Bain's Gorilla test: format, sample questions and practice
The Gorilla test is the online questionnaire Bain sends to candidates during screening. According to the feedback we have compiled, it takes about thirty minutes and covers logic, maths, business sense and written English. The questions are short and so is the time: expect less than a minute per question, which makes it above all a test of speed and composure.
Try 6 questions from the test, no account needed
These questions come from the bank our members practise on. Answer, and the correction appears straight away with the reasoning.
Question 1 of 6, Syllogisms
- Premise 1: All subsidiaries that pass their audit receive the compliance label.
- Premise 2: The Milan subsidiary has not received the compliance label.
Which conclusion follows logically from these premises?
What does the Gorilla test consist of?
The Gorilla test is a fast multiple-choice questionnaire in several blocks. On FrameLab we reproduce three of them. Syllogisms give you two or three premises and ask for the only conclusion that follows. Business maths sets a short numerical problem (a margin, a yield, a conversion rate) with four possible answers. Chart reading shows you bars, a line or a pie chart and asks you to draw a figure or a comparison from it.
The table below describes this practice format. The exact breakdown of the test you will receive is given in Bain's invitation.
| Section | What you are asked | Format | Time per question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Syllogisms | Pick the only conclusion that follows from two or three premises | Multiple choice | 45 s |
| Business maths | Compute a margin, a revenue figure, a yield or a growth rate | Multiple choice | 50 s |
| Chart reading | Draw a figure or a comparison from a chart | Multiple choice | 50 s |
On FrameLab, a full series has 15 questions per section, that is 45 questions in about 36 minutes. The bank holds 180 questions for this test, split into 4 series with no question in common.
Which firms use the Gorilla test?
In our directory, Bain is the firm that uses the Gorilla test. It is an online test of about 30 minutes, taken at home, that is part of screening before the case interviews. Formats can vary from one office and one recruiting cycle to the next: rely on your invitation to know exactly what to expect.
- Bain30-minute online Gorilla test: logic, maths, business sense, written English
What do the Gorilla test questions look like?
Each question takes ten seconds to read and thirty to solve. The maths is at the level of a simple interview case, but the four options are built to trap you: one matches a forgotten cost, another a division by the wrong base. Syllogisms play on the difference between "all" and "some". The six questions below come from our bank.
Question 1, Syllogisms
- Premise 1: All subsidiaries that pass their audit receive the compliance label.
- Premise 2: The Milan subsidiary has not received the compliance label.
Which conclusion follows logically from these premises?
- A.The Milan subsidiary passed its audit.
- B.The Milan subsidiary did not pass its audit.
- C.The compliance label no longer exists.
- D.Milan has never been audited.
Show the answer and the worked solution
Answer: The Milan subsidiary did not pass its audit.
This is a contrapositive: if passing the audit always leads to the label, then not having the label proves the audit was not passed. You cannot go further than that. "Milan has never been audited" is the trap: the subsidiary may have been audited and failed, the premises do not say.
Question 2, Syllogisms
- Premise 1: All partners of the firm have at least 10 years of experience.
- Premise 2: Some senior consultants are partners of the firm.
Which conclusion follows logically from these premises?
- A.All senior consultants have 10 years of experience.
- B.Some senior consultants have at least 10 years of experience.
- C.No senior consultant has 10 years of experience.
- D.All partners are senior consultants.
Show the answer and the worked solution
Answer: Some senior consultants have at least 10 years of experience.
The senior consultants who are partners inherit the property of all partners: at least 10 years of experience. Since only "some" seniors are partners, the conclusion holds for some of them only. Sliding from "some" to "all" is the most common mistake in this subtest.
Question 3, Business maths
- An investor buys a flat for €250,000 and rents it out for €950 a month. Yearly charges (service charge, tax, insurance) come to €3,400.
What is the net rental yield?
- A.4.6%
- B.3.8%
- C.5.0%
- D.3.2%
Show the answer and the worked solution
Answer: 3.2%
Yearly rent is 950 × 12 = €11,400. After €3,400 of charges, €8,000 net is left. Against the purchase price: 8,000 / 250,000 = 3.2%. The 4.6% answer is what you get if you forget the charges (gross yield), which is the intended trap.
