Side by side
| McKinsey Solve | BCG | Bain | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Format | Two or three ecology-themed games | Varies by office: Casey chatbot case, SHL's CCA, or a numerical, logical or cognitive test | Aptitude test on SOVA or TestGorilla |
| Length | 65, 85 or 95 minutes, stated in the invitation | Casey about 30 to 35 min; CCA about 30 to 35 min; DACH cognitive test 30 min | About 30 to 40 minutes (Bain) |
| What it tests | Data analysis, optimisation under constraints, judgement | Case math and business judgement (Casey); reasoning and work style (CCA); speed reasoning (cognitive) | Numerical, logical and verbal reasoning, situational judgement |
| Calculator | On-screen calculator in Red Rock | Own calculator for Casey (reported); none for the DACH cognitive test (BCG) | Allowed (Bain) |
| How you'll know | The invitation length tells you which games | The invitation names the test | The email after applying names the platform |
| Business knowledge needed | None | Basic business math for Casey | Light, in judgement questions |
| Pass mark published | No | No | No |
Every row above comes from the firm's own pages where they exist, and from prep sites and candidate reports where they don't. The firm pages below go into which is which.
McKinsey Solve
Solve is a set of games rather than a test in the usual sense. In the Red Rock Study you analyse data about an island's wildlife across three one-way phases and then answer short cases. In Sea Wolf you choose microbes to treat three contaminated ocean sites. On 85- and 95-minute invitations there's a third game, the Sustainable Futures Lab, which is about judgement rather than numbers. The invitation length is your clue to which games you'll get.
What makes Solve different from the other two: it's widely reported to record how you work as well as what you answer, and it doesn't look like anything you've practised before unless you've seen the games. Learning the interface matters more here than at the other firms. The McKinsey Solve overview links to each game's guide and simulator.
BCG
BCG's screen depends on where you apply. Its own careers pages describe:
- Casey, the chatbot-led online case, in the US (for selected candidates), Mexico, and Australia and New Zealand. About 30 to 35 minutes, 8 to 10 questions by most reports, ending with a recorded one-minute recommendation.
- The Consulting Career Assessment (CCA), built by SHL, taken by every US Associate applicant and by advanced-degree candidates in the US and Canada.
- Numerical, logical or cognitive tests in the UK, the German-speaking offices and the Nordics.
What makes BCG different: in Casey you're working a business problem, so structuring and case math matter in a way they don't at McKinsey or Bain, and the video at the end tests how clearly you communicate. The BCG overview has the office-by-office table and the Casey guide a full worked case.
Bain
Bain's test is the most conventional of the three. Its careers page says it runs on SOVA or TestGorilla and takes about 30 to 40 minutes, with a calculator allowed. TestGorilla is a set of short timed tests (numerical reasoning plus critical thinking and data, or business judgment, people management and problem solving, depending on the reported mix), with no going back. SOVA combines numerical, verbal and logical reasoning with situational judgement, and prep sites say it records your time even without a visible clock.
What makes Bain different: it's the closest to a classic graduate aptitude test, so general practice transfers well, and the verbal "true, false or cannot say" format appears only here among the three. The Bain overview links to guides for both platforms and to Bain practice.
Where each sits in the process
At all three firms the online assessment comes after your application is reviewed and before the first round of interviews. The details differ:
- McKinsey sends Solve to most applicants and says the result is considered together with the rest of the application. Prep sites report a window of one to two weeks to complete it.
- BCG says it uses online assessments for some positions. In the US, the CCA invitation gives 48 hours; the Casey case follows for selected candidates.
- Bain says whether you take its test depends on the role and office. The email after you apply tells you if you have one and which platform.
None of the three firms publishes a pass rate or a cutoff, and none shares scores with candidates as a matter of course. You find out when you're invited to interview or you aren't.
