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Last updated: September 08, 2026 
Interviews
Deeply researched
Exponent (TryExponent.com), now rebranding as Aced, is a popular tech interview prep platform for candidates who want to land a job at FAANG and other top tech companies. If you don't mind paying a monthly subscription fee, it’s a decent choice for full-on interview prep courses, question banks, or peer mock interviews. However, if you want to book a coaching session with an expert, you’d need to pay a separate fee.
Below, we give an overview of what you should know about Aced (formerly Exponent), how much its interview coaching sessions and subscriptions cost, and whether people seem to think they're worth it.
- Aced/Exponent services
- Aced/Exponent review (pros and cons)
- Aced/Exponent pricing
- Top Aced/Exponent alternatives
- Aced/Exponent FAQs
Click here to practice 1-on-1 with a tech interview expert
1. Aced (formerly Exponent) services↑
Before we go through the pros and cons of signing up for Aced / Exponent, let’s first take a look at their primary services:
1.1 Membership subscription
Aced (Exponent) offers three types of membership subscriptions: Basic, Pro, and Expert.
1.1.1 Basic membership
A Basic membership costs zero and gives you access to sample lessons, 5 peer mocks per month, sample questions, and basic job referrals.
1.1.2 Pro membership
An annual Pro membership, at 12 USD a month if paid in full, gives you access to a range of interview prep services. They are as follows:
- Access to all training courses. Aced / Exponent offers long courses for candidates targeting a specific role or company, with learning paths comprising multiple short courses. It also offers these as short courses if you’re looking to improve a particular skill like coding or system design.
- Premium video and written content. Aced / Exponent has a big library of video and written mock interviews featuring experts answering interview questions.
- Peer mock interviews. Aced / Exponent hosts free peer mock interviews. You sign up by choosing a schedule and interview objectives, and Exponent does the matching for you. During the session, Exponent will also help you and your peer with interview questions.
- Slack community access. This is a private Slack community with fellow subscribers. There you’ll find up-to-date interview information sourced from the community.
- Questions database. You can access this on a free account; only you won’t be able to filter by company, which may slow down your search.
- Priority job referrals. According to the website, having a subscription gives you priority access to their network of 400+ referrers at top tech companies. However, this benefit is hardly mentioned in any reviews we’ve found in online forums, so it’s hard to know exactly if it’s helpful.
1.1.3 Expert membership
An annual Expert membership, at 20 USD a month if paid in full, gives you access to all the perks of the Pro membership, plus a full AI coaching suite.
- AI mock interviews. With this feature, you get feedback from an AI interviewer trained on Exponent’s curriculum.
- Ace, AI coach. With an Expert membership, you can “ask Ace” about anything regarding interview questions and prep, as well as Exponent’s course offerings.
1.2 Coaching platform↑
Exponent offers tech coaching services on their platform. According to the website, these coaches are “hand-picked and vetted by Exponent”. The specific coaching services offered are resume review, mock interviews, career coaching, and salary negotiation. Like IGotAnOffer, the coaches on Exponent come from the top tech companies, including FAANG.
Coaching is not included in the subscription fee. If you do sign up for an annual subscription, you get 1 60-minute coaching session for $199 (20% off).
If you do get the Ace the Interview package, you get 5 sessions of coaching, 20% off on future coaching services, 1-year access to Exponent’s courses and community, and other perks.
Now that we’ve laid out Exponent’s paid offerings, let’s take a look at their pros and cons.
2. Aced / Exponent review (pros and cons)↑
The first thing to say is that Aced (formerly Exponent) is completely legitimate and credible, though from our research in forums such as Reddit and Blind, the quality of customer experiences tends to vary greatly. Whether or not it’s helpful for your specific situation will depend on the services you get.
2.1 Aced / Exponent pros ↑
- All-in-one interview prep platform. Exponent is quite convenient as it offers various interview prep services in one place. Aside from coaching and subscription inclusions, they also have free resources including detailed interview prep articles, a community-sourced interview question database, and a YouTube channel with mock interviews. So overall, their platform offers a lot of value, whether you’re a paid user or not.
- Expert coaches. Like many top mock interview websites, Exponent has a roster of expert coaches from the most prestigious tech companies. According to the website, they’re all handpicked and vetted.
- Unlimited peer mock interviews (for subscribers). Peer mock interviews are useful, especially if you’re in the early stages of your interview prep. Exponent makes peer mocks more easily accessible by hosting them on their platform and facilitating the matches.
- Access to community. One of the benefits you get with a paid subscription is access to a private Slack community of fellow tech candidates. Many subscribers say this is one of the best features of the subscription, as you’ll always find someone to do interview prep with.
- Money-back guarantee for negotiation package. Exponent offers a full money-back guarantee for their salary negotiation package (not for single negotiation coaching sessions) if you don’t secure an increase in your offer.
- ROI. Doing mock interviews with an expert from your target company helps you improve your interview performance in a way that just knocking out problems on LeetCode will not. And if you're going for a job at the likes of Google, Meta, or Amazon, spending a few hundred dollars on mock interviews is small change when put against the salary gains you stand to make.
