Best CPA Exam Review Courses & CPA Study Materials of 2020

1. Becker CPA Review Course: Best for Big4 Backed Credibility

  Becker CPA Review is one of the most known companies for CPA exam candidates since it is sponsored by most accounting firms (including the Big 4) and universities. This used to be an issue for many students, since they were slow to adapt when other courses changed their platforms and study materials. Fortunately, Becker has undergone several necessary changes over the last few years and is now the best CPA review course currently available to students.

  Becker has no problem being the most expensive course out there since it has a secure customer base. This course is two to three times more expensive than other options out there, but it’s a trusted name in the industry and offers tons of benefits to justify this price. Additionally, they’ve recently added flexibility for students on a tight budget— now you can enroll in a payment plan over 3 months, 6 months, or a full year.

What to Expect With Becker CPA Prep Course?

The Becker CPA Review course has one of the largest databases of exam questions— over 9,000 multiple choice questions and almost 600 task-based simulations. That’s a lot to work with, but they also provide a Study Bank that ensures you don’t see the same recycled questions over and over again.

Becker also has live CPA prep course classes, which is rare. There is a benefit of having a live classroom setting to gain an understanding of CPA knowledge, but the viability of the course is dependent on the quality of the instructor. Fortunately, Becker’s instructors are extremely qualified and garner lots of praise from students!

Although Becker comes at such a high price, they surprisingly don’t offer audio content in any of their packages. This can be a letdown if you like studying while exercising, commuting, or doing chores around the house. And while you may be able to work around this by listening to video lectures, it’s just not the same.

Who is Becker Best Suited For?

Becker’s online course is a great option if you don’t want to be bothered with deadlines and want to work at your own pace. They’re also a fantastic choice because of their high-quality, easy-to-use CPA Exam materials. I 100% recommend using their study materials if you want the best chance at becoming a CPA!

Why Choose This Prep Course?

The Becker CPA Review course has a solid curriculum, course materials and instructors. If you’re a student who needs flexibility, as well as in-depth material, Becker’s online review course is the way to go. There’s also several financing options available, so you can even afford to enroll if your budget is on the smaller side.

2. Surgent CPA Review Courses: Best for Adaptive Learning Software

With the Surgent CPA Review Course, your materials are trimmed down to the essential topics. This reduces the number of hours that you will have to study for your exams. This course is taught by instructors who have over 20 years of experience teaching CPA exam prep. The company released an updated platform and the 2.0 version really pushes Surgent into the top echelon of CPA prep courses.

What to Expect With Surgent CPA Review Courses?

Surgent CPA Review courses have a strong lineup of instructors who are experts at teaching CPA exam candidates. Combined, they have more experience in the industry than any other CPA review companies on the market.

Your instructors, Liz Kolar (25 year CPA exam prep instructor) and Jack Surgent (leading CPE course provider with 20+ years of experience) created Surgent CPA Review Courses with the vision of making the study process more efficient than other established CPA exam review courses. They offer insightful strategies and study tips in their video lectures that they have accumulated through many years of teaching. I really liked how the videos were concise and to the point, making it easier to absorb and retain information.

You’ll find that Surgent’s CPA course is extremely easy to navigate through and you’ll be cruising in and out of lessons with ease thanks to the revamped dashboard design that Surgent created. This is something with which other courses struggle, so it’s great to see one course put a lot of money and effort into making the prep program easy to use and intuitive.

Their course comes with an UNLIMITED access, so you’ll never have to worry about the materials expiring until you have successfully passed.

They offer a Money-Back Guarantee which proves just how confident they are in their product. This offering was completely revamped into a new platform, and 2.0 is really something worth considering when buying CPA review courses. You even have the option to sign up for a 5 day trial, just to get familiar with the course before making any buying decisions.

Who is Surgent’s Course Best Suited For?

I would recommend Surgent to you if you are a student who prefers the convenience of studying at their own pace from guided video lectures. If you are looking to pass the CPA exam quickly by studying more efficiently, Surgent would be a great fit for you.

Surgent CPA Course Discounts and Promo Codes

  Take $700 OFF Surgent CPA Review’s premier course!

What’s the bottom line?

If you are looking to pass the CPA Exam quickly, Surgent’s impressive adaptive software makes these the right CPA Review courses for you. Their students often pass the exam in 3 weeks, with average study hours of 58 to be exam-ready.

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3. Gleim CPA Review Courses: Best for Task-Based Simulations

Gleim CPA Review Courses offer comprehensive study materials that will take you through all the possible subjects that may show up on the CPA exam.

Gleim’s CPA study materials cover every and any information you need to know. They also offer SmartAdapt technology that does an excellent job guiding you through each topic, ensuring that you don’t get lost in their substantial question bank. Despite this, their course may still not be a good pick for the faint of heart, since the dense content can be overwhelming.

