Can’t decide between The CE Shop and VanEd?
Then we’re here to help.
Rest assured that both online real estate schools are reliable and high-quality. You get all the necessary coursework PLUS many great features.
But which one is better for YOU?
Let’s find out in this complete The CE Shop vs VanEd comparison review. Here, you’ll know where both schools stand when it comes to:
- Availability
- Course options
- User experience
- Features
- Pricing
- Reviews
So shall we?
The CE Shop vs VanEd – A Side-by-Side Comparison Review
Before we get into the details, here’s a comparison table you can scan over for quick reference.
| The CE Shop | VanEd | |
| Available In (Pre-Licensing: | 43 states (AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, and DC) | 14 states (AL, CA, CO, FL, GA, MO, MT, NE, NY, OK, SC, TX, VA, and WA) |
| Course Options: | Pre-Licensing Exam Prep Post-Licensing Upgrade Your License Continuing Education | Pre-Licensing Exam Prep Continuing Education Post-Licensing GRI Designation Appraisal |
| User Experience: | Interactive platform, accessible with PC and mobile device, engaging lessons, great customer support… | Great instructors, audio lessons, easy-to-navigate platform… |
| Pricing (CA)*: | $129 to $445 | $100 to $160 |
| Reviews: | 4/5 stars on Trustpilot | 4.3/5 stars on Indeed |
| Features: | 4 packages to choose from 30-day money-back guarantee Customer support through phone, chat, and email | Payment plans Live customer support through phone, chat, and email |
*Pricing as of Dec. 2022
Let’s move on to the details.
Availability
The first thing you need to look at is the school’s availability.
Since real estate training requirements differ per state, it’s important to find a course catered to where you live.
Thankfully, The CE Shop is very widely available.
Here is a list of states that The CE Shop offers its pre-licensing courses to:
| Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii | Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Massachusetts Michigan | Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Nevada New Hampshire New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio | Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia | Washington West Virginia Wisconsin District of Columbia |
Compared to that, VanEd comes short — it only offers its pre-licensing courses in 14 states.
| Alabama California Colorado Florida Georgia | Missouri Montana Nebraska New York Oklahoma | South Carolina Texas Virginia Washington |
Depending on where you live, you’re more likely to find available courses with The CE Shop.
Course Options
Need to fulfill your pre-licensing education to take the licensing exam?
Need to prepare for the licensing exam?
Need to renew your real estate license?
Want to upgrade your real estate license?
The CE Shop has got you covered. It is your one-stop-shop for all things real estate education — whether it’s pre-licensing, post-licensing, continuing education, license upgrade, or exam prep.
Whatever course you need, you can find it here.
VanEd matches The CE Shop here, except for license upgrade courses.
But, as a replacement, you can study GRI Designation, as well as appraisal pre-licensing and continuing education.
So both online real estate schools offer you a great selection of course options!
User Experience
When it comes to online learning, user experience is very important. Good user experience means it’s easy to navigate the platform, lessons are engaging, and customer support is responsive.
Thanks to The CE Shop’s LEAP 2.0 platform, you can expect the curriculum to be very engaging. You’ll go through the bite-sized text, videos, images, and quizzes to help you understand and retain information.
What’s more, LEAP 2.0 is accessible through Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, so you can study whether you’re on a PC or your mobile device.
Your progress is automatically saved and synced, too. This way, you can pick up where you left off right away.
And yes, customer support is great, too.
Meanwhile, VanEd boasts audio lessons and experienced instructors.
If you’re more of an auditory learner, then you’ll love this feature. But don’t fret — you can study with text-based and video lessons, too.
VanEd makes sure to accommodate all learning styles.
On top of that, all its instructors have a combined 100+ years of experience. You’ll be learning from industry experts.
As for its platform, it’s super easy to navigate. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t tech-savvy.
Features
When it comes to features, The CE Shop offers these in packages.
Now, with The CE Shop, you can choose from 3 to 4 packages (depending on the state):
- Course Only – comes with the necessary coursework.