2.2 Aced / Exponent cons↑
- Coach pricing: The pricing for Aced / Exponent’s coaching services starts at $249 an hour, making it significantly more expensive than many of its competitors. They do offer discounts if you get their bundles or packages. In particular, their Ace the Interview Program ($1499) includes 1 1-hour readiness assessment session with your coach, 5 mock interviews, 1-year access to the courses and community, and a 20% discount on future coaching sessions.
- Subscription pricing: Aced / Exponent’s subscription pricing is one of the aspects that most users complain about on online forums. If you think you’re going to need access to their interview courses for more than a month, you may want to consider getting the annual subscription, as it’s considerably cheaper. That said, shelling out $144 for prep guides and videos may be a bit too much, considering you can find a ton of excellent interview prep resources online for free.
- Courses: The reviews on the website are glowing, but on forums, they’re a mix. Quite a few on Reddit and Blind commented that they simply used Exponent’s free resources for practice and did fine. One particular user said the paid membership adds very few new videos to the ones you can get for free on their YouTube channel. One strongly worded comment outlined reasons why the courses are not worth the investment at all.
- Hit-or-miss peer mock interview matches. The quality of matches you get via the website can be unpredictable. The questions Exponent provides are also hit or miss, according to some users. They can sometimes be very easy or irrelevant to the role you want to practice for.
- Limited refund policy for subscription and coaching. Exponent only offers a full money-back guarantee for its salary negotiation package. For its subscription, you can only get a full refund within 5 days of purchase (which may not be enough time for you to find out if the service is right for you). For coaching, you can only get refunds for unused sessions. Other than that, the website doesn’t offer any more information.
- AI interview coach. Adding 8 USD on top of the Pro membership fee for an AI interview coach hardly seems worth it, considering there’s no way to preview for free how the AI tool works. As of writing, we’ve found no user reviews for it yet, so you may want to hold off on it (or better yet, just book a human coach).
3. Pricing: Is Exponent worth it? ↑
The quick answer is, it depends on your needs.
As we’ve covered above, Exponent offers two types of paid services: coaching and subscription memberships. They’re upfront about the payments, though whether they’re worth the premium price is up to you.
For coaching services, $249 is on the expensive side, when you consider that on a site like IGotAnOffer, you can book some of the same coaches who've worked at Meta or Google for 10+ years for less.
Depending on your interview prep budget, getting their Ace the Interview program may offer you great value. This bundled program gives you access to the platform’s coaching services, peer mock interview community, and courses.
4. Aced / Exponent alternatives (by category)↑
With these limitations in mind, we’ve drawn up a shortlist of what we think are the best interviewing coaching services available right now, based on Exponent's specific offerings.
#IGotAnOffer (Best overall for top tech companies)
Okay, we may be biased here, but a 4.9 average star rating from over 20k reviews is hard to ignore.
IGotAnOffer is a coaching platform where you can book mock interview sessions. It also offers career mentoring, leadership coaching, resume review, and salary negotiation coaching sessions.
There are over 400 coaches on the platform, and they’ve all worked at the very top companies in tech (e.g. Google, Meta, Amazon, etc.). Most of the coaches specialize in product management or engineering interviews, so they will be well-equipped with real-world insights to guide you through the interview process in your chosen role and target company.
Click on a coach’s profile and you can instantly see their hourly availability. Prices are clearly displayed before you book and if you’re not satisfied with your session, you get a full refund.
IGotAnOffer does not have interview training courses, but it offers free and comprehensive interview prep guides on the website and a range of high-quality mock interview videos for product managers and software engineers on YouTube.
#TechMockInterview (Best budget-friendly option)
Tech Mock Interview offers mock interviews for tech candidates, among other job application services. Browsing their mock interviews page, you’ll find that interview coaches offer different rates based on their years of experience, expertise, and session duration, so there’s a price range for every budget.
The Tech Mock Interview coach page itself is very straightforward. You can immediately filter your coach options based on the coaching service you need. You can also filter based on the subject matter expertise that you need coaching for: coding, system design, software development manager, technical program manager, behavioral, machine learning, and data science. However, its selection of coaches is small. You will find a wider selection of experts who can coach you on the same subjects on IGotAnOffer.
#CodePath Technical Interview Course (Best for tech interview courses)
CodePath is a nonprofit organization that offers technical courses to Black, Latino/a, Indigenous, and low-income students at no cost. The goal of the organization is to help these students get ready for internships and job search, by filling in the gaps in their education with hands-on technical training, access to the latest tech, and support from industry experts.
CodePath offers a course specifically on technical interviews, as well as other specializations such as cybersecurity, web development, and iOS and Android development, among others. Computer science students and interns on Reddit have excellent things to say about the program.
Joining a course is a bit of a time commitment, though the program schedules are designed so that you can take a course while on an internship.
