How Much Should a Permit Test App Cost? Subscriptions, Lifetime Plans and One-Time Unlocks Compared

Search the App Store for a permit test app and nearly everything says "Free". Open one, answer a few questions, and a price appears. Sometimes it is a few dollars once. Sometimes it is $29.99 a week, renewing until you remember to stop it.

We checked what the most-used permit test apps and sites charge on September 17, 2026, from their App Store listings and their own pricing pages. We do not name them here, because prices change and this page should stay useful after they do. Check the listing before you pay. One more thing to know: we make Drive Prep, which charges $4.99 once. Read the comparison with that in mind.

The ways these apps charge

Several apps sell more than one of these at once, so the same app can cost $10 or $100 depending on which button you press.

How long you actually need one

A permit test app has a short working life. Our study plan takes two weeks of steady practice, and three leaves room to spare for most people. If you fail, your state makes you wait before a retake, which adds days or weeks, not months. After you pass, the app has nothing left to do.

That is why the time-based plans are worth doing the math on. At $29.99 a week, a month costs about $130. A lifetime plan only pays for itself if the whole family is going to take the test.

Where subscriptions cost more than they look

• They renew. A weekly plan bought for a test on Friday keeps charging the week after. Set a reminder the day you subscribe.
• Trials turn into charges. A three-day free trial becomes a paid plan on day four unless you cancel first.
• Deleting the app does not cancel it. On an iPhone, cancel in Settings, then your name, then Subscriptions. On Android, open Google Play, tap your profile, then Payments and subscriptions.
• Teens buy on a parent's account. With Family Sharing and Ask to Buy, the parent approves each purchase, which is a good moment to read whether the price says "per week".

What the higher prices sometimes buy

To be fair to the subscriptions, some of them include things a one-time app does not. The common ones are a money-back pass guarantee, video lessons, motorcycle and CDL practice, and every state in one plan. If you need those, paying more can be the right call. Read the guarantee terms first: the one we checked refunds you only if you finish the program and take the test within 30 days of buying.

What to check before paying anything

• Is it written for your state? Rules differ between states, and a national question bank will ask about some that are not yours. Look for your state's handbook, and its edition year, named in the app.
• Do answers cite the handbook? A page number lets you check a wrong-looking answer yourself.
• Is the free part big enough to judge? You should be able to answer real questions and see the explanations before you pay.
• Once or recurring? The In-App Purchases section on the App Store listing shows every price. A plan name with "week", "month" or "7-day" in it renews.
• Ads? Free apps with ads are fine for a quick look, but a full-screen ad between questions breaks up a timed practice test.

What Drive Prep charges

Drive Prep is free to download, with a free set of questions and one full exam simulation for each state. A single $4.99 purchase unlocks every question and unlimited simulations for every state the app covers, including states added later. There is no subscription and there are no ads. The questions are written from each state's own handbook, with the page cited.

You can also try a practice test in the browser first, no download needed: North Carolina, California, Texas and Ohio.