GRE vs GMAT: Which Is Easier, and Which Should You Take?
Most business schools accept both tests. Many people find GRE Quant easier, while some find GRE Verbal harder, because GRE vocabulary must be usable as well as familiar. On the GMAT, many people find Data Insights the hardest section. Finally, your target schools and your strengths decide which test you should take. Because we teach both tests, this blog gives you all the information you need to decide, and there’s even a quiz to help you.
The GMAT is the test built for business school, and it is run by GMAC. The current GMAT launched in 2023 as the GMAT Focus Edition and dropped “Focus Edition” from its name in 2024. The older version of the GMAT is no longer offered, so the current GMAT is the only version you can take.
The GRE is run by ETS and is the main test for master’s and PhD programs in fields other than business, such as engineering and the sciences. However, most business schools now accept the GRE as well.
Is the GRE easier than the GMAT?
For some people, yes. It depends on which parts of each test play to your strengths. The table below gives you a quick first sense of which test may suit you better.
| You will probably find the GRE easier if… | You will probably find the GMAT easier if… |
|---|---|
| you read a lot in English and are comfortable with a wide range of words | you would rather reason through arguments than learn vocabulary |
| you panic when you see a full section of data tables and multi-source problems | your geometry is rusty, since the GMAT has no geometry questions |
| you tend to change answers when you review them, or you prefer to skip questions and come back to them later | you tend to settle on an answer before moving to the next question, and you want more time per question |
| you are comfortable writing a full essay in 30 minutes | you would rather not write an essay on test day |
How do the two tests compare?
| GMAT | GRE | |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal |
|
|
| Quant |
|
|
| Data Insights |
|
|
| Essay | None | One essay, 30 minutes |
| Sections, questions, and time per question |
|
|
| Total time | 2 hours 15 minutes, with an optional 10-minute break | 1 hour 58 minutes, no break |
| Section order | You can take the three sections in any order you choose. | The essay always comes first. After that, the test sets the order of the two Verbal and two Quant sections, and you cannot choose it. |
| How it adapts | The difficulty adjusts after every question, based on your answers. | Your first Verbal section decides how hard your second Verbal section is. Quant works the same way. |
| Changing answers |
|
|
| All-or-nothing questionsQuestions with several parts, where every part must be right for the question to count as correct | In Data Insights | In Verbal, and in some Quant questions |
| Scores |
|
|
| Scores valid for | 5 years | 5 years |
| Fee (approximate)Local taxes may apply, and fees change, so check the official site before you book | US$275 at a test center in India, US$300 online | US$249, including scores sent to four programs |
In short, the GMAT gives you more time per question and asks more of your data skills.
The GRE gives you less time per question, asks more of your vocabulary and your writing, and lets you move freely within a section.
Source: GMAC (mba.com) and ETS official exam pages. Time per question is calculated from the official section times and question counts. Confirmed October 2026.
Things to know about the GRE
Vocabulary for the GRE: The GRE has two kinds of vocabulary questions: Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence. However, recognizing a word won’t get you far. You need to know how the word behaves in a sentence.
GRE sentences are full of common words used in a second meaning. Try this GRE-style question to see how that works.
Try a GRE-style question
Text Completion. Choose the word that best completes the sentence.
Although the critics admired the director’s ambition, their praise for the film was ______: almost every review ended with a list of the film’s flaws.
In our experience, learning the high-frequency GRE words takes at least three months of steady work. Keep in mind that even after you learn the high-frequency GRE words, you still need to make sure you can use them in the correct context.
Every part has to be right: Several GRE Verbal questions give credit only when every part of your answer is right. If you get one part wrong, the whole question is marked wrong. You get no credit for the parts you got right.
- Sentence Equivalence: You pick two answers, and both must be correct.
- Text Completion: A question can have two or three blanks that you fill with the correct words. In a three-blank question, if you get two blanks right and one blank wrong, the whole question is wrong.
- Reading Comprehension, select all that apply: You get three answer options and must select every option that is correct. For example, if the answer is A and B and you select A and C, you get no credit, even though A is correct.
Some GRE Quant questions work the same way: you select every correct answer, or you get no credit. The GMAT has all-or-nothing questions too, in Data Insights. On both tests, these questions need an approach of their own.
Source: ETS, GRE Verbal Reasoning page; GMAC, GMAT Data Insights guide. Confirmed October 2026.
