Quimbee Bar Review (2026): The Budget Disruptor
★ Best for Visual LearnersPros
- Price: SideBar Videos start at $550 (a low-cost supplement vs $2,000+ full courses).
- Videos: The same high-quality animated videos you used in law school.
- Focused: 200+ short videos covering every bar subject.
- Pairs Well: Designed to complement a full course like Themis or BARBRI.
Cons
- Newer: Hasn't been around as long as the others.
- Less Hand-Holding: Better for self-starters.
From Case Briefs to Bar Prep
Important update (2026): BARBRI acquired Quimbee, and the standalone full Quimbee Bar Review course was discontinued in mid-2025. Quimbee now sells SideBar Videos ($550 for 12-month access)-a supplement of 200+ short subject videos and 800+ practice questions meant to pair with a full bar review course (Themis, BARBRI, Kaplan, etc.), not replace one. The review below reflects this current SideBar product.
NextGen update (2026): The NextGen UBE debuts July 28-29, 2026 in a first wave of early-adopter jurisdictions, while most states stay on the legacy UBE for now. Before buying any course, confirm which exam your jurisdiction administers and check the provider’s NextGen readiness.
Every law student knows Quimbee. It’s the site you used to survive 1L year when you didn’t read the cases. Quimbee built its reputation on engaging, animated video lessons-and that’s exactly what SideBar Videos delivers as a focused, low-cost supplement to whichever full course you choose.
The “Anti-Lecture” Videos
Quimbee doesn’t do “lectures” in the traditional sense. They do videos.
- Style: High-quality animations, professional voiceovers, and humor.
- Length: Short and punchy.
- Effect: You actually watch them. You don’t zone out like you do with a professor standing at a podium.
- Visuals: They use visual metaphors to explain complex legal concepts (e.g., using a cartoon “bundle of sticks” to explain property rights).
The Price Tag
At $550 for 12-month access, SideBar Videos are priced as a supplement, not a full course. For context, a complete bar review runs far more:
- Barbri: ~$2,000 - $4,200
- Themis: ~$2,995
- Quimbee SideBar Videos: $550 (supplement)
Budget for SideBar on top of a full course-think of it as the cheap insurance you add to shore up weak subjects.
Is It “Enough”?
No-and Quimbee no longer claims it is. SideBar Videos are explicitly a supplement to a full bar review course, not a standalone solution. Quimbee discontinued its comprehensive course (with attorney-graded essays and licensed NCBE question banks) after the BARBRI acquisition. What you get now is the thing Quimbee always did best: clear, animated explanations of the black-letter law, plus practice questions to check your understanding.
No Standalone Guarantee
Because SideBar is a supplement, there’s no pass-or-refund guarantee tied to it the way the old full course had. Your guarantee will come from whichever full course you enroll in (e.g., Themis’s free retake or BARBRI’s pass guarantee).
Verdict
Quimbee’s standalone full bar course is gone. But SideBar Videos remain a genuinely useful, affordable add-on: if you’re a visual learner who needs concepts to click, $550 for the whole subject library is easy to justify-just pair it with a real full course.