SHSAT prep apps, compared

Updated August 25, 2026 · By Christopher Lara, Stuyvesant ’00

We make one of these apps, so read this with that in mind. I built SHSAT Prep: Practice Tests for my own son. That gives me an obvious interest in which one you pick, and it also means I have spent an unreasonable amount of time looking at what else is out there. This page is an attempt to be useful rather than promotional — including the cases where you should choose something other than mine.

The short version: there are only three real SHSAT apps on the App Store, they differ far less in question quantity than in how recently they were updated, how they charge, and what they do with your child’s data. Those are the three things worth comparing, and all three are checkable on the App Store in about a minute.

The three apps

Search the App Store for “SHSAT” and most of what comes back is SAT apps and unrelated games. As of August 25, 2026 there are three apps genuinely aimed at this exam.

	SHSAT Prep	Miyagi Labs	SHSAT Prep: Practice Tests
Developer	Debbrata Das	Tyrone Davis	Simple Tree LLC (us)
App Store rating	4.3 (56 ratings)	5.0 (6 ratings)	5.0 (5 ratings)
Last updated	September 26, 2022	August 14, 2026	August 24, 2026
Focus	SHSAT only	SAT, SHSAT, and exams in Kenya, Nigeria and India	SHSAT only
How it charges	Subscription: $9.99/month, $49.99/6 months, $99.99/year	$14.99 and $39.99 unlock tiers	One-off 365-day pass, no subscription
App Store privacy label	Data Linked to You — email, name, phone number	Data Not Collected	Data Not Collected

All figures read from the App Store listings on August 25, 2026. Prices and update dates change — check the listings before deciding.

The thing most worth noticing

SHSAT Prep was last updated on September 26, 2022. That is version 1.1, four years ago.

The SHSAT went digital in 2025 and became computer-adaptive in fall 2026. An app frozen in September 2022 was built for a paper test that no longer exists. It may well have been good in 2022 — 56 ratings averaging 4.3 suggests families found it useful — but it cannot reflect a format that changed twice after it stopped being maintained. If you are practising for the test your child will actually sit, that matters more than any feature list. Our guide to the computer-adaptive SHSAT explains what changed.

How they charge is the other real difference

All three are free to download, which tells you nothing. What matters is what happens next.

SHSAT Prep is a subscription — up to $99.99 a year, renewing until cancelled. Miyagi sells unlock tiers. Ours is a one-off pass for a year that cannot auto-renew; when it ends, it ends, and nothing bills you again.

Most families prepare for this exam once. A recurring charge for a one-time event is a poor fit, and forgetting to cancel is a real cost. That is the reason we chose a non-renewing pass rather than a subscription, and it is worth checking whichever app you pick.

What the App Store privacy labels say

Two of the three apps, including ours, declare Data Not Collected.

SHSAT Prep declares Data Linked to You: email address and name for app functionality, and a phone number under Apple’s “Other Purposes” category, which is its vaguest. For an app used by thirteen-year-olds, that is worth knowing before you install. It is also visible on the App Store listing under App Privacy, on every app, in about ten seconds.

When you should choose something else

Genuinely:

If your child needs a person, not an app. Nothing here replaces someone noticing your child keeps making the same class of error and sitting with them until it clicks. Debbrata Das also offers one-to-one tutoring; we offer nothing of the kind. If you can afford tutoring and your child responds to it, that beats every app on this page including ours.
If they will not open it. The best app is the one that gets used. If your child prefers a competitor’s interface, that outweighs any feature comparison here.
If you need Android. Ours is iPhone and iPad only. If your family is on Android, we are not an option at all.
If volume and instant feedback matter most. Miyagi is actively maintained, covers many more exams, and offers AI tutoring. If that is the shape of help your child wants, it is a legitimate choice.
Before paying anyone, use the free material. The DOE publishes official practice tests, and our score calculator and cutoff scores are free with no sign-up.

What ours does

SHSAT Prep: Practice Tests opens with a 30-minute diagnostic, then builds a study plan around your test date rather than starting at question one. Every question carries a worked explanation showing why the right answer is right and why the tempting wrong one was tempting. The question bank is original and reviewed by a person. There are no accounts, no ads and no analytics.

It has five ratings. The oldest app here has fifty-six. We would rather say that than pretend otherwise.

See SHSAT Prep: Practice Tests →

Frequently asked questions

Which SHSAT app is best?

We make one of them, so treat our answer carefully. On the checkable facts — how recently it was updated, whether it matches the digital adaptive format, and whether it charges a subscription — the two actively maintained apps are Miyagi Labs and ours. Which suits your child depends on whether they want breadth and AI feedback or a single exam covered closely.

Are any SHSAT apps completely free?

All three are free to download and all three charge for full access. The genuinely free material is the DOE’s official practice tests, and free guides like the ones on this site.

Does an app replace a tutor?

No. An app gives practice, explanations and structure at a fraction of the cost. A good tutor notices things software cannot. If you can afford both, use both; if you can afford a tutor and your child works well with one, that is the stronger option.

Do I need an app that matches the adaptive format?

It helps. From fall 2026 the test adjusts difficulty as your child answers, and is taken on a screen. Practising on paper still builds knowledge, but it does not rehearse the experience of test day.