A side-by-side look at the three most common exam prep options — what each offers, what it costs, and where each is strongest. The platform covers all seven NIC license families: cosmetology, esthetics, nail technology, barber styling, hair design, electrology, and permanent cosmetics. But the platform does not stop at the national NIC exams. There are separate courses for the PSI National exams — the paper California and eight other states use — and for the state-written exams of Texas, New York, Tennessee, Florida, Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Indiana. Where a state adds its own law questions to a national paper, as Virginia does, those are built in. More than thirty courses in total. Each course is built from the outline for that specific exam: topic weights follow the real blueprint, state-law material appears where the state requires it, and the timer matches the paper you are preparing to sit. You are not studying a generic beauty quiz. You are rehearsing your exam. The other two prepare you for the NIC national exam only. We built this so we obviously think it’s the best, but we’ve kept the table factual and fair — and left a competitor’s cell blank rather than guess at it.
| Feature | nicprep.com | Cosmetology Guru | Mometrix |
|---|---|---|---|
| NIC Cosmetology | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| NIC Esthetics | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| NIC Nail Technology | Yes | Yes | No |
| NIC Barber Styling | Yes | Yes | No |
| NIC Hair Design | Yes | No | No |
| NIC Electrology | Yes | No | No |
| NIC Permanent Cosmetics | Yes | No | No |
| PSI National — Cosmetology PSI’s own National programme · ten states | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| PSI National — Esthetician PSI’s own National programme · ten states | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| California — Barber Board of Barbering and Cosmetology | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| PSI National — Manicurist PSI’s own National programme · ten states | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Texas — Manicurist Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Texas — Cosmetology Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Texas — Esthetician Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Texas — Barber Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| New York — Cosmetology Department of State · New York Law and Rules domain | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| New York — Esthetics Department of State | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| New York — Nail Specialty Department of State | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Tennessee — Master Cosmetology PSI Tennessee outline · Tennessee law block | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Tennessee — Esthetician PSI Tennessee outline | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Tennessee — Nail Technician PSI Tennessee outline | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Florida — Cosmetology DBPR · Written Theory and Written Clinical papers · 20 tests | Yes — 20 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Ohio — Cosmetology Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber Board · State Regulations deck | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Ohio — Esthetics Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber Board | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Ohio — Barber Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber Board · Rules and Regulations domain | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Ohio — Manicurist Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber Board | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Pennsylvania — Cosmetology Pearson VUE · Pennsylvania State Portion | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Pennsylvania — Esthetician Pearson VUE · Pennsylvania State Portion | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Pennsylvania — Nail Technician Pearson VUE · Pennsylvania State Portion | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Pennsylvania — Barber Pearson VUE · State Board of Barber Examiners | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Indiana — Cosmetology PSI Indiana outline · Indiana State Portion | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Indiana — Esthetician PSI Indiana outline · Indiana State Portion | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Indiana — Manicurist PSI Indiana outline · Indiana State Portion | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Virginia — Cosmetology NIC theory via Prov · ten Virginia law questions inside | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Virginia — Barber NIC theory via Prov · ten Virginia law questions inside | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Virginia — Nail Technician NIC theory via Prov · ten Virginia law questions inside | Yes — 10 tests | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Built to the exam’s own outline | NIC · PSI National Apr 2026 · TX TDLR/PSI · NY DOS · TN PSI Aug 2026 · FL DBPR · OH Board · PA Pearson VUE · IN PSI · VA Prov | NIC-only | NIC-only |
| Questions per NIC cosmetology course | 1,100 | 600 | 660+ |
| Questions in your language Fully translated editions | Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, Russian & Simplified Chinese — on the products that have one, same price as English | Not advertised | No |
| Explanations in your language Interactive Tutor, English questions | 19 languages · included with every product · switch between them any time | No | No |
| Feature | nicprep.com | Cosmetology Guru | Mometrix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practice tests (timed simulation) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Study mode (instant feedback) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Interactive Tutor | Claude-powered — explains any question, answers follow-ups | No | No |
| Tutor in your language | Yes — the question stays in English, the explanation is in yours | No | No |
| Flashcards (domain-stacked) | Digital, filterable | No | 500+ in the course |
| Tap any word on a card for its definition | Yes — every term the decks teach, and the tutor for the rest | No | No |
