PermitPal
A DMV Genie Alternative for Your Permit Test
Updated July 14, 2026
We installed DMV Genie and read its upgrade screens on July 14, 2026. Privacy labels are Apple's own. Prices change, so check your own screen before paying.Quick verdict
DMV Genie is a strong free 50-state app if you don't mind ads, and it offers a pass guarantee of its own. PermitPal is the better pick on price and privacy. DMV Genie's upgrade screen asked us for $19.99 a week for the car track alone, with motorcycle ($39.99/mo) and CDL ($49.99/mo) billed separately, and its listing says it links your phone number, email and location to your identity. PermitPal is $29.99 once for car, motorcycle and CDL in all 50 states, ad-free, with no account and no data collection at all.
The free-vs-premium split, verified
DMV Genie's real appeal is its free tier. Per its App Store listing, you can start practicing without creating an account, it covers all 50 states with a large question bank, and it works offline once downloaded. The catch is right there in the listing too: the app "contains advertising," so the free experience includes ads between your practice.
What premium actually costs
We installed DMV Genie on July 14, 2026 and read its upgrade screens. What it asked us for:
| DMV Genie, on its own upgrade screen | Price | Over a year |
|---|---|---|
| Car | $19.99 / week | $1,039.48 |
| Motorcycle (separate) | $39.99 / month | $479.88 |
| CDL (separate) | $49.99 / month | $599.88 |
| All three, the way PermitPal covers you | about $176 / month | $2,119.24 |
| PermitPal | $29.99 once | $29.99, and never again |
Read first-hand from DMV Genie's own upgrade screens, July 14, 2026. Prices change and may vary by state or promotion, so check your own screen.
Two weeks of the car track alone ($39.98) already costs more than PermitPal ever will. Each track bills separately: the car subscription doesn't include motorcycle, and neither includes CDL.
The full list Apple shows
Its App Store listing also shows ten separate in-app purchases, including a lifetime option we were never offered on the upgrade screen:
| DMV Genie in-app purchase | Price |
|---|---|
| Car Premium: 1 week | $9.99 |
| Car Premium 7-day access | $15.99 |
| Car Driving Test Premium (7d) | $19.99 |
| Car Premium 30-day access | $29.99 |
| Car Driving Test Premium (30d) | $39.99 |
| Car Premium Lifetime | $99.99 |
| CDL Premium 1-month | $29.99 |
| CDL Premium All-in-one + ELDT | $39.99 |
| CDL Pro All-in-one + ELDT certificate | $49.99 |
| DMV Genie Premium | $9.99 |
Verbatim from DMV Genie's Apple App Store listing, July 14, 2026. Apple lists every purchase a developer has configured, so some of these may not be offered on the upgrade screen you see, and Apple's list never states which are one-time and which renew. Read your own upgrade screen.
Worth knowing about that list: Apple shows every purchase a developer has configured, so several of these may be retired, and Apple never states which are one-time and which renew. A Car Premium Lifetime at $99.99 is listed, which would be much better value than $19.99 a week, but it was not offered to us on the upgrade screen. If you find it, and it really is one-time, it's the option to take: it pays for itself against the weekly rate in about five weeks. It still covers only the car track.
PermitPal is $29.99 once and covers car, motorcycle and CDL, in all 50 states, in English and Spanish, ad-free from the first tap, with no auto-renewing charges to remember to cancel. Even against DMV Genie's best-case listed price, we're a quarter of the cost of its car track alone.
Both apps are genuinely free to sample, so let the free tiers decide it. Practice a round in DMV Genie and see whether the ads bother you; run PermitPal's free first unit and a mock exam and see whether the focused, ad-free path feels calmer.
Feature by feature
| PermitPal | DMV Genie | |
|---|---|---|
| What we were charged | $29.99 once: car, motorcycle and CDL, 50 states | $19.99/week for the car track alone |
| Motorcycle & CDL included? | Yes, both, in the $29.99 | No. Motorcycle $39.99/mo and CDL $49.99/mo, each on top of car |
| Data collected about you | None. No account, no analytics, no trackers | Purchases, coarse location, user & device ID, usage, email and phone number, all linked to your identity |
| Spanish | Yes, questions and app, where the real exam is in Spanish | English |
| Family Sharing (iPhone & iPad) | Yes. One purchase covers your whole Family group | Not stated on its listing |
| Money-back pass guarantee | Yes. Pass or your money back | Yes. Pass or a refund, per its listing |
| State coverage | All 50 states, each verified in depth: car, moto & CDL | All 50 states |
| Ads | None, ever | Yes, on the free tier |
| Account required | No | No. Practice first, sign in later |
| Works offline | Yes, 100% offline | Yes, once downloaded |
| Exam formats | Real per-state formats: 46Q (CA, under 18) & 36Q (CA, adult); every state its own count | General 50-state practice tests |
| Extras | Sign games, FSRS spaced-repetition review | Cheat sheets, progress tracking, AI tutor |
| Platform | iPhone, iPad, Android & web | iPhone & Android |
DMV Genie details from its Apple App Store listing, read July 14, 2026. "Not stated" means we could not confirm it from DMV Genie's own materials.
What DMV Genie collects about you
This one isn't our opinion, it's Apple's label on DMV Genie's own listing. Under Data Linked to You, DMV Genie lists: purchase history, coarse location, user ID, device ID, product interaction, email address and phone number. All of it tied to your identity. The app also contains advertising, which is generally what that data is for.
PermitPal collects nothing. There's no account, no analytics SDK, no ad SDK, no crash reporter, no third-party tracker of any kind. Your streaks, scores and mistakes live on your phone and stay there. The app makes exactly one network request, to pre-select your state during setup, and it keeps nothing from it. Read the whole privacy policy, it's short.
Most permit-test users are teenagers. It's fair to ask why a practice test needs a phone number and a location at all.
Who DMV Genie is genuinely better for
Credit where it's due, and there's a lot of it. DMV Genie offers a pass guarantee: per its listing, pass the real exam or get a full refund. PermitPal has a money-back pass guarantee of its own, so call that one even. It says 97% of its users pass on the first attempt and that over 8 million drivers have used it, it has an AI tutor we don't have, and cheat sheets and PDFs. Pick it if you want a free app and ads don't bother you, or if those extras are what will actually keep you studying. It's one of the most popular permit apps for a reason.
Who PermitPal is better for
Choose PermitPal if you want depth in your state, whichever it is. Every one of the 50 is verified against its own handbook rather than one generic bank recycled nationwide. California, as an example: 235+ handbook-verified questions, 41 official road signs, and mock exams in the exact CA format (46 questions under 18, 36 for adults). The other 49 get the same treatment, plus motorcycle and CDL tracks. Choose it if you want zero ads breaking your concentration, a single $29.99 one-time price with no tiers to decode, no account, and full offline study. FSRS spaced repetition keeps resurfacing the exact questions you miss so review time isn't wasted.
Want the wider view? See the best permit apps roundup, the Zutobi alternative, the myDMV alternative, or check how many questions are on the CA test and take a free practice test. Studying road signs? Start at the road signs hub.
📱 Study smarter: Start free in your browser turns your state's handbook into short lessons, sign games, and real-format mock exams. Free to start, $29.99 once for everything, or $6.99 a week in the app. Also on the App Store and Google Play.