So you’re a parent or a student looking to sign up for an online driver's ed course. No problem! Our detailed online driver's ed reviews will help you find a great course at the best possible price. The below courses we reviewed are the largest and most popular online driver's ed courses available on the web today. Here’s what you can expect:
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- The Highest Rated Customer Reviews: All of the below courses have have the highest average customer ratings from a wide variety of sources including Yelp, Google, and Facebook reviews (among others).
- Parent Resources: Learning how to drive is a team effort that should involve parents. These online driver's ed schools provide both student and parent resources.
- Lowest Pricing: We reached out to these schools for discount codes and special pricing deals to save you money.
- Course Eligibility Verification: Each school is state-certified and will verify your eligibility during registration.
- Modern Technology: From tablet and mobile friendly to interactive videos and animations, we only list courses that have kept up with fast-moving technology changes.
Reviews Of The 6 Best Online Drivers Ed Courses
While Aceable is one of the newer online driver's ed courses, that isn’t a bad thing at all. The problem with most online driver's ed courses is how outdated they’ve become. Aceable saw this hole in the market and decided to create the most advanced online drivers ed course in the World. To do this, they raised about $5,000,000 in venture funding and have put together an amazing course. This course works flawlessly on any device, has the most advanced video and animated training, includes interactive features to increase retention rates, and their customer support is second to none. If I were to sign up today, this is who I would go with. Check out a more detailed Aceable review here.
Customer Reviews: Most of Aceable’s former students loved their training videos and the very informative course content. They say it’s easy to retain the information that they learn. They also find it easy to log in using their app. Aceable’s user experience is definitely above average - I can’t even find a single negative comment from their students. People really loved their mascot, Ace, too:
Approved in the Following States: CA, GA, FL, IL, NV, OH, OK, PA, TX
DriversEd.com this is one of the oldest online driver's ed programs out there and is also the most popular driver's ed course on the web right now. They recently updated their animations and graphics to take on more of a modern and 3D appearance. We think they did a great job on the improvements and it increased their rating form 4 to 5 stars. You can also take the first 20% of the course for free, so you can try it before you buy it. It takes between 1 and 2 minutes to sign up for free and then you can see for yourself if you like it. Otherwise, we’ve provided a much more detailed review here. Simply use the link below!
Approved in the Following States:
AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, ID, IN, MN, NE, NV, OH, OK, PA, TX, UT, VA, WI
As for the rest of the states, DriversEd.com has courses available there, too. Although it isn’t state-approved, which means you’ll have to ask your local DMV if it can satisfy license requirements (only if your state authorizes online driver’s ed).
Customer Reviews: Students who took driver’s ed from DriversEd.com highly recommend their program because they were satisfied with the knowledge they were able to acquire to become a safer driver. They also enjoyed watching the in-lesson movies and playing short games from each module:
To be blunt, iDriveSafely.com is simply one of the best courses you can sign up for. This is consistently ranked one of the best, not only because of their online driver's ed course, but also for their online traffic school, ticket dismissal, and insurance reduction courses as well. This is a big company and they’ve got a lot of money to throw around. It’s quite obvious that this company wants to dominate the online driving school industry and they are steadily doing that with authority. Their animated cast of characters as you progress through the course is really fun. It's almost like an interactive movie as you learn from each character. You can learn more about this in our more detailed iDriveSafely review.
Available in the Following States: CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, NV, OK, TX, VA
Customer Reviews: There were a few unhappy comments, but most students enjoyed iDriveSafely’s driver’s ed course because they found it incredibly easy. Some find their course materials a bit outdated. They stated that they still enjoyed the class as they were able to understand the concepts since the lessons are broken down into smaller, digestible units:
Here’s a school that guarantees the lowest price. Find one cheaper? They’ll beat it. They also offer their program in textbook and DVD formats if you prefer to do it that way instead of online. DriverEdToGo.com has been around for more than a decade now and was one of the first online driver's ed courses to exist. Some of the graphics, animations, and user interface is getting slightly dated and we do have some reservations about the overall customer service experience we’ve had with them (although they do offer 24/7/365 support). So while we only ranked them 3 stars, they do have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and the school exceeds all of our standards. Check out more about this online driver's ed course in our detailed Driver Ed To Go review.
Approved in the Following States: CA, CO, GA, IN, OH, VA
Like DriversEd.com, this online traffic school also offers courses in all states. Again, these other states aren’t state-approved, which means you’ll have to ask your local DMV if it can satisfy license requirements (only if your state authorizes online driver’s ed).
Customer Reviews: DriverEdToGo seems to be receiving a lot of negative reactions from their students recently. They’ve been complaining about the hassle they experience in completing the course on time and the struggle in securing their Certificates of Completion. However, those who were able to complete the course successfully and secure their Certificates without any issues were delighted because they have provided a convenient platform that is perfect for first-time drivers.
OnlineDriversEd.com has quite a few videos, animations, games and it very interactive. At the same time, they also offer very low pricing. Customer support is available 24/7 and they also offer a money-back guarantee. The reason we only rated them with 3 stars is simply due to the lack of updates to the course over the past couple of years. Other than that, they are A+ Rated with the Better Business Bureau and meet all of our requirements and have a long history as they were established in 1996. Learn more about this online drivers ed course in our detailed OnlineDriversEd.com review.
