It’s time to talk about choosing the best CPA review course for your studies.
It’s a big decision to make because the cost investment is large and this is your career. The last thing you want to do is pick a course which doesn’t work for you.
I see other articles promoting the “best” CPA review course and declaring that their discount code offers the best possible price, and I cringe.
Any site which links you to CPA review courses will receive a commission if you purchase. Sometimes we do this for this site, too.
You’ll see 70+ discounts available (which all suspiciously expire in 2-3 days time). You’ll see popups. You’ll see buzzwords.
But the truth is, it’s all bogus.
The only way to truly know if a CPA review course is the best for you is to try them all.
Before you go any further, see why discounts with CPA review courses are not always what they seem.
Any time you see a discount available on a site, it’s convincing. You need to act right now to purchase, right? Well…
Here’s an offer I received by email recently:
An exclusive offer at $2,000 for Becker Advantage? Sounds awesome.
Until you visit the Becker Advantage page in a private browsing window:
$1,999 is just the price. There is no special offer here beyond what Becker offers by default.
Here’s one more example from the same email:
If I click that link, I can see that the Roger CPA Review Elite is now just $1,999. It does look like it’s a saving of $1,000.
Let’s take a look in a private browsing window:
So, if you shop directly with Roger CPA Review, it’s actually $100 cheaper than the “highest on the web” discount that I got offered.
It’s like this across many, many CPA review articles and this is why we’ll never do this on Study Finance.
So here’s the deal. We do make money from some of the links in this article.
But…
We will never try to sell you or convince you that you have to purchase a specific CPA review course right now. The deals come directly from the course providers.
Do you think Surgent, Wiley, Becker, Roger, Gleim or any other course is going to offer lower prices to partners than their own site? I don’t.
We’ve been helping finance students to further their careers since 1999 and the primary goal of Study Finance from day one has been to help people who want to have a successful career in finance.
In short, we want what is best for you. Not us.
Which CPA Review Course to Choose?
Most CPA review course articles will have a comparison table with star ratings, discounts, and other information.
This is all well and good, but it doesn’t tell you which one will work for you.
If you go onto Reddit and ask the question (or any community of people actually TAKING the CPA exam) you’ll see one recommendation that stands out above the rest…
Try them all!
Free Trials on All CPA Review Courses
I can pretty much guarantee that any CPA review course you are considering has a trial (links with * are affiliate links):
- Becker CPA Review: has a 21-day free trial
- Wiley CPAexcel: has a 14-day free trial
- Fast Forward Academy: has a 14-day free trial
- Roger CPA Review*: has a 7-day free trial
- Surgent CPA Review*: has a 5-day free trial
- Gleim CPA Review: has 18-month access to an entire study unit
- Yaeger CPA Review: has a trial but the length is not specified
Try each one of them and see which one fits best for you. There’s no need to pick one right now based on a discount that may or may not truly exist.
Do not pay out a penny until you have tried each course for free.
Only then can you be 100% confident that you are purchasing the very best CPA review course for your needs.
I would rather you find the correct study materials than earn a commission from you purchasing the wrong one through our link.
Recommended CPA Review Course?
In this article, we won’t recommend a specific review course. We genuinely believe that to do so would do you a disservice.
Across the writing team at Study Finance who put together this initial article and research, five out of the seven courses mentioned above have been used and each had its advantages and disadvantages for the individual using them.
If you take a free trial with Becker, Wiley, Surgent, Gleim, or Roger, I am very confident that within a week you will know which course is best for you.
CPA Review Course Buyer’s Guide
I was hesitant to write a buyer’s guide. I actually don’t think there is any better way to assess the courses than by trying each of them.
That said, we do receive questions about them and there may be something useful here to help you save time in picking the right one.
Trial Period
I feel like a broken record here, but please take the free trials. It’s a lot of money to have buyer’s remorse on. Pick a few of the review courses and take the free trial period to check them out.
Compare them and determine what you like and dislike. Some students will be in a privileged position to be able to pick more than one for their studies. Others will not have that luxury.
After a week, you’ll know which CPA review course you’re leaning towards. At that point, you can pull the trigger on the purchase and feel completely confident in your decision.
Learning Platform
Online education has come a long way and you don’t need to spend 200+ hours reading dry course materials and books anymore.