The essay counts: The GRE opens with a 30-minute essay, scored from 0 to 6. In our experience, a strong essay usually runs 400 to 450 words, and producing a well-written essay of that length in just 30 minutes takes practice.
Aim for 4.0 or higher. A 4.0 is higher than the scores of about 63% of test takers, and a 4.5 is higher than about 85% of them.
Source: ETS, GRE score percentiles, test takers from July 2022 to June 2025. Confirmed October 2026.
In our experience, a good essay score is very helpful, even if your Verbal score is not as high as you hoped. A good essay score shows schools that you can handle the language well.
Quant is gentler for many, with one catch: Many students find GRE Quant gentler than GMAT Quant. The GRE also gives you an on-screen calculator, and the GRE has no Data Insights section.
The catch is geometry. The GMAT dropped geometry, and the GRE kept geometry. If you last worked out the area of a triangle in school and plan to take the GRE, start relearning geometry early.
Things to know about the GMAT
The GMAT has its own hurdles. Data Insights is a full section of data from tables, graphs, and several sources at once. Many students find Data Insights the hardest part of the GMAT.
GMAT Verbal also has Critical Reasoning, where you judge the logic of short arguments. And on the GMAT, you must answer each question before moving on, and you can change only three answers per section.
Source: GMAC (mba.com). Confirmed October 2026.
Book a free 30-minute call with an expert. Tell us your schools and where you are in your prep, and we will help you work out which test gives you the better shot.
Do business schools prefer the GMAT?
What schools say
Most business schools say they have no preference between the two tests.
Harvard Business School, Stanford, ISB, and INSEAD all state on their websites that they have no preference. London Business School says it looks at the two tests equally. NUS accepts either test.
Source: admissions pages of Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, ISB, INSEAD, and NUS; London Business School admissions blog. Confirmed October 2026.
Top schools admit plenty of students with either test
At Harvard Business School, 44% of the Class of 2027 submitted a GRE score. 34% submitted a score from the current GMAT, and 28% submitted a score from the older GMAT.
Some students submitted more than one kind of score, for example both a GRE and a GMAT score, so the figures add up to more than 100%.
Source: Harvard Business School, MBA Class of 2027 profile. Confirmed October 2026.
Scholarships
Some scholarship programs may prefer, or even require, a GMAT score. If those scholarship programs are part of your plans, check with them directly before you choose a test.
How do the scores compare?
Two different scales
The GMAT is scored from 205 to 805, and every total ends in 5. The GRE scores Verbal and Quant from 130 to 170 each, so the combined GRE score runs from 260 to 340.
No reliable conversion
ETS has a GRE-to-GMAT comparison tool. However, the tool predicts scores on the old GMAT scale, from 200 to 800, using data from 2011 and 2012.
GMAC, which runs the GMAT, says there is no reliable way to convert one score into the other.
Source: ETS, GRE Comparison Tool for Business Schools and its FAQ; GMAC (mba.com). Confirmed October 2026.
Percentiles don’t settle the comparison either, because each test ranks you against a different group of test takers.
Compare with your target schools instead
Most business schools publish a class profile. The class profile shows the range of GMAT and GRE scores of the students the school admitted.
Compare your practice scores with that range. The test on which your score sits closer to the range is usually the better choice for that school.
A weak attempt can stay private
Both tests let you choose which scores the schools see. If one attempt goes badly, you don’t have to send that score.
Which one should you take?
Start with your school list
Three questions can settle the choice before anything else:
- Do all the programs on your list accept both tests? If one program accepts only the GMAT and you want to keep it on your list, you will need a GMAT score.
- Does any school on your list refuse scores from tests taken at home? ISB, IIM Ahmedabad (PGPX), and IIM Bangalore (EPGP), for example, accept only test-center scores.
- Are you also applying to programs that accept only the GRE, such as some master’s or PhD programs in engineering or the sciences?
Source: admissions pages of ISB, IIM Ahmedabad, and IIM Bangalore. Confirmed October 2026.
Still can’t decide? Take this quiz!
If your school list doesn’t help you decide, take the quiz below. Answer eight quick questions, and based on your answers, the quiz will show you which test suits you better.
GRE or GMAT?
A smart way to go: Try both tests
Even if the quiz points you to an answer, it’s always a good idea to take a free official practice test of each, under real time pressure and on different days. That way, you know from actual experience which test suits you better.
