Brain Sensei and PM PrepCast are two popular Project Management Professional (PMP) Exam training providers. If you are looking for a training program to earn your 35 contact hours and struggling to select one of these two, this Brain Sensei vs PM PrepCast comparison will help you reach a decision.
In this article, I will compare these two platforms on every single basis to give you helpful information about which training provider you should select.
Before I start my comparison, please note that Brain Sensei offers a single package that includes training and practice questions. PM PrepCast offers several packages: PM PrepCast Basic, which provides only training, PM PrepCast Elite, which adds the PM Exam Simulator to the training; and PM PrepCast Elite Plus, which includes training sessions, exam simulator, formula guide, and study coach.
Therefore, I will compare Brain Sensei Vs PM PrepCast Elite Plus to make this comparison fair.
Brain Sensei Vs PM PrepCast
Let’s start with a bit of background information on Brain Sensei.
Brain Sensei offers a cutting-edge, non-traditional study method that focuses on animations, fun, engagement, and interaction while preparing its students for the PMP examination. It offers a robust 35 hours of teaching necessary to pass the exam through the story of a Samurai.
The creators, John Estrella and Chris Stafford, who both have over 20 years of experience in project management, developed a narrative teaching method after noticing that typical online PMP exam courses were boring and too serious.
The available courses were missing life, which they aimed to change. “eLearning with a punch,” as their tagline says, is what they have achieved by creating the Brain Sensei courses.
To transform online learning from boring to engaging, they created an online learning system that empowers students to pass their examinations and makes the learning process enriching and interesting. They use the storytelling technique to keep students engaged while learning, which was scientifically proven to be a more effective learning method.
Read my in-depth Brain Sensei Review.
Now we come to the PM PrepCast.
PM PrepCast is a more traditional approach to online teaching. It follows best practices to ensure that its students master the information. In the market since 2006, way before Brain Sensei, PM PrepCast has coached over 58,000 project managers to become PMP certified.
Cornelius Fichtner developed PM PrepCast. With over 20 years of experience in project management, Fichtner was the PMI Chapter President and is now an active member of his local PMI chapter. Not only that, but he is also the founding member of PMI’s New Media Council and Social Media Advisory Group.
Overall, the main difference between both exam preparation programs is their pedagogical method. Brain Sensei uses a modern interactive method, whereas PM PrepCast is a traditional study system. While the former focuses on interactive teaching, the latter is best suited for conventional professionals.
Read my in-depth PM PrepCast review.
BRAIN SENSEI VS PM PREPCAST | Interface
Brain Sensei
Brain Sensei’s interface and website design are clear but less detailed than PM PrepCast. Both include their product description on their sales page, but PM PrepCast includes more details. We did note that Brain Sensei clearly shows that you get one full year of access (we couldn’t find access duration on the PM PrepCast site).
The website follows a more modern, easy-on-the-eye design approach that gives you an idea of what you’re getting into without too much literature. We hope to see them add more product details on their sales page in the future, as they provide all the study material you need to pass your exam.
On the right-hand side of the site, one can access reviews about the products, all of which seem to be high, with very happy learners.
Click here to check out their website today.
Use coupon code PMSC10 to receive a 10% discount.
PM PrepCast
PM PrepCast, on the other hand, has a more content-rich website that provides thorough product information.
PM PrepCast includes more info about the courses and describes everything in detail, ensuring the buyers can find all information about the product. However, we couldn’t find how long you will have access to the course once you purchase. The reviews on the main page reveal what others think about the product.
The blue layout color with several reference images, videos, and graphics engages the user and delivers a positive experience.
On PM PrepCast’s home page, you can also play a sample video of one module to get an exact look and feel for the study material and what the platform offers.
However, PM PrepCast’s interface drags a bit, increasingly frustrating as you dig deeper into pages like the pricing page and the support forum. It seems outdated and a little too detailed.
Click here to check out their website today.
BRAIN SENSEI VS PM PREPCAST | PMP Exam Prep
Brain Sensei
Brain Sensei offers the PMP exam course material with a 100 percent refund guarantee, success or pass rate, and risk-free investment. It includes the 35 contact hours required to take the PMP exam.
Brain Sensei has been helping people pass their project management certifications since 2013 and boast a 99.6% pass rate on the exam for their students. They’ve helped more than 15,000 people from 76 countries pass their exams.
The course covers everything you need, including predictive (also known as traditional), agile, and hybrid project management methodologies. Its format and syllabus ensure you are well-prepared for the latest exam. It has all the content you would expect from a traditional PMP exam prep company, plus the added benefit of the animation, interactivity, and their science-based memorization tools (they call this Spaced Repetition Sequence or SRS).