Available In The Following States: CA, FL, NV
Customer Reviews: Seeing a lot of similar comments from former students, it appears that almost everyone who took driver’s ed from OnlineDriversEd.com finds their lessons acceptable, easy to understand, and informative. It’s just that almost all of them got bored at some point:
Improv Driving School is a fun and unique online driver's ed course. This online driver's ed school did the best they could to create a course that's actually entertaining. They call it "edutainment". The approach they took was pretty simple. Get a bunch of stand-up comedians together and have them create the material. So what you'll get in this course are videos of comedians, funny pictures and animations, and even some interactive games that you'll play. Improv Driving School is mobile friendly so it'll work well on any smartphone or tablet. They also offer customer support 7 days per week and have maintained a very positive reputation. If you're looking for an online driver's ed course that might even be fun, this is definitely one to consider. Check out our full Improv Driving School review to learn more about them.
Approved in the Following States: CA, FL, GA, IN, KY, NE, NY, TX
Customer Reviews: Improv’s students never imagined that they would find online driver’s ed lessons to be very enjoyable. They say that Improv is the easiest and funniest comedy driving class. They say that the courses they took are helpful and thought-provoking, there to really improve their driving skills.
Getting Your Driving Permit When Taking Online Drivers Ed
Taking online driver's ed to complete your "classroom" requirements is super convenient and the preferred way to go for most students. However, you will eventually need to get on the road and start learning to drive by, well, driving!
The process varies from state to state. In some states, you'll need to complete the entire online driver's ed course before you can obtain your learner's permit. In other states, you can get your permit before or during the course. Each of the above listed online driver's ed programs give you full guides on what exactly you'll need to do.
Taking Driving Lessons From A Local Driving School
In some states, if you take an online driver's ed course, you will not need to take driving lessons from certified driving instructors. Your parents can serve as your driving instructor instead. In other states, you will need to complete a certain number of behind-the-wheel hours with an actual state-certified driving instructor. Here are some things you should look for when trying to choose a local driving school
- Positive reputation from local residents: The best thing you can do is ask around and try to find students who have used the school before. Online reviews are hard to trust these days, but word of mouth is just as reliable as it has been for centuries.
- Quality vehicles: Any decent driving school should have newer and of course well-maintained vehicles. The biggest red flag when looking at any driving school is poorly maintained vehicles. This is a sure sign the school is struggling.
- Enough driving instructors to handle peak seasons: While people take drivers ed at all times of the year, there are certain peak months when driving schools have more students than the rest of the year. That typically occurs in the summer months. With some driving schools you need to schedule driving time weeks ahead. Make sure they have a good scheduling system so you can get the drive time you need.
- Convenience: Driving schools should make it convenient for you. For instance, many driving schools will have their instructors pick you up before or after school, then drop you off wherever you need to be. This makes it way more convenient for both students and parents.
- Parent resources: Learning to drive requires parent involvement. At some point, parents need to take over from the driving instructor, so having some guidance on how to teach someone to drive is crucial. Any good driving school will provide parents with helpful resources.
Why Taking Drivers Ed Online Instead Of A Classroom Is Better
Taking driver's ed online has become the preferred way for most teens to complete their driver's ed requirements. The reason it has become so popular is mostly due to convenience. Students can take the course when they want, from wherever they want, and on any device. It also helps to teach teens self-motivation as it is up to them to get it done. There are no classrooms with certain days and times with an instructor keeping them accountable. They must be accountable for themselves.
Online driver's ed has other benefits besides just convenience. For example, when learning about the different shapes and colors of road signs, online driver's ed courses can have you play matching games or offer other interactive features that make it much easier to memorize the material. Being lectured to in a classroom just isn't as effective.
For these reasons and more, taking driver's ed online is usually a much better way to go rather than taking driver's ed in a classroom. All students are different and some may prefer classrooms, but the vast majority will do much better taking driver's ed online.
Drivers Education Doesn't Stop After You Get A License!
Back in the old days, once someone passed their driver training program and got that license, they hit the road with zero restrictions. These days, most states have some sort of graduated drivers licensing system that place certain restrictions on new drivers until they gain experience. Those restrictions usually mean they can't have minors as passengers in the vehicle, they are not allowed to use cellphones including with hands free devices, restrictions on night driving, etc.
The truth is, online drivers ed is just the beginning of a lifetime of re-learning. Cars change, roads change, there are new driving situations presented to us all the time, and any good driver will always try to learn from mistakes and become a better driver.
Can I Take Online Drivers Ed To Dismiss A Traffic Ticket Or Reduce Insurance Rates?
Online driver's ed isn't really for ticket dismissal, driving point reduction, or reducing insurance rates. Online driver's ed courses are specifically designed for teens and adults who need to complete their required driver's ed study hours and don't want to sit in a classroom to do that.
However, there are courses specifically designed for you to reduce points on your driving record, dismiss traffic tickets, and even lower your insurance premiums. These courses are usually called on of the following:
- Online Traffic School Course
- Online Defensive Driving Course
- Online Driver Improvement Course
- Online Insurance Reduction Course
These terms are mostly interchangeable and while they are called different names in different states, they all serve the same purpose. If you get a traffic ticket, you can take one of those courses to keep it off your record.
Check out our online traffic school reviews page to see if you can take online traffic school in your state.
Final Thoughts About Taking Drivers Ed Online
For parents, taking driver's ed online might seem like a foreign concept. Rest assured, online driver's ed has been around for more than 20 years now and it has proven to be a very effective way for teens to learn everything they need to know in order to pass their permit exams and become safe drivers.
While there are many different schools to choose from, the online driver's ed reviews listed above are the highest quality and best online driver's ed courses available in 2020. Check each of them out and go with whoever you think looks best!
Page last updated on April 29, 2021