been quoted as a subject expert in many publications, including US News , GMAC , and Business Because .