Do note that their programs, as of this writing, are only available if you’re in the U.S. or Puerto Rico and/or currently enrolled in a college or university in the U.S. or Puerto Rico.
#Reforge (Best for PM courses)
Reforge is a platform that offers live cohort-based programs taught by experienced practitioners, with a focus on product management, growth, and leadership skills. While it may not offer dedicated interview prep, we think it’s a worthwhile alternative if you want to level up in your career.
Reforge's biggest advantage is its pricing model. One annual membership gives you access to live courses, 40-plus on-demand courses, and hundreds of guides and artifacts.
Miro, the visual collaboration platform, acquired Reforge in March 2026, but Reforge Learning continues to operate as a separate brand with no pricing or access changes for existing members.
#HackerRank AI Mock Interviews (Best for AI interview coaching)
If you already use HackerRank for coding practice, then consider its AI mock interview feature as a good alternative. They offer AI mock interviews for CS fundamentals, coding, system design, AI fluency, and behavioral. The sessions are timed, allowing you to recreate the pressures of a real tech interview.
Unlike Exponent, HackerRank gives you 1 AI mock interview session per month with a free account. If the feature works for you, you can consider upgrading to a paid membership.
6. Aced / Exponent FAQs↑
If we did a good job writing this article, you should have found something in the list above that responds to your specific needs better than Aced / Exponent.
If you didn’t, it might be that Aced / Exponent is the best fit for you after all. Particularly if you’re looking for a website that offers a variety of interview training courses, expert coaching services, and peer mock interview hosting.
To help you make your final decision, let’s cover the Aced / Exponent basics.
6.1 Who is the founder of Aced / Exponent?
Aced (formerly Exponent) was co-founded by Stephen Cognetta and Jacob Simon. Cognetta is a former Google product manager, while Simon is a former Dropbox software engineer. Both have years of experience conducting tech interview prep sessions at various big tech companies and startups.
6.2 Is the system design course on Exponent worth it?
The reviews for Exponent’s paid content (including its system design course) are quite mixed on external platforms like ProductHunt. Some have said they’re helpful, while others complained about the amateurish videos and lackluster customer support. The best way to figure out if you’re willing to pay for Exponent’s paid content is to try the free preview and look over the contents of their course.
6.3 Is Exponent good for interview prep?
Exponent has received mixed reviews from users on forums such as Reddit and Blind, but is generally well-respected, albeit a bit on the expensive side. It does have a good roster of tech interview coaches (though you can find a few of them on IGotAnOffer for considerably less).
6.4 How do I cancel my Exponent subscription?
To cancel your subscription, you may have to delete your Exponent account. To delete your account, go to your Profile page, select Settings, and scroll down to see the Delete Account button. You’ll be asked to provide your password before you can delete it. Just note that once you delete your account, you won’t be able to access your remaining credits and other saved content.
If you only want to cancel your subscription but retain your Aced / Exponent account, you may have to contact them directly, as there seems to be no direct way to cancel subscriptions on the Profile page.
6.5 Is Exponent free to use?
Yes, with a Basic membership, you can use Exponent for free. With this membership, you get access to sample lessons, 5 peer mocks per month, sample questions, and basic job referrals.
6.6 How does Exponent compare to Interview Kickstart for interview prep?
Both Exponent and Interview Kickstart are well-regarded platforms for tech interview prep. Both provide comprehensive programs and courses as well as access to expert interview coaches. However, in comparison, Exponent offers more flexibility and transparency in terms of cost. Interview Kickstart does not list its pricing; you need to speak directly with a Program Advisor or join a free webinar to get information on pricing.
Click here to read our review on Interview Kickstart.
7. Conclusion↑
Aced / Exponent is a reputable tech interview prep platform, offering coaching services, intensive tech interview training courses, and access to peer mock interview matching.
But is it the best option for you? Only you can decide that, although hopefully in this article we’ve helped you make a more informed decision.
If you want to know more about mock interviews in general, read our deep dive, "What is a Mock Interview?" where you'll find tips, sample questions, and videos to help you maximize your session.
If you want to learn more about other tech job prep services (interview, mentoring, resume review), check out some of our reviews:
- Interviewing.io alternatives
- Pathrise alternatives
- MentorCruise alternatives
- Formation.dev alternatives
- Prepfully alternatives
- TopResume review
- Pramp alternatives
- Interview Kickstart review
- Big Interview review
- PrepLounge review
- Wall Street Prep alternatives
- Levels.fyi review
- MeetAPro review
- Land a PM Job review
- Leland alternatives
- Maven alternatives
- RocketBlock alternatives
Whichever mock interview platform you choose, we hope you’ll consider IGotAnOffer.
You’ll find over 400 mock interview coaches on our platform, and you can search by industry, role, or company to get the right match for you. You can see the coaches' hourly availability and book your online session in a couple of clicks.
To book a coaching session, you’ll first need to buy credits. Each credit starts at $50. Coaches cost 2,3, 4, or 5 credits per 1-hour coaching session.
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