BenchPrep

BenchPrep is a learning management system for organizations that sell or run exam preparation and professional education: associations with certifications, credentialing bodies, test prep companies, entrance exam programs and training companies. The home page describes it as an "award-winning learning management system" that helps these organizations deliver "everything from exam prep and practice exams to continuing education, microcredentials, and more." Its solution pages cover credentialing and exam prep, practice exams software, software certification training and continuing education.

The company began in 2009, when co-founder Ashish Rangnekar was studying for the GMAT around a full-time job and, with cofounder Ujjwal Gupta, set out to build a way to learn that was interactive, personalized and mobile. BenchPrep launched what its About page calls the first-ever exam prep app for the iPhone, made its learning technology available on web, mobile and tablet in 2011, and moved into vocational training and technology verticals in 2013. In 2015 it launched its first B2B program, beginning a partnership with ACT, a step the company calls The Pivot. Its milestones put it at 1M learners in 2014, 3M in 2017, 6M in 2019 and 8M in 2021, the year it launched initiatives toward a more self-service LMS. Ashish Rangnekar is co-founder and CEO.

What the platform includes

The product overview splits BenchPrep into six parts:

• Learning Technology, the learner-facing platform, which the company says is built to lift engagement and confidence from start to finish
• AI Engine, "a purpose-built suite of AI capabilities that personalizes learning, streamlines administration, and drives measurable business outcomes at scale"
• Administrative Tools, an application for learning program managers to deliver programs to global audiences
• Reporting & Data, which tracks learner activity, performance and confidence "at macro and micro levels"
• Content Management, for migrating, creating and refining course content
• Integrations, which connect the organization's other learning program tools so BenchPrep can act as the core of its eLearning stack

The home page adds personalized learning paths and real-time data insights, and frames the reporting as a way to optimize content and "focus where learners need the most support." The subscription itself is fully mobile responsive. The home page sums the platform up as technology for learning, content, eCommerce, data and operations, pitched at lowering costs and operational burdens for the team running the program.

How it serves each kind of customer

Associations use it to help members upskill and advance their careers, with a learning experience the company says keeps members engaged, enhances candidate readiness and drives revenue. Continuing education is a separate solution aimed at professionals who need to keep up with skills and industry changes "beyond the test."

Credentialing bodies get practice experiences the site calls equitable and high quality, built to develop skills and knowledge ahead of the credential.

Training companies and test prep providers use it to sell a modern, interactive exam prep experience and grow digital learning revenue, with BenchPrep's eCommerce available as an add-on. A separate Software Certification Training solution sits alongside these.

Content: what if you have little or a lot

The pricing FAQ is practical about content. Organizations with little content ready often start with a practice question or practice exam product built from retired certification exam questions, license content from one of BenchPrep's partners, or have the Professional Services team create it. Print materials such as books and study guides can be converted by that team, or the organization can buy training to do the conversion itself, and a content audit can organize existing material into online courses. Organizations that already have plenty of digital learning and certification prep content can upload and manage it themselves or have it converted, and then receive data insights to improve it. The FAQ calls this last group the ideal BenchPrep customer.

Pricing

The pricing page publishes a model rather than prices. It says BenchPrep can offer pricing "from 1,000 annual learners to a million and beyond," built from three components:

• Subscription pricing, based on the number of annual learners or their enrollments, covering self-serve platform and course setup, standard admin tools, standard data and reporting dashboards, and candidates' access to the learner experience
• Additional features for larger organizations: B2B tools, raw data access, developer tools such as webhooks and a GraphQL API, iOS and Android native companion apps (separate from the subscription), localization, and BenchPrep's eCommerce
• Professional services from its learning design and strategy experts

The FAQ adds that the more learners an organization has, the more value it gets, and that "our customers who get the most value from the platform have 1,000 or more annual learners." Real numbers come from a pricing conversation with the sales team after a form, and the site also accepts requests for proposal.

Professional services

The Professional Services page groups its work into several service lines. Launch Services handle platform setup and the migration of content and courses from other systems. Build Services cover content development (instructional design, content authoring, editorial review, project management and subject matter expert recruitment) and content licensing from leading educational publishers. Grow Services help create new products and courses, train the customer's team as BenchPrep experts, open new distribution channels, and add Print Services for combined digital and print products. Optimize and Enhancement Services refresh existing content and keep courses aligned with industry standards, and Partner Services add professional translation for global audiences.

Support and resources

Each customer works with an account executive who, according to the FAQ, helps think through content strategy and plans for growth in the learner base. The footer lists separate contacts for support and sales, an Admin Support Center for program administrators, a Security page, case studies, and a program of webinars and events, along with a Learning Power Index resource aimed at program revenue.

Who it suits

BenchPrep fits associations, credentialing bodies and exam prep businesses with a real learner volume, which the company itself puts at 1,000 or more learners a year, and with certification or exam content to sell or deliver. It suits organizations that want personalized study, practice exams and data on learner readiness in one branded platform, and that value a vendor able to set up the platform, migrate courses, convert print materials and even license or write content.

A small organization with a few dozen learners, or a creator selling a single course, would be paying for machinery built for scale, and the native apps, developer tools, localization and eCommerce sit outside the base subscription. Buyers should plan for a sales process and a quote rather than a published price.