| Plain-English “why” on every card | Esthetics now, the other families following | No | No |
| Flashcards — learn and recall direction | Both, progress shared | No | No |
| Full rationale on every question | Right + wrong explained | Yes | Yes |
| Score by domain breakdown | Yes | Unknown | Unknown |
| Cross-device progress sync | Yes | Unknown | Unknown |
| Works offline | Yes | No | No |
| Retake any test | Fresh shuffle | Unlimited retakes | Unknown |
| Timed to the real clock | 90 to 180 min — the real paper’s clock, per exam | 90 min | Unknown |
| AI support assistant access, devices, reporting | Yes | No | No |
| Free preview (no signup) | 10 questions and 10 flashcards — every family, in the edition’s language | Free practice test | Limited |
| Free terminology reference exam terminology, no account | 865 terms — searchable, filterable by exam, with a drill mode that hides the definitions and scores you | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Printed study guide | Digital only | No | Sold separately |
| Feature | nicprep.com | Cosmetology Guru | Mometrix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full bundle | $49 NIC · $59 every other course | $74 lifetime · $69 three months · $49 one month | $39.99 a month |
| Access duration | Lifetime | Lifetime, or by the month | Monthly subscription |
| Subscription required | No | No | Yes |
| Refund policy | 14-day unconditional | 100% money-back | 7-day money-back |
| Pass guarantee | 60-day | “Pass or your money back” | No |
| School/bulk licensing | Yes — class codes | Not advertised | Institutional licensing |
| Feature | nicprep.com | Cosmetology Guru | Mometrix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulk / class licensing | Yes | Not advertised | Institutional licensing |
| Students redeem with their own login | Own account per seat | Unknown | No |
| Self-serve seat purchase | Instant, online | Unknown | No |
| Class codes emailed instantly | Yes | Unknown | No |
| Volume discount | Tiered pricing by cohort size | Unknown | No |
| Minimum order | 5 seats | Unknown | — |
| Courses available per seat | All 36 courses — 7 NIC, PSI National, Texas, New York, Tennessee, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Virginia | Unknown | No |
| Instructor admin console | Yes | Unknown | No |
| Free instructor seat | Yes — lifetime | Unknown | No |
| Seat deactivation on refund | Yes | Unknown | No |
| Feature | nicprep.com | Cosmetology Guru | Mometrix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner / affiliate programme | Yes | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commission | 20% of every sale | Unknown | Unknown |
| Paid up front, not spread over months | Yes | Unknown | Unknown |
| Referral window | 60-day cookie | Unknown | Unknown |
| Payout | Monthly direct deposit over $25 | Unknown | Unknown |
| Caps or quotas | None | Unknown | Unknown |
| Self-serve dashboard | Yes — live earnings | Unknown | Unknown |
| Feature | nicprep.com | Cosmetology Guru | Mometrix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built from the official exam outline | NIC CIB 2026 · PSI National Apr 2026 · TX TDLR · NY DOS · TN PSI Aug 2026 | Claims "actual test bank" | NIC-aligned |
| Domain-weighted to real exam | Per exam — NIC and state weightings differ | Unknown | Unknown |
| Statistical validation | 6 construction standards | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Answer-length balanced | No length tells | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Position balanced (no B-bias) | Yes | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Rationale explains wrong answers | Each option addressed | Yes | Yes |
| Feature | nicprep.com | Cosmetology Guru | Mometrix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile + desktop responsive | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works offline (subway, break room) | Yes | Requires connection | Requires connection |
| Install as app (no App Store) | Yes | No | No |
| State licensing guides | All 50 states + DC | Select states | No |
| Years in market | 2026 (new) | Since 2010 | Since 2009 |
See the question quality, the rationales, and the Interactive Tutor for yourself.
Try the free preview →Competitor figures were checked against each provider's own product pages on 16 September 2026. Prices there change without notice, so verify before relying on them. nicprep.com is our product — we've tried to be accurate and fair, but we're not a neutral party. Where we couldn't verify a competitor's feature, we marked it as "Unknown" rather than guessing. If you spot an error, please let us know and we'll correct it. Competitor names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
2026 CIB changes, domain study tips, and new-modality launches — a few emails a month, no spam.
The Interactive Tutor explains any question, the rationale behind it and every term you need — in Spanish, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Persian (Farsi), Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, French, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Swahili, Turkish, Tibetan, Nepali, Ukrainian — and answers your follow-up questions the same way. The question and the answer options stay in English on purpose: those are the words you have to recognise on exam day, and the tutor teaches you to read them, not to skip them. All 19 are included with every product on your account, and you can switch between them whenever you like.
Want the questions themselves in your language? Español (Spanish) · 한국어 (Korean) · Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese) · Русский (Russian) · 简体中文 (Simplified Chinese) are also available as fully translated editions on the products that have one — the questions, the options and the rationales, all in your language, not just the explanations.
Which one do I need? Questions in Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, Russian or Simplified Chinese → the translated edition, where your product has one. Sitting the exam in English and want it explained in your language → the English edition, and set the tutor to your language. Both come with the tutor, so this is a question about which words you want translated, not about price.
How the Interactive Tutor works, and what it does in your language →