Is Prep36 Actually Free? Yes. Here Is the Whole Model.

Yes, Prep36 is actually free, and not in the "free until question 11" sense. All 1,026 practice questions, the full-length timed tests, and every explanation cost nothing, with no credit card required. This page lays out the entire model: what free includes, what the $14 Plus and $30 Max tiers add, and why the pricing works this way.

The Short Answer: All 1,026 Questions Are Free

Prep36's entire question bank is free. That means all 1,026 original practice questions, written for the Enhanced ACT that launched in 2025, with an instant explanation behind every single answer. It is not a sample, a trial, or a teaser. There is no credit card required to start and no countdown timer pushing you toward checkout.

The line inside the app is "No paywall at question 11." It is there because plenty of prep sites give you a short run of free questions and then put the rest behind a payment screen. Prep36 does not do that. Question 1 and question 1,026 cost the same thing: nothing.

Accounts are free too. You can sign up with Google, Apple, or email, and the account saves your progress, streaks, and scores on that device (cloud sync is not live yet). One more thing worth stating plainly: these are original questions built to match the Enhanced ACT format. They are not official ACT questions, and Prep36 is not affiliated with ACT, Inc.

Everything the Free Tier Actually Includes

Free covers far more than the question bank. Here is the full free tier as it stands:

• full-length timed practice tests that replicate the Enhanced ACT structure: English is 50 questions in 35 minutes, Math is 45 questions in 50 minutes with four answer choices, Reading is 36 questions in 40 minutes, and the optional Science section is 40 questions in 40 minutes, reported separately. Your composite is the average of English, Math, and Reading, and there is no penalty for wrong answers.
• A study plan builder. Enter your test date and target score and get a day-by-day plan.
• A first-diagnostic flow and a score forecast. After 8 or more questions each in English, Math, and Reading, the forecast projects your composite.
• A daily 5-question challenge, the same for everyone, with streaks, plus a brain puzzle warm-up worth 15 XP.
• An ACT Writing essay room: a timed 40-minute space with a four-domain rubric and model responses to score yourself against.
• XP and levels, plus a free ACT score calculator at /guides/act-score-calculator.

Plus at $14 a Month: A Toolkit, Not a Key

Plus costs $14 per month, and the most important thing to understand is what it does not do: it does not unlock questions. Every one of the 1,026 questions is free whether you pay or not. The in-app copy puts it plainly: "Free is the product. Plus is the accelerator."

What Plus adds is a set of tools on top of the free bank:

• Pace Trainer, for working on your timing.
• A custom test builder, so you can assemble your own practice sets.
• The full Mistake Museum, your missed questions in one place.
• The mastery map, a view of where you stand.
• Additional test forms beyond the free tests.

If you are the kind of student who wants to fine-tune pacing and drill specific weaknesses with purpose-built tools, Plus is made for you. If what you need is a large supply of honest practice with an explanation behind every answer, the free tier already is the product, and you can use it as long as you want without paying anything.

Max at $30 a Month, and How to Choose

Max is $30 per month and includes everything in Plus along with additional premium features. Prep36 keeps the current Max feature list on the in-app pricing page, so check there for exactly what it includes today rather than relying on a guide that could go stale.

Here is a simple way to decide between the tiers:

• Start free. Everyone should. Take the diagnostic, work through the bank, run a full timed test. For many students, free is all they will ever need.
• Consider Plus if you want pacing tools, custom practice sets, and a deeper review system for your mistakes.
• Consider Max if you want everything Prep36 offers in one plan.

There is no pressure baked into that ladder. The free tier is not a demo designed to frustrate you into paying. It is the actual product, and the paid tiers stack tools on top of it.

The Pricing Philosophy: Streaming App, Not Tutor

Prep36 states its position in its own in-app copy: "Big-name courses run $180 to $950. Prep36 keeps real practice free and prices the full bank like a streaming app, not a tutor." The practice itself, the part that actually moves scores, stays free for everyone. The paid tiers are priced like subscriptions you already understand, at $14 and $30 per month, not like a tutoring package.

Why give the questions away? Because a prep tool earns trust by being useful before it asks for anything. The free Enhanced ACT Cram Kit at prep36.com/cram-kit works the same way: entering your email unlocks it right on the page, and that is the entire cost.

Two honest disclaimers to close. The 1,026 questions are original, written to mirror the Enhanced ACT format, and they are not official ACT material. And Prep36 is not affiliated with ACT, Inc. A prep product should be able to say both of those things plainly, and this one does.

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