When evaluating the benefits of the CFA charter, we quite often come to the discussion on whether CFA is a good return on investment.
Whilst the return part of the equation is subjective and trickier to estimate (as the potential gains depends on various factors unique to you), the monetary cost is more predictable with a narrower range that is similar for most candidates.
Here’s a proper guide on all the relevant CFA exam cost you really need to budget for all 3 levels of the CFA exams, including CFA course fees if you choose to use third party study materials.
We are going to first dive straight into the the total costs of CFA exams (and its assumptions). Then, we will delve into the details of the 5 main types of costs, before finally discussing money-saving tips to further slash these fees.
Let’s do this 🙂
The total cost of all 3 CFA exams ranges from $3,220-$8,270, assuming 3 consecutive passes with no travel & accommodation costs.
These are the 2024-2025 CFA exam fees breakdown by level:
The two significant factors that affect the cost range are:
Let’s go through each of the 5 key cost components so you can further improve your cost estimates.
CFA fees consists of:
Here are the 2024-2025 exam fees payable to CFA Institute and relevant registration deadlines (until 11:59pm Eastern Time respectively):
| Fee type (for all Levels) | 2024 (US$) | 2025 (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| One-time Enrollment Fee (paid once only during first Level 1 registration) | $350 | $350 |
| Registration Fee (for each Level or retake): | ||
| CFA Level 1 or 2 | ||
| Early Registration | $940 | $990 |
| Standard Registration | $1,250 | $1,290 |
| CFA Level 3 only | ||
| Early Registration | $940 | $1,090 |
| Standard Registration | $1,250 | $1,390 |
This is something most candidates forget to budget in for, although it’s a relatively small amount of $50 on average.
For those who prefer to bring a spare calculator as a backup during exams, remember to double the cost below accordingly.
Here are the prices of each of the 4 CFA approved calculators:
Not sure which calculator to choose? Check out our BA II Plus vs. HP12C guide →
There are 2 aspects to this, which depends on whether you’re using CFA curriculum or third party study materials as your primary source of learning:
Here is a quick summary of the main types of study material packages offered by each CFA prep provider, and its associated cost per Level:
| Study Material Cost, per CFA Level (US$) | Self Study* | Premium (Online) | Premium (Online) + Review Course* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaplan Schweser | $699 | $999 | $1,399 |
| UWorld | $499 | $699 | $1,199 |
| Salt Solution | $599-$749 | – | – |
| Cost Range ($) | $199 – $699 per Level | $575 – $1,199 per Level | $1,299 per Level |
* Self study packages typically include study notes, question bank and practice exams. Premium courses (online or classroom-based) include learning materials in self-study package, plus online/classroom lectures and 2-3 days review workshops.
In my view, it would be difficult (though not impossible) to go for a “Bare Minimum” cost scenario, i.e. aiming for Early registration for all Levels, and spend nothing on third party study materials, relying exclusively on CFA curriculum e-Books.
Just to be more helpful, based on many candidates experiences (including mine), a “Realistic Average” cost scenario would be budgeting $800 per Level for third party study materials, assuming you’re using that as your main source of learning materials. This sufficiently covers the cost for either:
For those with a little extra budget, or just simply prefer to have lectures and review courses included, a “Realistic Premium” cost scenario would be budgeting for $1,000 per Level for third party study materials, assuming you’re using that as your main source of learning materials. This covers the cost for a typical online premium course, with all the bells and whistles included (e.g. lectures and last minute review workshops).
Despite offering 400+ test locations around the world for the computer-based testing (CBT), some CFA candidates may still have to travel some distance to a test center, and/or make accommodation arrangements to stay overnight nearby. These additional costs (if applicable to you) needs to be taken into account for all 3 levels as well.
Another significant cost consideration would be exam retake fees (and the associated study material costs if using a prep provider). As you can see from the Registration Fee and Study Material sections, each exam retake costs $940-$1,390 in standard registration fees (required) and perhaps another $750-$1,500 if you need to purchase the latest study materials.
Finally, with CBT exams, there is also a standard $250 rescheduling fee applicable if you need to change your original exam appointment.
Unfortunately, the monetary cost of failure is high with CFA exams, but we are here to help with a few moneysaving tips further below.
Finally, if you have passed all 3 levels of the CFA exams, and submitted qualifying work experiences and references, all you have to do is apply for regular member to obtain your CFA Charter. This annual membership costs US$299 per year going forward.
An important note: you have the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst or CFA marks only if you are a Regular Member of the CFA Institute.
In other words, being a Regular Member of the CFA Institute is a prerequisite to earning the CFA Charter.
Hope this helps with budgeting. How much did you spend so far on your CFA preparations? Let me know in the comments below!
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I can register from India or Switzerland. If I register from Switzerland. Can I appear for my exams in India and vice versa. Also the cost of CFA registration is same in India or Switzerland --- or it differs as per country. The prices above are including GST in India ? thanks
Hello,
This was so helpful.
1. Any chance you have discounts for Fitch Learning?
2. Also, I am trying to access L2 print CFA books early. I am debating whether to buy them off Amazon but the total book plus shipping cost to my country is about $350 ($207 + $92). This is higher than what I would pay if I wait to register through CFA.However, CFAI has not yet opened Nov 2023 registration and I plan to apply for a scholarship so I wont be able to register till I get the scholarship decision at end of March. I would like to start reading on March 1st. Do you have any work arounds for this?
3 Is the cost of print books still $150+ through CFAI? I read somewhere that they had doubled that cost but maybe that was incorrect. Please let me know. Thanks.
Hi Christina, I'm glad you found our summary helpful! To answer your questions:
1) Unfortunately we currently don't have a discount for Fitch Learning. Is there a particular course you're interested in? I can reach out to Fitch to see if we can get any for you :)
2) Yikes, that sounds expensive, but you're right the price has increased for 2023 curriculum, it used to be $150! I think I may have a workaround here :)
Here's an idea, given that there are minimal changes this year with 2022 vs 2023 curriculum, it may be worth getting second hand 2022 curriculum books, check our article to compare which topics were unchanged between 2022 and 2023 and focus your studies on those first, before April 2023?
3) You're right that prices have increased to $200+ plus shipping ($200-250 currently), depending on vendor. We have updated the article for this.
Can we get access to all the study material of CFA by only paying one time enrolment charges and pay the registration fee later on after two three months?
Is the scholarship only applicable to the program registration fee only and not for one time registration fee?
Ordinarily for L1, I’d have to pay $450 (one-time registration) + $700 (program registration) = $1150. How much do I have to pay if I land the access scholarship?
The CFA Program Access Scholarship waives the one-time program enrollment fee, and discounts the exam registration fee to $250, which includes access to the curriculum and all available study tools.
So $1,150 → $250.
what study tools are included in the scholarship?
It’s helpful
Thank you very much for this. I found this is very helpful.
You're very welcome!
Thank you very much
You're welcome - glad you found it helpful!
Thank you for this. This is very helpful.
You're welcome Raj! Glad you found it useful :)
Glad you find it useful. Remember to check out the rest of our free tools like our study planner and practice tests!
This is a very useful tip for my CFA journey.