GED test online: where you can take it and what it costs
The official GED can be taken from home in 42 jurisdictions, with an online proctor. A green GED Ready score comes first.
GED cost in Texas
$169
The HSE Subsidy Program pays the test fees of eligible people aged 21 and older through a Texas Workforce Commission Adult Education and Literacy program, while funding lasts.
| Price per subject | $42.25 |
| First attempts (4 subjects) | $169 |
| Rank, cheapest first | 36 of 42 |
Fees from the Texas page of ged.com, read on October 22, 2026. Tick “I qualify” under More options to see the cost with the state program.
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · fees and rules read on ged.com and hiset.org on October 22, 2026
The official GED can be taken online from home in 42 of the 49 jurisdictions that offer the test, watched by an online proctor through your webcam. Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, West Virginia and Wyoming list no online GED and test only at centers. Before each online subject you must score green, 145 or more, on the official GED Ready practice test within the previous 60 days, which adds $7.99 a subject unless you buy the four-subject bundle at $25.99. You need a computer with a webcam and a reliable connection, a private room with a closed door, a government-issued ID, and you must be in the United States during the test. The online price per subject is the same as the center price in most states, higher in 8, such as Texas at $42.25 against $36.25, and lower in 2, such as Indiana. Online retakes are always full price, and after two attempts at a subject online you wait 60 days. The calculator gives the online total for your state, GED Ready included.
What you need
ged.com lists four conditions. A computer with a webcam and a reliable internet connection, checked with a system test before you book. A private room with four walls and a closed door, with nobody else inside once the test has started. A government-issued ID, verified at check-in. And a green GED Ready score within 60 days before each subject you take online. On test day you log in 30 minutes early and go through check-in steps that verify your system, your ID and your workspace. Phones, headphones and watches must be out of reach, and you may not leave the webcam view.
Where online costs differently
In most states the online price per subject equals the center price. The table lists the states where it does not.
| State | Test center | Online | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | $4 | $36 | online costs more |
| Indiana | $45 | $36 | online costs less |
| Louisiana | $38.50 | $36 | online costs less |
| Missouri | $33 | $36 | online costs more |
| Montana | $26 | $36 | online costs more |
| Nevada | $31 | $36 | online costs more |
| North Carolina | $26 | $36 | online costs more |
| Rhode Island | $30 | $36 | online costs more |
| South Carolina | $37.50 | $43.50 | online costs more |
| Texas | $36.25 | $42.25 | online costs more |
Online or test center in your state
GED cost in Arkansas
$144
| Price per subject | $36 |
| First attempts (4 subjects) | $144 |
| Rank, cheapest first | 7 of 42 |
The gaps can be large. In Arkansas a subject costs $4 at a center and $36 online, so the whole test is $16 at a center against $144 online. In Washington, D.C. the public code applies only at centers. In Mississippi the state pays center attempts but not online ones. Where the state pays for online testing too, as Pennsylvania and Alaska do for the first attempt, the online test is free as well.
The real cost of testing online
Add the GED Ready practice tests to the online price, because you cannot book without them: $7.99 a subject, or $25.99 for all four. One purchase gives one attempt, so a yellow or red GED Ready result means buying another before you can book that subject online. Then count retakes at full price. In Texas, for example, four online subjects cost $169, the GED Ready bundle brings it to $195, and a failed subject adds another $42.25. At a Texas center the same subject would be retaken for $16.25.
Booking an online subject, step by step
Run the system test on the computer you will use. Buy GED Ready for the subject and take it in one sitting; a result of 145 or more turns green. Within 60 days, log in to ged.com, choose online testing, pick the subject and a time, and pay the online price of your state. On the day, clear the desk, close the door and log in half an hour early. Your score appears in your account soon after the test, as at a center. Repeat the cycle for each subject: a green result in math does not open the online test in science.
Underage testers online
Most state pages add a rule for testers under 18: a parent or guardian must be present at the pre-test check-in to give consent and authorize the recording, or the session is revoked. Age waivers still apply as they do at a center. The requirements page lists each state’s age rules.
Online or center: how to decide
Online testing saves travel and lets you pick a time that suits you, which matters for people who work shifts or live far from a center. It costs more once GED Ready is counted, retakes are never discounted, and the room rules are strict. A test center costs less in most states for anyone who might retake a subject, and it is the only option in 7 jurisdictions. Many people mix both, taking the subjects they feel sure about online and the hardest one at a center, where a retake is cheaper.