So you’re choosing between Kaplan and VanEd?
To be sure, both schools are reliable, high-quality, and offer many great real estate education courses…
But which is the better one for YOU?
Let’s find out in this Kaplan vs VanEd comparison review. To compare, we’ll look at 5 important factors, namely:
- Availability – is it available in your state?
- Course options – what courses and packages can you expect?
- User experience – will you have an easy time going through the platform and lessons?
- Features – what features will you enjoy besides the required courses?
- Reviews – what do previous students have to say?
With this, you’ll have a good idea of which school fits your needs and preferences more.
So let’s get started!
Kaplan vs VanEd – A Side-by-Side Comparison
Check out the table below to summarize what we’ll be talking about here.
| Kaplan Real Estate | Van Education | |
| Available in (pre-licensing): | 23 states
(AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, GA, IA, IL, KY, MO, MI, MN, NC, NM, NY, NV, PA, TN, TX, VA, SC, WA, and WI) |
14 states
(AL, CA, CO, FL, GA, MI, MO, NE, NY, OK, SC, TX, VA, and WA) |
| Course Options: | Pre-Licensing, Post-Licensing, License Upgrade, Continuing Education, and Exam Prep | Pre-Licensing, Post-Licensing, Continuing Education, Exam Prep, and GRI Courses |
| User Experience: | Has many learning formats (for some states) Simple learning method Some tech issues Decent support |
Live customer service Easy-to-follow lessons Well-organized layout Great instructors |
| Pricing (CA)*: | $179 – $949 | $100 – $160 |
| Reviews: | 4.4/5 stars on Trustpilot | 4/5 stars on Indeed |
| Features: | Exam preparations, quizzes, videos, live classes, electronic textbooks and workbooks… | Payment plans, exam preparations, quizzes… |
Let’s move on to the details.
Availability
When comparing both schools’ availability, Kaplan comes out on top.
For pre-licensing, it is available in 23 states (see states above). As for CE courses, it is available in almost all states.
So you’re sure to find a course where you live.
Unfortunately, we can’t say the same for VanEd.
Its pre-licensing is only available in 14 states (see states above), while its CE courses are available in even fewer states — only 9.
You have to be one of the lucky few to avail of VanEd’s real estate education.
Course Options
Kaplan comes with a lot of different course options. It can satisfy all your real estate education needs.
On top of that, it has 3 learning format options (only available in some states). These are:
- HomeStudy
- On-Demand
- Live
Its HomeStudy packages are mostly written material, sprinkled with videos and audio based on the tier you select.
These packages are the cheapest of the bunch, coming in with fewer features compared to the other options.
On-Demand lives up to its name, giving you a wide collection of video webinars and pre-recorded lectures. This will enhance how you learn, through video, audio, and text.
The Live option conducts weekly classes, making it the most feature-rich and interactive of them all.
What about VanEd?
Thankfully, it offers all real estate education courses, too — whether pre-licensing, post-licensing, or continuing education.
As for packages, it usually offers 2:
- Standard
- Premium
The Standard includes the whole course, with an online interactive textbook and quizzes to help you practice.
The Premium course distinguishes itself by offering additional exam prep. This will help you study comprehensively for the licensing exam.
User Experience
While Kaplan has loads of experience when it comes to online education, its real estate platform is a bit dated. The site might give you a retro feel.
What’s more, the lessons are prone to a few hiccups due to the dated software. This may cause some issues here and there.
But despite that, you can expect great customer support, easy-to-follow lessons with simple learning methods, and, of course, its different learning formats.
What’s more, its intensive features, such as videos with pop-up MCQs work great.
Overall, Kaplan’s user experience is not the best, but not the worst either.
Of the two, VanEd has a better UI.
All its lessons are easy to follow, thanks to the very organized layout. You won’t get confused here.
With VanEd, you also get a great user experience because you are learning from some of the best. All the instructors have a combined 100-year experience, so you can trust they are all experts in the field.
And yes, live customer support is available. You can easily reach out to someone for concerns and problems.
Features
When it comes to features, Kaplan provides plenty, with different packages that come with features that match the price point.
For the highest plan, the Career Launcher Plan, you get a real estate accelerator course, one-to-one classes with a mentor, joint study groups, and more. All this will help you succeed in your new career.
VanEd’s features are a bit limited compared to Kaplan’s. This could be because it has fewer packages.
But one thing we love is the payment plan.
With this, you can pay the package in installments. If you can’t afford the package at the moment, you can request to pay for it in 2 months.
How awesome is that?
Reviews
Reviews are a great way to judge how previous students rate each school.
For Kaplan, it has a 4.4 out of 5 stars based on over a thousand reviews in Trustpilot. As for VanEd, it received 4 out of 5 stars based on only 4 reviews on Indeed.
Here’s what one student had to say about Kaplan:
‘‘Best program ever. I do not like virtual learning and this program made it easy to learn concepts. The live classes with Bobra were helpful because it gave me a support network in which to ask questions.’’
And here is what a former student of VanEd had to say:
‘‘I definitely will continue my realtor training with VanEd. I find the course work easy to follow and appreciate the reasonable fees and convenience of completing courses on my own schedule. I don’t know how you could make this learning toll any better. Try it you will find it to be very convenient and educational.’’
Alternative
If you’re looking for another option, then check out Colibri Real Estate (formerly known as Real Estate Express). This online real estate school is the leading provider in the US.
What makes it stand out is its many packages and features. You get to enjoy a Pass or Don’t Pay Guarantee, a real estate dictionary, instructor Q&A, a CE Membership, and so much more.
It also has great user experience and customer support.
Conclusion
Kaplan vs VanEd…
Which online real estate school is better for YOU?
Well, that depends on what you’re looking for.
Kaplan excels when it comes to personalization. You can choose what learning format you want, whether HomeStudy, On-Demand, or Live. Plus, it is available in many states.
If you’re looking for a better UI, then VanEd is your guy. It isn’t as feature-packed as Kaplan, but it promises a simple course with very experienced instructors. With this, you’ll surely learn all you need to know and more.
So the choice is yours.
Pick wisely!