How long is the GMAT?
The GMAT takes 2 hours and 15 minutes: three sections of 45 minutes each, with 64 questions in total. Quantitative Reasoning has 21 questions, Verbal Reasoning 23 and Data Insights 20. There is one optional 10-minute break, so with the break you sit for 2 hours and 25 minutes. You choose the order of the sections, and there is no essay.
This is the current GMAT, the one that launched as the GMAT Focus Edition. GMAC went back to calling it simply the GMAT from July 1, 2024, because it is now the only version on offer. Guides that mention an essay, an Integrated Reasoning section or a test of more than 3 hours describe the old edition.
A few features change how you use the time. You can bookmark and review as many questions as you like and change up to three answers in each section. You pick the section order before you start. An on-screen calculator is available only in Data Insights. Every question is multiple choice, and some Data Insights questions have several parts that all have to be right to earn the point. You can take the exam at a test center or online.
On average you have about 2 minutes and 9 seconds per Quant question, 1 minute and 57 seconds per Verbal question and 2 minutes and 15 seconds per Data Insights question. The test is adaptive, so it is better to keep a steady pace than to sink 5 minutes into one hard question. Scores run from 205 to 805, with each section scored from 60 to 90.
| Section | Questions | Time | Average per question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Reasoning | 21 | 45 min | about 2 min 9 s |
| Verbal Reasoning | 23 | 45 min | about 1 min 57 s |
| Data Insights | 20 | 45 min | 2 min 15 s |
| Optional break | - | 10 min | - |
| Total | 64 | 2 h 15 min (2 h 25 min with break) | - |
- 1Decide on your section order and try it on a practice test, for example your strongest section first.
- 2Take a full practice test in one sitting: three 45-minute sections with the 10-minute break where you plan to take it.
- 3Use checkpoints: aim to be around the middle of each section (question 10 to 12) by minute 23.
- 4Bookmark the questions you guess on, so your three answer changes go to the ones you can actually fix.
- 5Review practice tests by question type, not only by total score, and drill the weakest type next.
- 6Book your date, at a test center or online, once your practice scores reach your target.