GRE vs GMAT: Which Should You Take?

Overview

For decades the GMAT was the only test for business school. That era is over. Today over 90% of MBA programs—including Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton—accept both the GMAT and the GRE, and admissions committees insist they have no preference between them.

Both tests were overhauled in 2023 and those formats are now the established standard. The GMAT Focus Edition (2 hours 15 minutes; Quant, Verbal, and Data Insights; scored 205-805 with no essay) replaced the classic GMAT, and the Shorter GRE runs just 1 hour 58 minutes with one “Analyze an Issue” essay and no unscored experimental section.

So if you can take either, which should you take?

The Differences

Math Section

The GMAT Quant is generally considered harder in terms of logic—the questions are designed to trap you if you aren’t thinking critically, and you get no calculator. The GRE Quant is more straightforward: if you know the concepts (arithmetic, algebra, geometry, data analysis) you can solve the problems, and you get an on-screen calculator. The catch on the GRE is a harsh curve—per official ETS data, a perfect 170 Quant is only the 91st percentile and a 160 Quant is just the 50th, so missing even a few questions costs you.

Verbal Section

The GRE Verbal section is heavily vocabulary-driven: Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions reward a large vocabulary. The GMAT Focus Verbal dropped Sentence Correction entirely and now tests only Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension—pure logic and reading, which many non-native English speakers find more approachable.

How to Decide

The fastest way to choose is to take a free official practice test for each (from mba.com for the GMAT and ets.org for the GRE) and compare your percentile rankings. Take whichever test you naturally score higher on.

In broad strokes:

• Lean GMAT if you are strong in logic and data analysis, you are applying only to business schools, or you are targeting consulting/finance roles where a GMAT score is sometimes used in recruiting.
• Lean GRE if you have a strong vocabulary, you want a calculator for math, or you are weighing an MBA against other graduate degrees that require the GRE.

For a deeper side-by-side—including the full format table, difficulty breakdown, and how schools really view each test—see our complete GRE vs. GMAT guide.

Ready to start studying? Check out our Best GRE Prep Courses or Best GMAT Prep Courses.