Comparison

HSPT | High School Test Prep vs TACHS Prep

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

HSPT | High School Test Prep

Prepare for the High School Placement Test with personalized practice questions and in-depth explanations for every answer. This app offers customizable study plans and timed practice modes to help you maximize your score and increase your chances of admission to private high schools.

Highlights
  • Full exam section overview
  • Customizable practice question sets
  • In-depth answer explanations
  • Instant feedback study setting
  • Timed practice mode
  • Personalized study plans
Features
Read full description

Increase your chance of earning admission into the private high school of your choice with Peterson's High School Placement Test (HSPT) prep app! HSPT Prep by Peterson's makes studying for the HSPT exam easy and fun! Begin by receiving a full overview of the different sections of the exam--Language, Mathematics, Quantitative, Reading, and Verbal--and learn effective study methods for each. Next, customize your daily practice question sets by number of questions, difficulty level, and your desired score to create a fully personalized study plan. While most apps only provide a summary of which questions you answered correctly, Peterson's HSPT Prep provides in-depth explanations for every answer, helping you improve your score. Select the App's study setting to receive instant feedback on your answers (similar to flashcards) and engage your brain's active learning mode. When you're really ready to challenge yourself, change the App to a timed setting and prepare for exam day. Peterson's HSPT Prep provides everything you need to pass your admission exam. Download now! Terms of use: https://www.petersons.com/terms-of-use.aspx

About

TACHS Prep

Prepare for the TACHS exam with timed subtests, detailed worked answers, and a personalized study plan. This app simulates the actual test format, offering practice questions and lessons tailored to your weaknesses. Track your progress and master the material with adaptive practice modes.

Highlights
  • Timed subtests simulating the TACHS format
  • Detailed worked answers with step-by-step explanations
  • Personalized study plan based on diagnostic tests
  • Adaptive practice mode for targeted learning
  • On-screen scratchpad with Apple Pencil support
  • Progress tracking and error journal
Features
Read full description

Most TACHS prep starts with drilling. That is the fastest way to waste the time you have, because you cannot study everything at once and you do not yet know what is weak. This app starts with a 28-question diagnostic, about half an hour. It is not a score. It tells you where to begin, and builds a study plan around your test date. BUILT FOR THE TEST AS IT IS NOW The TACHS runs on screen in six timed subtests, one after another: Reading, Written Expression, Mathematics, and three short Ability subtests of figure puzzles. About 2 hours 10 minutes of testing, with a short break between subtests. Inside a subtest you can skip, mark and come back; once you submit a subtest you cannot return to it. There is no penalty for a wrong answer. Practice here runs by those same rules: six subtests, each on its own clock, answer choices lettered the way the test letters them, a cross-out tool for choices you have ruled out, a highlighter on the reading passages, and a basic calculator in the math subtest, the way the test platform now provides one. The format itself is a lesson, so the shape of the day is already familiar. THE ABILITY SECTION, DRAWN Figure matrices, paper folding, figure classification: puzzles most students have never seen before test day. Here they are drawn on screen, hundreds of them, with a worked explanation of the rule behind each one and short lessons on how to read them. WORKED ANSWERS, NOT ANSWER KEYS Every question shows the method, step by step, and then checks the answer against it. Get one wrong and you find out why, not just which letter you missed. MADE FOR iPad, INCLUDING APPLE PENCIL On iPad the question sits beside a scratch pad you can write on with Apple Pencil or a finger, and your working stays next to the worked explanation afterwards so you can compare them line by line. Reading passages open side by side with their questions. WHAT IS INSIDE - 1,499 practice questions across the four sections - 89 lessons, each with worked examples - 75 reading and Written Expression passage sets - Full practice tests in the six-subtest format, about 176 questions each, drawn fresh to the same blueprint every time so a test is worth sitting more than once - Adaptive Practice, a shorter mode that picks what to ask next from how you are doing and tells you the difficulty level you were working at in each section - A one-page report your child can send you when they want to show how it is going The pass unlocks all of it. What stays free is next. FREE, PERMANENTLY - The 28-question diagnostic and the study plan it builds - Your error journal and your progress, always - 10 new questions a day, up to 150 in total - Unlimited redo of anything you have already answered Your progress stays on this device and in your own iCloud, and is never locked: with or without the pass, and after it expires. THE PASS: ONE PAYMENT, NO AUTO-RENEWAL It lasts 365 days from the day you buy it, it does not renew itself, and you will not be charged again. No subscription to remember to cancel. It unlocks every full practice test, the whole lesson library, and the whole question bank with no daily limit. NO DATA COLLECTED No account. No sign-up. No analytics, no advertising, no tracking, and nothing sold to anyone. Your work syncs privately between your own devices through your iCloud account and goes nowhere else. The App Privacy section on this page says "Data Not Collected" because that is literally true. Written for eighth graders sitting the TACHS for the Archdiocese of New York, the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, and the Diocese of Rockville Centre. Not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Riverside Insights or any diocese or school.

Screenshots

HSPT | High School Test Prep4 screens
TACHS Prep4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: TACHS Prep at 5.0 against HSPT | High School Test Prep's 4.5. TACHS Prep also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 6 weeks). HSPT | High School Test Prep's advantage is ratings volume (61 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. HSPT | High School Test Prep sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $18.99 per month and TACHS Prep sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

TACHS Prep holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HSPT | High School Test Prep has 61 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HSPT | High School Test Prep ships an update every 6 weeks, TACHS Prep every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 15, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
HSPT | High School Test Prep versus TACHS Prep: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHSPT | High School Test PrepTACHS Prep
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (61 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews40.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings61 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB21 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPeterson's, LLCSimple Tree LLC

Customer experience

HSPT | High School Test Prep

All ratings61 ratings
Positive86.9%
Neutral6.6%
Negative6.6%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative40.0%

TACHS Prep

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

HSPT | High School Test Prep

Subscriptions2
  • 1 Month$18.991 Month
  • 1 month1 Month trial$18.991 Month
1 purchases

TACHS Prep

One-time1
  • 365-Day Pass$39.99

Questions

Is HSPT | High School Test Prep free?
HSPT | High School Test Prep is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TACHS Prep free?
TACHS Prep is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, HSPT | High School Test Prep or TACHS Prep?
TACHS Prep is rated higher. HSPT | High School Test Prep averages 4.5 out of 5 from 61 ratings, while TACHS Prep averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do HSPT | High School Test Prep or TACHS Prep have ads?
Neither HSPT | High School Test Prep nor TACHS Prep shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HSPT | High School Test Prep or TACHS Prep?
HSPT | High School Test Prep ships an update every 6 weeks, and TACHS Prep every 5 days. Most recently, HSPT | High School Test Prep was updated on September 15, 2026 and TACHS Prep on October 4, 2026.

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