Best CPA Review Courses in 2026 (Honest Comparison)

Last updated: August 2026. Written by Josh Hutcheson, OnlineCourseing editor. See our review methodology.

QUICK VERDICT

A CPA review course is the single biggest controllable factor in passing the CPA Exam, and it is also a four-figure purchase. This guide compares the four major providers on what they actually cost and what you get, using prices read from each provider’s own site rather than from other review articles.

What the CPA Exam looks like now

Worth getting straight before you buy, because the exam changed under CPA Evolution in 2024 and plenty of older material still describes the previous structure. Per the AICPA, the Uniform CPA Examination is a four-section, 16-hour assessment:

• Three four-hour Core sections, taken by everyone: Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), and Taxation and Regulation (REG).
• One four-hour Discipline section of your choice: Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR), Information Systems and Control (ISC), or Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP).
• You must score at least 75 on each section.

The Discipline choice is a real decision, not a formality — it does not restrict your licence, but it should reflect where you intend to work. Note that review providers sell material covering all six sections; you only sit four.

CPA review courses compared, with real prices

Read from each provider’s own site in August 2026. All four discount frequently, so treat these as list prices. Becker and UWorld do not publish list prices on their course pages — both surface figures only through a sales flow or financing estimate, which is worth knowing before you assume a quoted “deal” is a discount off anything.

Surgent — best value, and it is not close

Surgent publishes three tiers: Essentials Pass at $799, Premier Pass at $1,299 and Ultimate Pass at $1,699. Its selling point is an adaptive engine that concentrates study time on your weak areas, which is genuinely valuable if you are fitting revision around a job. The upper tiers include unlimited access until you pass and a money-back pass guarantee.

The entry tier at $799 is roughly a third of Gleim’s cheapest option, which reframes the whole comparison. If you are self-funding, start here and only move up if you find you need what the higher tiers add.

Becker — the established standard

Becker is the course most large accounting firms provide to staff, and it has the deepest track record. Its packages run Advantage, Pro, Pro+ and Concierge, and all of them include what Becker calls the Exam Day Ready toolkit: digital textbooks, 900+ concept videos, 9,000+ multiple-choice questions and 900+ task-based simulations, plus simulated and mini exams, unlimited learning support and a pass guarantee.

The honest calculus: if your firm reimburses, take Becker and stop reading. The default choice at someone else’s expense is an easy decision, and Becker’s ubiquity means your colleagues can help you through it. If you are paying yourself, its lack of published pricing makes it hard to compare on value, and Surgent covers the same exam for a published fraction of the cost.

UWorld — the most engaging lectures (and it now owns two former rivals)

Worth knowing if you are searching for older brand names: UWorld’s CPA product is now billed as “formerly Roger and Wiley CPA Review” — it has absorbed both. If you have been recommended “Roger CPA” or “Wiley CPA” by someone who qualified a few years ago, UWorld is where those went.

The proposition is Roger Philipp’s famously energetic lectures paired with UWorld’s respected question explanations. If dry accounting lectures have defeated you before, this is the course candidates credit with keeping them in the chair. Packages are Premier, Elite-Unlimited and Elite-Unlimited+, and it offers a money-back pass guarantee of $250 per section. Like Becker, it does not publish list prices — it advertises discounts and Affirm monthly figures instead.

Gleim — huge question bank, premium price

Gleim’s strength is genuine: a very large, difficult question bank with detailed explanations of both right and wrong answers, plus its SmartAdapt platform which directs you to weak areas and signals when you are ready. Candidates who grind questions rate it highly, and its mock exams reproduce the Prometric environment closely.

How to choose your CPA review course

• Your firm reimburses: Becker. The decision is made for you and costs you nothing.
• You are self-funding: Surgent, starting at the $799 tier. Nothing else published comes close on price.
• Lectures are what you struggle with: UWorld.
• You learn by doing thousands of questions: Gleim — at full price, knowingly.
• You are still deciding: take the free trials. You will spend hundreds of hours inside this interface, and that matters more than the brand on it.

One thing worth weighing above all of these: the pass guarantee. A retake costs you another exam fee and months of your life, so a provider that keeps giving you access until you pass is worth more than a headline discount. Surgent and UWorld both offer money-back guarantees on their upper tiers, and Becker includes a pass guarantee across its packages — read the specific conditions, because they differ substantially.

First, make sure the fundamentals are solid

Review courses assume you already understand core accounting — they are exam preparation, not first-principles teaching. Spending $2,000 on a review course to discover your foundation is shaky is an expensive way to learn that. If your accounting is rusty, or you are still deciding whether the CPA path is right at all, build the underlying skills first: our best accounting courses guide covers affordable ways to do that, and if you are weighing the CPA against other credentials, see CPA vs CFA and CPA vs CMA.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best CPA review course?

It depends on who is paying. If your firm reimburses, Becker is the established standard and the easy choice. If you are self-funding, Surgent offers the best published value, starting at $799 with an adaptive engine and a pass guarantee. UWorld is the pick if lecture engagement is your obstacle, and Gleim if you want the largest question bank.

How much do CPA review courses cost?

Surgent publishes $799 to $1,699 and Gleim $2,499 to $3,499, both checked in August 2026. Becker and UWorld do not publish list prices on their course pages, surfacing figures only through a sales flow or monthly financing estimate. All four discount frequently, so a quoted “sale” is not always a reduction from a stated list price.

Which CPA review course is cheapest?

Of the four majors, Surgent’s Essentials Pass at $799. This surprises people, because Gleim has historically been described as the budget option across the internet — but Gleim’s own site now lists its cheapest package at $2,499, which is over three times Surgent’s entry price.

How is the CPA Exam structured?

Under CPA Evolution it is a four-section, 16-hour exam: three four-hour Core sections everyone takes (AUD, FAR and REG) plus one four-hour Discipline section you choose from BAR, ISC or TCP. You need a minimum score of 75 on each section.

What happened to Roger and Wiley CPA Review?

Both are now part of UWorld, whose CPA product is billed as “formerly Roger and Wiley CPA Review.” If someone recommends either name to you, UWorld is where that material now lives.

Do I need a CPA review course to pass?

In practice almost everyone uses one. The exam is too broad to self-assemble efficiently, and the review course provides structure, a large question bank and simulated exams that are very hard to replicate alone. The question is which one, not whether.

Which CPA review course is best for working professionals?

Adaptive courses like Surgent suit working candidates because they concentrate limited study time on weak areas rather than marching through everything. UWorld also works well if you need engaging lectures to stay consistent around a job. Either way, prioritise a package with unlimited access until you pass, because timelines slip when you are working.