Question 4, Business maths
- A bakery sells 200 baguettes a day at €1.20 (a margin of €0.40 per baguette) and 80 pastries a day at €2.50 (a margin of €1.00 per pastry).
What is the total daily gross margin?
- A.240 €
- B.160 €
- C.320 €
- D.120 €
Show the answer and the worked solution
Answer: 160 €
Only the unit margins matter, not the selling prices. Baguettes: 200 × 0.40 = €80. Pastries: 80 × 1.00 = €80. Total: €160 a day. The €1.20 and €2.50 prices are given to make you compute a revenue figure the question does not need.
Question 5, Chart reading
Revenue by segment (€m), chart data
Year B2B B2C B2G 2024 45 30 15 2025 52 38 20 What is the total growth in percent between 2024 and 2025?
In the test this data is shown as stacked bars. It is given here as a table.
- A.18.2%
- B.22.2%
- C.15.5%
- D.25.0%
Show the answer and the worked solution
Answer: 22.2%
2024 total: 45 + 30 + 15 = €90m. 2025 total: 52 + 38 + 20 = €110m. Growth is 20 / 90, or 22.2%. The 18.2% answer comes from dividing by the 2025 total (20 / 110): the base of a growth rate is always the starting year.
Question 6, Chart reading
- The chart compares customer acquisition cost (CAC) and customer lifetime value (LTV) by channel.
CAC and LTV by channel (€), chart data
Channel CAC LTV SEO 25 180 SEA 65 150 Social 45 120 Email 10 95 Which channel has the best LTV/CAC ratio?
In the test this data is shown as bars. It is given here as a table.
- A.SEO
- B.SEA
- C.Social
- D.Email
Show the answer and the worked solution
Answer: Email
Divide LTV by CAC for each channel: SEO 180 / 25 = 7.2; SEA 150 / 65 = 2.3; Social 120 / 45 = 2.7; Email 95 / 10 = 9.5. Email wins even though it has the lowest LTV: a ratio is read from both bars at once, and SEO, with the tallest LTV bar, is the tempting answer.
How do you prepare for the Gorilla test?
- 1
Make the basic calculations automatic
Margin, growth rate, share of a total, yield: these four calculations cover most of the section. You should be able to set them up without thinking about the formula. - 2
Eliminate before you calculate
An order of magnitude is often enough to rule out two answers out of four. That leaves a short calculation to decide between the last two. - 3
Draw the syllogisms
Two circles on scrap paper show at once whether one group sits inside the other or whether they merely overlap. It is safer than reasoning on the words. - 4
Learn to move on
With less than a minute per question, getting stuck costs more than a wrong answer. Set yourself a limit and move on.
What are the most common mistakes?
Mixing up gross and net
A "net" yield or a "net" margin means deducting the costs before you divide. The gross answer is nearly always among the options.
Sliding from "some" to "all"
If only some items have a property, the conclusion cannot apply to all of them. This is the most common syllogism mistake.
Dividing by the end year
Growth is measured against the starting value. Dividing the gap by the final value gives a lower percentage, which is also offered among the answers.
Frequently asked questions
How long does Bain's Gorilla test take?
About 30 minutes according to the candidate feedback we have compiled. On FrameLab, a full series of the three sections has 45 questions and takes roughly 36 minutes, with 45 to 50 seconds per question.
What does the Gorilla test measure?
Logic, maths, business sense and written English, according to our data. FrameLab trains the first three through syllogisms, business maths and chart reading.
Is a calculator allowed?
Our data does not let us state it for each firm, and the rule can change from one recruiting cycle to the next: the invitation you receive is the reference. Practise without a calculator. If it turns out to be allowed on the day, you will simply be faster.
Can the test eliminate me?
It is part of screening: a weak result can stop an application before the interviews. Bain does not publish a pass mark, which is why consistency is a better target than a specific score.
How many Gorilla questions does FrameLab offer?
FrameLab's Gorilla suite holds 180 questions, 60 per section, organised into four full series with no question in common.