Apps for IQ test preparation compared
Type "IQ test" into an app store and you get hundreds of results doing four very different things. The distinction matters more than any individual rating, because most disappointment comes from using an app of the wrong category for a concrete goal. Here are the four categories with what they deliver, what they cost and who they are for. The comparison is deliberately by category rather than by brand, because apps within a category resemble each other more than they differ.
1. Brain training
Examples: Lumosity, Peak, Elevate, NeuroNation.
What they do: Short games meant to engage attention, memory, speed and flexibility, with points, levels, daily training plans and a "brain score" that rises over time.
What they cost: Free with restrictions, the full programme by subscription, usually 5 to 12 dollars a month or 40 to 80 a year.
What they deliver: You get better at the games, and they are well made and motivating. Transfer to intelligence tests or daily life is not supported by the meta-analyses of Simons et al. (2016) and Melby-Lervåg et al. (2016). In 2016 the US Federal Trade Commission fined Lumosity two million dollars for exactly those advertising claims.
Who they are for: Anyone who enjoys ten minutes of play a day and wants to watch a number rise. Not for preparing for a test.
2. Free IQ test apps
Examples: Dozens of apps with "IQ Test" in the name, often from studios that also make quiz and puzzle apps.
What they do: Twenty to forty items, then an IQ score, frequently with a certificate or a comparison with celebrities.
What they cost: Free, funded by ads, often with a purchase or subscription to reveal the result.
What they deliver: The score is not normed and is almost always too high, because happy users rate better. The items are often fine and cover real types, but without explanations, without levels, and from a fixed pool you know after the second run.
Who they are for: Usable as a first contact with item types, not as a measurement, not as training.
3. Test-prep portals
Examples: JobTestPrep, Testing Mom, Practice Aptitude Tests and similar.
What they do: Large item collections sorted by employer and test, with solutions, sometimes video courses. Mostly in the browser, some as apps.
What they cost: Individual packages 20 to 60 dollars, access to everything often as a subscription of 30 to 50 dollars a month.
What they deliver: The best coverage of employer-specific sections such as situational judgement, personality questionnaires and job knowledge. For the reasoning section the collections are finite, items repeat, and explanations vary in quality.
Who they are for: Anyone preparing for a specific employer who has to cover the whole test, not just the reasoning part. The price is worth it when a lot depends on the job.
4. Test practice
Examples: IQ Prep and a few comparable apps.
What they do: The item types of real intelligence tests, generated procedurally, with difficulty levels, a time limit and an explanation of the rule after every answer. No game, no points, no badges.
What they cost: IQ Prep free to try, full version 4.99 dollars one time, no subscription. Comparable apps range from free with an unlock purchase to about 10 dollars.
What they deliver: The practice effect the research documents: familiarity with the format, knowledge of the rule families, routine under time pressure. With procedurally generated items practically nothing repeats. What they do not deliver: employer-specific content, personality questionnaires, job knowledge.
Who they are for: Anyone facing the reasoning section of an aptitude test, a Mensa test or a selection procedure for gifted programmes who wants to practice the item types themselves.
The honest summary
For preparing for a test, only categories three and four are relevant. Anyone who has to cover the whole test of a specific employer belongs with a portal and should practice the reasoning section additionally with unlimited items. Anyone who needs only the reasoning section is served by a test practice app for the price of two coffees. Brain training is a hobby in its own right, and free IQ tests are entertainment. The research is summarised under Can you train your IQ?, the item types under aptitude test preparation.
Frequently asked questions
Which app is best for preparing for an IQ test?
The one that drills the item types of the test under test conditions and explains the answers. Brain-training apps do not do that, and free IQ test apps mostly do not either. Test practice apps and test-prep portals are built for it.
Are free IQ test apps accurate?
No. They are not normed, almost always report inflated scores, and are funded by ads or a subscription to see the result. Some are usable as a first look at item types, none as a measurement.
Do brain-training apps help with an IQ test?
According to the meta-analyses, no. They improve performance in their own games but not in intelligence tests.
IQ Prep drills exactly these item types under test conditions, with an explanation after every answer. Free to try, full version $4.99 one time, no subscription.
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