When searching for the perfect CPA for you, take a look at the technology. You’ll see it being referred to as “adaptive” but that’s just a fancy marketing term.
All it means is that you take a few tests so that it can figure out what topics you need more help with.
The platform should be able to tailor the learning to your specific needs so you can reduce the amount of time studying by focusing on the topics you need to learn.
Most of them will already have something like this. By trialling the review course you’ll be able to see if their dashboard and platform work for you.
It’s like how some people choose Twitter over Reddit and some choose Reddit over Facebook. You’ll know.
Learning Style
Let’s face it, studying for your CPA is not the most entertaining and engaging of material. All of the courses offer video lessons, which is great for absorbing a lot of information quickly and without spending hours reading.
Take a look at the videos each offer and see whether they fit with your learning style. For example:
- Surgent offer the most experienced and knowledgeable instructors and they make you feel comfortable with what you’re learning.
- Roger CPA is incredibly engaging, energetic and lively.
Again, these are just anecdotal observations I found from CPA students on Reddit.
Your mileage may vary so take the trial!
Some of the courses are known for having quite a boring or dry lesson style. If you’re somebody who switches off easily, you’ll need to check that first so you don’t pick the wrong course.
Another option is to look at audio too. If the course provides audio you can listen and learn while in the car, on the bus, on the train, or while doing household chores.
Depending on your circumstances, each course will offer something different.
Unlimited Access
Most courses already offer unlimited access but some of them limit this to the premium, top-level plans which are more expensive.
In an ideal world, you would not need 12-18 months to pass your CPA and even limited courses would be okay, but you never know what challenges life might throw at you. It’s better to pick a course with unlimited access so you know that you can pick it up again if life throws you a curveball!
Money-Back Guarantee
Some CPA review courses are so confident that you’ll pass with them that they are willing to offer a guarantee.
Now, a lot of my career has been spent in marketing and I know that the chances of people asking for a refund even with a guarantee is low. But…
If you are vigilant, and you know you will take advantage, it takes away a lot of risk.
Just make sure you have evidence that the money-back guarantee was offered.
Obviously, you want to work your hardest and pass the CPA as soon as possible, but it’s nice to have this kind of fallback, just in case.
Conclusion
This probably wasn’t quite the article you were expecting when you searched for the best CPA review course on Google.
I wanted to make this the most transparent and completely honest CPA review course guide possible.
I wanted to be different from every other site and talk to potential CPA students directly. Without marketing speak or misleading discounts.
The bottom line is this:
- Take full advantage of the free trials from any of the CPA courses above
- Any discounts available will always be applied directly at the provider site
- After the trial period, choose the best course for you and purchase it with 100% confidence.
Supporting Study Finance
Like all sites promoting CPA review courses, we earn a commission if you purchase.
If you use our links above to signup for a free trial and then go on to purchase the full product, you will help to support this site and our authors.
You are, of course, under no obligation to do so and can go directly to the provider websites if you prefer.
The CPA review courses we currently have an affiliate partnership with are:
The CPA review courses we do not have an affiliate partnership with (but still recommend you trial) are:
FAQs
1. Which CPA review course is the best?
The best CPA review course will vary depending on your individual needs and preferences. However, some courses are known for being particularly engaging or having unlimited access. Make sure to take advantage of free trials to figure out which course is the best fit for you.
2. Which CPA review course has the best pass rate?
Becker CPA Review, Wiley CPAexcel, and Gleim CPA Review are all known for their impressive track records. However, it's important to remember that your success ultimately depends on how much you study and how effectively you use the course material.
3. Are CPA Review courses worth it?
CPA review course obviously depends on the specific program, but in general, you can expect video lectures, practice questions and exams, cheat sheets and e-books, task lists and planners, and customer support. Many courses also offer unlimited access to their materials so that you can study at your own pace.
4. What is the average CPA score?
The AICPA has not released any data on the average CPA score in recent years. Each candidate's score will vary depending on their individual strengths and weaknesses. However, by using a CPA review course you can help to optimize your studying and maximize your chances of success.
5. How long is the Becker CPA Review course?
The Becker CPA Review course is a total of 120 hours. However, you are not required to complete the entire course in order to pass the exam. You can study at your own pace and only use the materials that are most relevant to you.
