Buying an app for your iPad typically sets you back only 99 cents. But a Santa Monica company is selling one for $999.99.

At that price, TestMax has developed the most expensive item in Apple’s app store. Called BarMax, the app is a guide for law students studying for the bar exam. It comes with video lectures taught by Harvard Law School professors and practice exams.

Though $1,000 is a hefty price for an app, it’s cheap compared with most bar exam prep courses. The market leader, BarBri, offers a six-week prep course for about $3,700.

“People generally feel like bar prep courses are far too expensive,” said Sina Mobasser, the co-founder of TestMax. “We wanted to create an alternative.”

Why doesn’t TestMax charge more? Apple Inc. won’t let developers sell apps for more than $999.99. The only other app with a price that high when BarMax launched, called I Am Rich, did nothing more than put a picture of a shining red jewel on the buyer’s device. Apple removed it from the store after one day. Other $1,000 apps have since been developed.

Mobasser and co-founder Mehran Ebadolahi first launched BarMax in 2010. The two started with only the California bar exam. The company has since expanded to guides for the New York state exam, and plans to add guides for Texas, Illinois and Florida by the end of the year.

In December, TestMax launched LSATMax, a $499 app for students taking the exam for law school admission. The company also is considering apps for the SAT and grad school tests.

“We’re trying to take the whole in-class experience and make it better,” Mobasser said.

Of course, not all agree. Susan Bakhshian, director of bar programs and academic success at Loyola Law School, said some students prefer classroom instruction where they can ask questions and exchange ideas with a professor.

“Some students do prefer the boutique courses because they are live lectures,” Bakhshian said. “But for students looking for convenience, technology is a real option.”