Free official practice tests are available on the official websites of both tests:
- GMAT: Official Practice Exams 1 and 2, in the free GMAT Official Starter Kit on mba.com.
- GRE: two POWERPREP Online practice tests on the ETS website.
Source: GMAC (mba.com); ETS, POWERPREP. Confirmed October 2026.
Compare each practice score with your target schools’ class profiles. Go with the test that puts you closer to those profiles.
Switching tests midway
It’s only natural to wonder, a few months into your prep, whether you picked the right test. Plenty of students switch, some from the GMAT to the GRE and some the other way around. Each direction has its own learning curve. The good news is that some of what you have already learned for one test could easily carry across to the other.
Switching from the GMAT to the GRE
When it makes sense: We suggest switching when a student has taken two or three mock tests and Quant or Data Insights hasn’t moved, despite real effort.
What gets harder: Students who switch from the GMAT usually find four things harder in their first weeks:
- Vocabulary
- Geometry
- The faster pace, with less time per question
- The essay
Give the vocabulary at least three months: Many students switch because they have heard the GRE is easy. These students end up disillusioned when they realize learning vocabulary is not as easy as they thought.
Go in expecting at least three months of vocabulary work.
What carries over: Your Reading Comprehension work carries straight across. So does your skill with Critical Reasoning, since GRE Critical Reasoning questions sit inside Reading Comprehension.
Switching from the GRE to the GMAT
This switch is less common. Most students switch the other way.
When it makes sense: Switching to the GMAT makes sense in three situations:
- Your GRE Verbal score won’t move, despite steady vocabulary work.
- You realize that reasoning and logical thinking suit you better than vocabulary. Logical thinking helps on the GRE too, but the GMAT rewards logical thinking more directly.
- A school or scholarship on your list specifically asks for the GMAT.
What gets harder: Keep in mind that the GMAT asks for some new work:
- Data Insights is an entire section of data from tables, graphs, and several sources at once. The GRE has no such section.
- Critical Reasoning is a question type you don’t see much of on the GRE, so you will need to build that skill properly for the GMAT.
- The rules on answers are stricter: you must answer each question before moving on, and you can change only three answers per section.
What carries over: Your Reading Comprehension work carries across, and so do your arithmetic and algebra. You can also drop geometry and the essay, since the GMAT has neither.
Frequently asked questions
The GMAT costs US$275 at a test center in India and US$300 online. The GRE costs US$249, including scores sent to four programs. Local taxes may apply, and fees change, so check the official site before you book.
Source: GMAC, GMAT vs GRE (April 2026); ETS, GRE fees. Confirmed October 2026.
Both tests offer an at-home option, but not every school accepts at-home scores. ISB, IIM Ahmedabad (PGPX), and IIM Bangalore (EPGP), for example, accept only test-center scores. Check each school on your list before you book.
Source: admissions pages of ISB, IIM Ahmedabad, and IIM Bangalore. Confirmed October 2026.
The GMAT allows five attempts in any 12 months, at least 16 days apart, with no lifetime limit. The GRE allows one attempt every 21 days, up to five in any 12 months.
Source: GMAC (mba.com); ETS GRE Information Bulletin 2026-27. Confirmed October 2026.
Both tests show you an unofficial score as soon as you finish. Official GMAT scores arrive in 3 to 5 days, and official GRE scores in about 8 to 10 days.
Source: GMAC (April 2026); ETS GRE Information Bulletin 2026-27. Confirmed October 2026.
It depends. GMAT Verbal has no vocabulary questions, while GRE Verbal tests vocabulary in context, so many non-native speakers find GMAT Verbal easier to prepare for. Being comfortable with English can help on either test, but it does not guarantee a high score on either.
The GRE. Most graduate programs in other fields, such as engineering and the sciences, accept the GRE, and so do most business schools, so one score keeps both doors open.
The bottom line
Both tests can get you into a strong MBA program. Start with your school list, take the quiz and a practice test of each, and choose the test that shows you at your best.
Crackverbal has trained 50,000+ students for the GMAT and GRE since 2006. Whichever test you choose, we can help you prepare for that test.
Arun Jagannathan is the founder of Crackverbal and has spent 20 years teaching GMAT and mentoring test-takers. He focuses on turning complex GMAT concepts into practical frameworks that help students diagnose weaknesses, improve accuracy, and prepare with a clear plan.
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