As part of their unique offering, Brain Sensei’s exam questions are psychometrically adjusted, meaning that questions are constantly being assessed for being either too difficult or too easy and adjusted accordingly, ensuring that the learner can gauge their level of understanding of the material more accurately. With their practice questions, Brain Sensei opts for quality over quantity.
Here is what this PMP exam course offers:
- Your 35 contact/education hours
- Nine story-based interactive eLearning modules
- A personal instructor in the form of an animated “sensei”
- Unlimited full practice exams (exam simulators)
- 1,500 psychometrically adjusted practice questions
- 1 full year of access
- Base knowledge assessments
- Discovery questions to reveal your problem areas in the syllabus
- Thirteen exciting and fun storyline challenges
- Key knowledge point summaries for each process
- Facebook support group
- Follow up emails
- Proactive and speedy customer support
- Formula guide
- PMBOK guide process chart
- Flashcards
- SRS (Spaced Repetition System) Memory map
- Glossary, Tips & Tricks, study assistance
Use coupon code PMSC10 to receive a 10% discount.
PM PrepCast
PM PrepCast promises you will ace the PMP examination with one of the world’s most popular video training courses. Like Brain Sensei, PM PrepCast has a dedicated 35 contact hours that you need to prepare for, sit, and pass the examination. It has over 52 hours of video sessions.
It reduces in-person training costs by providing excellent teachers and resource materials online.
Their course is trusted by over 58,000 project managers across 56 countries. It allows you to study from anywhere through your phone, PC, or tablet.
Now we come to sample questions.
This PMP Exam Simulator features over 2,100 PMP exam sample questions. You can take five practice exams, each consisting of 180 questions (930 questions) and 1,200 practice questions.
Read my in-depth review of the PMP Exam Simulator by Cornelius Fichtner.
I have tried questions from both simulators. In my opinion, brain Sensei has a great collection of questions, but the PMP Exam Simulator provides more questions, better appearance, reporting, and feedback. The PM Exam simulator offers over 2,100 questions, more than double of Brain Sensei. However, as mentioned, Brain Sensei’s questions are psychometrically adjusted and constantly updated. It’s not just about quantity, after all.
Especially helpful is the live feedback feature in PM Exam Simulator that allows you to ask for help in the same window when facing difficulty with a question.
Here is what the PM PrepCast Elite offers:
- 35 contact hours certificate
- Agile and hybrid project management concepts
- Over two thousand practice questions
- Time flexibility
- Over fifty hours of webinars
- Real-life examples to suit the course concepts
- Knowledge area overview lessons and articles
- Lessons based on the role of the project manager
- All tools, techniques, outputs, and input reviews
- 2,100 practice questions
- Five practice tests
- Live feedback
Overall, I find PM PrepCast’s offering to include more practice questions than Brain Sensei’s, but beyond that, it comes down to a learner’s personal preference on approach.
BRAIN SENSEI VS PM PREPCAST | CAPM Exam Prep
Despite the primary focus of both platforms on PMP exam prep, they also provide training for the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM). Let us review both platforms.
Brain Sensei
Brain Sensei offers comprehensive training for the CAPM exam with guides and questionnaires that prepare you for the certification. They ensure that you cover all the blind spots and prepare you to answer all questions in the examination. They offer up-to-date course material, so you do not miss out on anything, and provide you with 23 contact hours required for exam preparation.
Brain Sensei makes the same promises for its CAPM course as it does with the PMP: a hundred percent guarantee of refund, certification pass, and risk-free investment. If you are unsatisfied with the platform’s services, you can ask them for a full refund within 30 days, which they will happily provide with no questions asked.
Here is what the CAPM exam prep course offers:
- Nine interactive eLearning modules
- Four full practice exams (exam simulators)
- 1 full year of access
- Your 23 contact/education hours
- Six hundred practice questions
- Basic knowledge assessments
- Discovery questions
- Facebook support group
- Key knowledge point summaries
- Exciting storyline challenges
- Self-assessments to track progress
- Follow up emails
- Speedy customer support, typically replies in less than an hour
Use coupon code PMSC10 to receive a 10% discount.
PM PrepCast for CAPM
PM PrepCast for CAPM empowers you to stand out from the crowd by teaching the skills, tools, techniques, and knowledge you need to become a certified associate in project management.
It provides video-based training to master the concepts with the PMBOK guidebook to ensure you have everything you need. It gives realistic and relatable examples to make studying easier and prepares you to surge ahead of the competition.
All study materials are downloadable, ensuring you can access them offline and on any device.
Here is what this course offers:
- Over six hundred prep questions
- 90-day money-back guarantee
- Over seven additional bonus items to keep you engaged and motivated
- 23 contact hours certificate
- Self-assessment questions
- Instant access to the course
- Advanced concepts
- Downloadable lessons
Like the PMP exam course offered by PM PrepCast, the CAPM exam course comes in two different versions. It lets you choose according to your level of preparedness and only pay for what you need.
