Price
CaptainsGround
Free during early access
USCGQ.com
Free
CaptainsGround vs USCGQ — Free Prep, Compared
USCGQ.com is one of the few free prep options that consistently ranks for OUPV and Rules-of-the-Road searches. It is essentially a large practice-question bank. CaptainsGround is also free, but built as a full study workflow — lessons, drills, flashcards, mock exam, and a plan — with every question and answer linked to the CFR or COLREG rule it tests.
TL;DR
USCGQ: free Q-bank with thousands of USCG questions, no lessons or scheduling. CaptainsGround: free lessons + drills + FSRS flashcards + NMC-format mock + adaptive plan, every answer cited to 33/46 CFR or COLREGs.
Format
CaptainsGround
Lessons + drills + flashcards + mock + plan
USCGQ.com
Practice-question bank
Citations on every answer
CaptainsGround
Yes — 33/46 CFR, COLREGs, Bowditch
USCGQ.com
No
Explanations beyond the answer key
CaptainsGround
Per-question rule explainer
USCGQ.com
Answer key only
NMC-format mock exam
CaptainsGround
70 Q × 90 min, weighted by module
USCGQ.com
Module quizzes
Spaced repetition
CaptainsGround
FSRS-4 flashcards
USCGQ.com
—
Adaptive study plan
CaptainsGround
Built from exam date + weekly hours
USCGQ.com
—
Source corpus you can audit
CaptainsGround
Public /sources page, live chunk counts
USCGQ.com
—
USCG exam authority
CaptainsGround
No (you test at a REC)
USCGQ.com
No (you test at a REC)
Bottom line
USCGQ is a fine sharpener once you already know the rules — work the bank, see if the answers stick. CaptainsGround is the layer underneath: read the rule, drill it with the citation visible, and let FSRS bring back what's slipping. Many candidates use both — CaptainsGround for the learning, a Q-bank for last-week volume.