- Standard Package – adds an Exam Prep Edge feature and a pass guarantee.
- Value Package – includes a Building Business Courses.
- Premium Package – has additional Salesperson Post-License Course and e-Textbooks.
All packages also come with the following features:
- Digital flashcards
- Business e-books
- Study schedule
- Real estate glossary
- Career and downloadable resources
VanEd offers 1 to 3 packages (again, this depends on the state). And just like The CE Shop, each package comes with even more features.
- Standard Package – gives you access to all the required coursework, has live customer service, and offers the option for a payment plan.
- Convenience Package – has a recorded proctoring service (for states that require it)
- Premium Package – adds an exam prep program and post-licensing courses (for states that require it)
All packages come with audio lessons, educational videos, and practice quizzes, too.
Pricing
Both The CE Shop and VanEd offer affordable prices.
But which one is the cheapest of the cheap?
To compare, let’s look at the package price ranges for several states.
| The CE Shop | VanEd | |
| California: | $129 – $199 – $249 – $445 | $100 – $160 |
| Florida: | $129 – $189 – $229 – $349 | $119 – $159 – $249 |
| Texas: | $629 – $669 – $1,029 | $495 – $550 – $799 |
| Virginia: | $229 – $289 – $329 – $479 | $219 |
For each state mentioned above, VanEd’s most basic package always comes out cheaper. Plus, VanEd offers payment plans, meaning you can pay in installments.
So if you’re looking for the “more affordable” of the two, then VanEd comes out on top.
Reviews
Reviews are a great way to see what previous students thought of the school.
The CE Shop earned 4 out of 5 stars based on over 6,000 reviews in Trustpilot. That’s already an impressive score!
Let’s look at what people had to say about The CE Shop:
“The CE Shop is amazing. I have been using them for years. Thanks to The CE Shop, I have been able to get my classes done on time. They have a very quick turnaround to get your credit sent to TREC. They are inexpensive… Also, they have help for any questions you might have. I love The CE Shop. Saves me time from goingt to a classroom. They are great!! I highly recommend them… They have been a Blessing to me.”
“The CE Shop provides a great experience for students. Mobile friendly and computer friendly. 24/7 assistance available. I’ve worked with other companies for my pre licensing and had a terrible experience. If you’re looking for online classes for real estate, I highly recommend CE Shop.”
“The course material was mostly fine. The part I was not happy about was the lack of correlation between the state and national prep and the actual exam. I have failed the state twice due to the vague info and vague questions on the tests. Very dissatisfied with that. In the future try to link the questions and the content better please.”
VanEd got 4.3 out of 5 stars based on 30 reviews on Indeed. Let’s look at what its students had to say:
“I highly recommend VanEd! Their courses are fun, engaging, and comprehensive, and they have excellent instructors who always help to better understand the course content. They provide a various of real estate course including real estate licensing, continuing education, and GRI. Their courses provide a variety of elements including videos, graphics, audio, quizzes, exercises, and more, which makes them suitable for all types of learning styles. For me, it was useful to see all these to keep me interested and engaged.”
“The test prep was the best part. I think that it did have all the necessary information, and it prepared me well for the state and national exams. In my opinion, it is really good, and I would have been lost without it.”
“I wasn’t really happy with it. I would suggest you take your time looking at your options. I mean, the curriculum was fine, it was just like reading out of the book, but it would’ve been a lot helpful if they would point out the specifics for the exam. I had to look at outside sources to study for my exam, and luckily it helped me pass the exam. Take your time and figure out which online program will be best for you.”
The CE Shop vs VanEd – The Verdict
As we already mentioned, both The CE Shop and VanEd are reliable and high-quality online real estate schools.
So the “better” one will depend on what YOU need and want.
Will it be the widely available and feature-packed The CE Shop?
Or do you prefer the affordable VanEd with its different learning styles and experienced instructors?
It’s your choice.
Good luck!