For example, if you only need a basic course, choose their basic subscription. If you also wish to have 90-day access to their CAPM exam simulator along with the training lessons, select the elite course.
BRAIN SENSEI VS PM PREPCAST | Pros
Brain Sensei
- Engaging narrative-based based lessons with an interactive wand
- The required 35 contact hours
- 100% pass guarantee.
- 100% risk-free investment with a 100% refund policy
- 1 full year of access
- Robust and dynamic practice questions, mock exams, and quizzes
- Mobile-friendly (requires Internet) and some downloadable content
- Personal and amusing online animated instructor
- Real-time detailed tracking
- Six modules on how to be the perfect project manager
- Free access to the first module
- Dedicated blog and podcast to solve all the common queries and questions
- Exam outlines available on the platform
- Certification guides and handbooks
- Speedy customer support
- Military scholarship of 10% for retired or current military personnel
Get access to their course here.
Use coupon code PMSC10 to receive a 10% discount.
PM PrepCast
- Over 52 hours of video content
- Opportunity to save money with their course subscription, based on knowledge levels
- Mobile friendly and downloadable content
- 35 contact hours certificate provision
- Top consumer reviews by names like Google, Facebook, and more
- Allows you to move at your own pace
- Covers complex and advanced concepts
- User-friendly course interface
- Comprehensive webinars
- Free email courses
- Exam simulators for both PMP and CAPM
- Free forum access
- 90-day money-back guarantee
- Definitive formula directory
- PMP prep lessons and interviews for better preparedness
Get access to their course here.
BRAIN SENSEI VS PM PREPCAST | Cons
Brain Sensei
- Less detailed website layout
- Fewer practice questions
- Not ideal for students who prefer the traditional learning style
PM PrepCast
- No progress tracking for training sessions
- The course is not interactive at all and follows the online pre-recorded videos method for teaching
- Not ideal for students who desire engaging study material
BRAIN SENSEI VS PM PREPCAST | Support
Brain Sensei
Brain Sensei has a proactive support team of experts and professionals who are always ready to solve your queries. The founders sometimes jump in to help students with their questions. They reply in less than one hour and are available from Monday to Friday throughout the week.
Brain Sensei also has a Facebook support group to ask questions, and the community members will answer them promptly.
Use coupon code PMSC10 to receive a 10% discount.
PM PrepCast
PM PrepCast also has a team of professionals to work with you to solve your queries. They have a discussion forum where you can share your issue.
If you wish to connect with one of their professionals online, contacting them by email is a good option since they have timely replies with suitable solutions.
BRAIN SENSEI VS PM PREPCAST | Pricing
Brain Sensei
Brain Sensei’s complete PMP course costs a flat rate of 499.99 USD for one year of access. At the same time, its complete CAPM course prep costs 349.99 USD. They frequently have promotions on their site to ensure they have the best value/price over their competitors.
Use coupon code PMSC10 to receive a 10% discount.
PM PrepCast
PM PrepCast’s Basic training course for the PMP exam costs 229 USD. Its Elite training course costs 299 USD, including an exam simulator which costs 149 USD, and the Elite Plus package is 446 USD.
Conclusion
I have compared Brain Sensei and PM PrepCast in every aspect. You can say that each platform is targeted towards and more suitable for a specific type of student.
Brain Sensei works for a modern generation that likes to interact, engage, and have fun while studying. The animations, click-heavy course materials, Samurai instructor, and clear interface make Brain Sensei ideal for students weary of sitting in front of their computer and listening passively to an automated voice video. It addresses modern learning challenges – like short attention spans and distractions – through its modern teaching approach.
Even though Brain Sensei is more expensive than PM PrepCast, its excellent self-study material, challenges, tips, tricks, and thorough modules make it worth every penny. The trial and the 100% satisfaction guarantee refund assure you are in safe hands.
On the other hand, PM PrepCast follows traditional online teaching. Their modules offer more instruction hours and teach everything from basic to advanced project management.
PM PrepCast is cheaper than Brain Sensei and offers more practice questions. If you are a traditional learner, this is a perfect choice. But, if you wish to have engaging training, I suggest you choose Brain Sensei.
We’ve thoroughly covered the Brain Sensei vs PM PrepCast comparison. I hope it was useful to you.
What PMP training program have you selected for your PMP exam preparation? Please share it through the comments section.
Some links in this post are affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you purchase after clicking. Please understand that I recommend these resources because they are useful, not just because of my commissions. Please do not purchase unless you need the materials to achieve your goals. Read the disclaimer.
I am Mohammad Fahad Usmani, B.E. PMP, PMI-RMP. I have been blogging on project management topics since 2011. To date, thousands of professionals have passed the PMP exam using my resources.
