The best real estate pre-licensing courses
Ranked on what Texas’s regulator publishes about how each school’s students actually perform, not on marketing claims. One provider stands clearly above the rest on that measure — and it is not the biggest or the best known.
Read the full reviews
Widest coverage, real refund, cheapest entry tier.
→Only provider with live classroom teaching.
→Best Texas pass rate, but only 17 states.
→Solid pass rate; pricing not independently verified.
→The regulator’s numbers
Texas publishes a first-attempt pass rate for every approved provider, requiring both portions to be passed on the first sitting. The state average across all providers is 56.1%. Exam counts are shown because a rate without a volume is meaningless.
| Provider | Exams | First-attempt pass rate | Against state average |
|---|---|---|---|
| AceableAgent | 8,516 | 65.8% | +9.7 |
| Colibri Real Estate | 534 | 56.7% | +0.6 |
| The CE Shop | 1,077 | 56.5% | +0.4 |
| Champions School of Real Estate | 15,547 | 53.2% | −2.9 |
| Kaplan Real Estate Education | 1,280 | 53.2% | −2.9 |
| 360training | 290 | 47.6% | −8.5 |
Texas Real Estate Commission provider data, sales agent exams, rolling 24 months to November 2025.
AceableAgent’s lead is the standout result here, and it is on real volume — 8,516 exams, second only to Champions. That is the single most useful fact on this page. Treat it as a Texas finding rather than a universal one, though: it is one state’s data, and Aceable’s Texas operation is its largest.
The catch with AceableAgent
It only offers pre-licensing in 17 states. Colibri covers 41 and Kaplan about 37. So the provider with the best published outcomes is unavailable to most of the country, and for a large share of readers the real ranking starts at second place.
Its exam-prep arm, PrepAgent, does cover all 50 states — but that is exam prep, not the state-required pre-licensing education. They are different products and only one of them satisfies your state’s requirement.
Coverage, delivery and guarantees
| Provider | Pre-licensing states | Delivery | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colibri | 41 | Self-paced, livestream | Money back on first-try failure. Void in FL, MI, NJ, TN by state law. |
| Kaplan | About 37 | Five formats including live classroom | Not money back — extended access only |
| AceableAgent | 17 | Mobile-first, app at every tier | Texas: refund only after three failed attempts |
| The CE Shop | Not verified | Self-paced online | Refund on failure, affidavit required |
Verified from each provider’s own site, September 2026.
Kaplan’s guarantee deserves scrutiny because the name misleads. The “Kaplan Commitment” refunds nothing. It gives continued free access to Kaplan resources for up to 18 months, and only if you clear a series of hoops: finish a specific video course within 14 days of enrolling, sit the exam within 30 days of finishing your education, file a form within 7 days of failing, and retake within 30 days of an instructor meeting. Competitors return money; Kaplan returns access.
Kaplan is, however, the only major provider with genuine live classroom teaching. If you learn badly from self-paced video, that may matter more than the guarantee or the pass rate.
Who owns what
Two relationships are worth knowing before you compare anything, because they make some apparent choices illusory. PrepAgent is owned by AceableAgent and bundled into Aceable’s own packages. Colibri’s exam prep is CompuCram under Colibri branding, so buying “Colibri exam prep” and “CompuCram” gets you the same engine twice.
Colibri Group also owns Allied Schools, Gold Coast Schools, McKissock and several regional brands that are frequently reviewed as independent competitors. They are not.
A note on prices
Prices are state-specific, and the same provider can differ three-fold between states — Colibri’s entry tier is $99 in California and $299 in Texas, because Texas requires 180 hours to California’s 135. Discounts are close to permanent rather than seasonal, so an advertised “was” price means very little.
We could not verify The CE Shop’s or PrepAgent’s pricing: both block automated access, and third-party figures contradict each other. Rather than repeat a number we cannot stand behind, we have left them out. Check at the checkout.
Common questions
Which should I actually buy?
If you are in one of AceableAgent’s 17 states, its published Texas outcomes make it the strongest evidence-backed choice. If not, Colibri has the widest coverage and a real money-back guarantee — unless you are in Florida, Michigan, New Jersey or Tennessee, where state law voids it. If you need live classroom teaching, Kaplan is the only option.
Does the school really change my odds of passing?
The regulator data shows a wide spread, from 65.8% down to 21.5% among Texas providers. But providers serve different candidates, so this is not proof of causation. Treat a poor rate across high volume as a genuine warning; treat a spectacular rate on a small sample as noise.
Is the most expensive tier worth it?
The entry tier satisfies the state requirement everywhere. Higher tiers add exam prep, live Q&A and tutoring. Since failing costs both a retake fee and months of delay, that insurance is rational if you are worried — and wasted money if you are not.