PermitPal
A Zutobi Alternative for Your Permit Test
Updated July 14, 2026
Pricing checked first-hand in Zutobi's own app, July 14, 2026. Rates change without notice, so confirm on your own screen before you buy.Quick verdict
Zutobi is excellent if you want gamified, multi-state driver's ed with video lessons and you'll cancel the subscription on time. If you study for a week and cancel, it costs less than we do. PermitPal is the better pick if you'd rather pay $29.99 once than watch a clock, or if more than one person in the house will need this. Every state, car, moto and CDL, verified against its own handbook, fully offline, no account, no ads.
The pricing math, honestly
We installed Zutobi on July 14, 2026 and walked its paywall so you don't have to. What it charges: a 3-day free trial that converts to $7.99/week for the car and motorcycle material. Choosing CDL asks for a separate subscription at $9.99/week. (Zutobi's App Store listing also shows older $4.99 and $5.99 tiers and per-state packs; its live paywall didn't offer us any of them, and Zutobi says prices "are subject to change without notification." Check your own screen.)
Worth knowing: Zutobi's own website publishes no prices at all. Its pricing page returns a 404, and the web signup funnel walks a full quiz without ever showing a price before its email wall. The number only appears at the payment screen, which is why we read it from the app itself.
PermitPal is $29.99 one time and covers car, motorcycle and CDL, in all 50 states, in English and Spanish. Nothing renews, nothing to cancel, no auto-renewing charges to remember to cancel.
| How long you study | Zutobi car + moto $7.99/wk |
Zutobi + CDL too $17.98/wk |
PermitPal $29.99 once |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 week | $7.99 | $17.98 | $29.99 |
| 2 weeks | $15.98 | $35.96 | $29.99 |
| 1 month | $31.96 | $71.92 | $29.99 |
| 3 months | $95.88 | $215.76 | $29.99 |
| If it renews for a year | $415.48 | $934.96 | $29.99 |
Read that table against yourself, not against us. If you're the person who studies hard for a week, passes the car test, and cancels the same day, Zutobi costs $7.99 and we cost $29.99. It's cheaper, and you should take it. Zutobi's own site is full of testimonials saying exactly that: "passed in 1 day", "passed first try in 5 days". For car and motorcycle you'd have to study past three weeks before paying once wins.
The CDL split is where it stops being close. Because CDL bills separately, covering what PermitPal covers costs $17.98/week, so PermitPal is the cheaper choice after about ten days. Two weeks of Zutobi's car, motorcycle and CDL together ($35.96) costs more than PermitPal ever will.
And a subscription only stays cheap while you remember it. It bills every week whether you open the app or not, and the DMV line, the retake, the summer you put it off: those all run on the subscription's clock, not yours. PermitPal costs $29.99 whether you pass in week one or month six, and it's still there when you come back for the motorcycle or CDL test years later.
One purchase, every kid in the family
This is the part that isn't close. PermitPal's $29.99 unlock supports Apple Family Sharing: buy it once and everyone in your Family group has it, on their own devices, for good. Two teens two years apart, then the motorcycle endorsement later, then a CDL: one purchase covers all of it. A per-person subscription is billed per person, per test, every time.
A way to decide without spending anything: try both free. Work through PermitPal's free first unit and a daily mock exam; start Zutobi's trial and see whether the video lessons and level system click. Whichever one you actually keep opening is the one that gets you to the DMV. Just set a calendar reminder for day two of the Zutobi trial, so a subscription doesn't start by accident.
Feature by feature
| PermitPal | Zutobi | |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | $29.99 one-time (free tier available) | Subscription: 3-day trial, then $7.99/wk (car + moto). CDL bills separately at $9.99/wk |
| Money-back pass guarantee | Yes. Pass or your money back | Not stated on its materials |
| Family Sharing (iPhone & iPad) | Yes. One purchase covers your whole Family group | Billed per person |
| State coverage | All 50 states, each verified in depth: car, moto & CDL | All 50 states + D.C. |
| Video lessons | No. Short text lessons + games | Yes |
| Gamification | Sign games, spaced-repetition review | Levels, points and awards |
| Other license types | Car, motorcycle, CDL, each verified against its own state handbook | Car, motorcycle, CDL |
| Works offline | Yes, 100% offline | Not stated on its listing |
| Account required | No | Yes |
| Ads | None | Yes |
| Platform | iPhone, iPad, Android & web | iPhone & Android |
Zutobi details from zutobi.com and its Apple App Store listing, re-checked July 14, 2026. "Not stated" means we couldn't confirm it from Zutobi's own materials.
Who Zutobi is genuinely better for
We'll say it straight: Zutobi is the better app for a lot of people. Pick it if you learn well from video lessons and a level-based, game-like flow. Its polish is real, and if you're disciplined about the trial it can be very cheap.
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 in the same app. Choose it if you'd rather pay once than track a subscription, if you want to study offline (on a plane, in a basement DMV line) with no account and no ads, and if you're on iPhone. It uses FSRS spaced repetition to resurface exactly the questions you keep missing.
Not sure Zutobi's even your main rival? Compare the whole field on our best permit apps roundup, see the DMV Genie alternative, the myDMV alternative, or check how many questions the CA test has and try a free practice test. Adults, start with the adult permit test guide.
📱 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.