How much preparation each needs
A rough guide, assuming you're comfortable with school-level math:
- McKinsey Solve: the most. The games are unfamiliar, and Red Rock and Sea Wolf each have traps you only learn by playing. A week of an hour or two a day is typical.
- BCG Casey: moderate. Case math practice plus two or three full timed cases and some recorded recommendations. Four or five focused sessions.
- BCG CCA or cognitive test: light to moderate. A few timed reasoning sets so the pace doesn't surprise you.
- Bain: moderate. Aptitude tests reward familiarity with question types, and the verbal and pattern formats improve quickly with practice. Four or five sessions.
These are our estimates from what the tests contain, not published figures. If your math is rusty, add a couple of days of percentages and table reading at the start, which helps with all of them.
What overlaps
Less than you'd hope, but some:
- Percentages and growth. Percentage change, percent versus percentage points, and reading the right row from a table show up in Red Rock, in Casey's case math and in both Bain platforms. Practising this once pays off three times.
- Working from the data given. Red Rock, Bain's verbal section and Casey's exhibit questions all punish bringing in outside assumptions.
- Pacing without going back. Red Rock's phases, TestGorilla's tests and Casey's questions are all one-way. The habit of committing to an answer and moving on transfers.
- Judgement questions. The Sustainable Futures Lab, Bain's situational judgement section and the CCA's behavioural parts all ask how you'd act at work. Consistent, honest answers are the common thread.
What doesn't overlap: Sea Wolf's optimisation has no equivalent elsewhere, Casey's video recommendation is unique to BCG, and Bain's verbal passages and pattern series don't appear in the other two.
If you've applied to more than one
- Sort by date. Prepare for whichever test is due first, and don't start on the next until it's done. Mixing formats in the same week slows you down on all of them.
- Start with shared math. If you have a few days before any invitation arrives, spend them on percentages, growth, ratios and reading tables. That helps with all three.
- Then learn the format. Once you know which test you're taking, most of the remaining gain comes from knowing the screens and the rules: Solve's interfaces, Casey's question types and video, Bain's timers and "cannot say".
- Don't over-prepare the parts that don't transfer. An hour on the Sea Wolf averaging rule is worth it for Solve and useless for Bain.
On SolveForge, the McKinsey simulators and Bain practice are available now. BCG practice isn't built yet.
FAQ
Which MBB online test is hardest?
It depends on your strengths. Solve is the least familiar format, BCG's Casey needs case math and a clear spoken recommendation, and Bain's aptitude test is the most conventional but tightly timed. None of the firms publishes pass rates, so there's no reliable ranking.
Do McKinsey, BCG and Bain use the same online assessment?
No. McKinsey uses its Solve games, BCG uses a chatbot case, SHL's Consulting Career Assessment or a reasoning test depending on the office, and Bain uses an aptitude test on SOVA or TestGorilla.
Can I use a calculator in the MBB online tests?
Bain allows a calculator, according to its careers page. Solve's Red Rock game has an on-screen calculator. For BCG's Casey, prep sites agree you can use your own; BCG's cognitive test in Germany, Austria and Switzerland allows no tools.
Does preparing for McKinsey Solve help with BCG or Bain?
Partly. The percentage and table-reading skills from Red Rock carry over to Casey and to Bain's numerical sections. Sea Wolf and the Sustainable Futures Lab don't have equivalents at the other firms.
How do I know which BCG test I'll get?
Your invitation names it. BCG's own pages show that US Associate applicants take the Consulting Career Assessment first, with the Casey online case for selected candidates, while several European offices use numerical, logical or cognitive tests.
Keep going
The firm pages: McKinsey Solve, BCG's online assessment, Bain's online test. The platform guides: Bain TestGorilla, Bain SOVA, BCG Casey.
SolveForge is an independent practice tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group or Bain & Company, or to any assessment provider. Our practice and guides are built from public information and contain no real test items. The firm names are trademarks of their respective owners. Nothing here guarantees any assessment result.