However, if you prefer a ton of information and want to enroll in a course that fully prepares you for exam day by leaving no stone unturned, then this could very well be the right study guide for you.

What to Expect With Gleim CPA Review Course?

With Gleim’s CPA prep courses, their SmartAdapt technology will guide you through every step of the course. This is beneficial when used in conjunction with their extensive study materials, since it offers informed recommendations for each step of your CPA study schedule. Gleim includes a huge bank of True/False quizzes, MCQ tests, Final Exam Reviews, and Task Based Simulations to give you lots of practice for the real exam. In total, the full Gleim review course includes over 13,000 multiple choice questions and 1,300 task-based simulations, which is significantly more than any other CPA prep course.

Additionally, Gleim’s complete course includes an audio lesson for each section of the CPA exam. This 100+ hour library of extra content provides an excellent way to learn the material during non-traditional study times like commuting or exercising. They can be easily downloaded to your phone, iPod or mp3 player.

Much like their other study materials, Gleim’s textbooks are detailed and use a significant amount of technical jargon. Although many students prefer a highly comprehensive course, you may feel overwhelmed by the information overload. And you’re free to take all the time you need to get through your exam review thanks to their Access Until You Pass guarantee.

Who is Gleim CPA Review Best Suited For?

Gleim is the course for you if you want the most detailed study materials and the largest volume of practice questions. This is intended to have the greatest effect on students who struggled with some of these concepts when learning them for the first time in school. Additionally, Gleim is ideal for the individual who is extremely focused and can process information; if you struggle to pay attention when faced with walls of text, this might be an issue for you. Ultimately, this is an especially helpful course if you struggle with staying motivated and on-track with your study schedule, since SmartAdapt takes all of the guesswork out of the experience. 

Gleim CPA Course Discounts and Promo Codes

  Get $200 OFF Gleim’s Premium CPA Review course

Why Choose Gleim?

Gleim provides you with more than enough information and study material to pass the CPA exam. There is so much information provided here that you won’t lack for it.

However, as stated earlier, that information can be to a fault as it can be a bit overwhelming. If you want a study guide that will provide you with the most information about the exam, then you may want to give Gleim a try.

What’s the bottom line?

If you’ve been out of the classroom for a while and want a personal counselor to help you throughout your studies, Gleim is a great option. Their SmartAdapt tech can guide you through the entire study schedule, and their Premium account will let you talk to Accounting Experts for even more help if you need it.

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4. Roger CPA Review Courses: Best for Engaging Video Lectures

If you want an instructor that will keep you engaged with high energy and a passion for what he teaches, then Roger CPA Review Course is the perfect course for you.

Do you find yourself less self directed, and needing someone to keep your attention? Do you need an instructor who can keep you awake through all the boring CPA material?

Now, I’m not being sarcastic. It’s crucial for many learners out there to have a teacher that is someone with high energy. This is one of the main reasons why the Roger CPA prep course is one of my favorites. If you find yourself having a hard time memorizing terms then this may also be your best bet as Roger provides specific memorization techniques such as mnemonics.

What to Expect With Roger CPA Review Courses?

When you choose Roger for your CPA review course, you can expect to get over 120 hours of entertaining and informative video lectures. Roger Philip teaches each lecture with a lot (and I mean a lot) of humor and enthusiasm. His unique teaching style makes the material much more engaging and helps you stay motivated.

He is passionate about helping students pass the CPA exam. Not only is he knowledgeable about the material, but he can also break down difficult concepts into easy-to-understand lessons. Roger uses mnemonics and other memorization tools throughout his lectures to provide an easier way for students to remember many tedious details that often appear on the exam. Check out his video below and see for yourself 🙂

Your Roger CPA review course software will also come integrated with SmartPath Technology. This new feature provides you with recommendations on where and how to focus your efforts by comparing your progress and performance to those that have passed the CPA Exam. This efficient tool can cut your study time down by hundreds of hours!

Roger now offers CPA exam candidates UNLIMITED access to their online study materials through their Elite-Unlimited tier. No need to worry about your course expiring; you’ll have your study materials for as long as you desire! Roger also offers free course updates to ensure you’ll always be studying with the most up to date content if/when any changes are made to the exam.

Now, what about the financing options?

The Roger CPA Review Courses now offer financing plans if you are a student on a budget. This is a fantastic opportunity because anyone who can afford to pay $149 a month now has access to the best CPA exam review course on the market!

With so many benefits, it may come as a surprise that Roger is ranked below so many other CPA review courses. Ultimately, this has to do with customer dissatisfaction after a recent UWorld course update. According to a number of reviews left by unsatisfied users, their on-the-go study app suffers from frequent crashes, poor connectivity, and a confusing redesign that’s overly complicated.

Who is Roger CPA Review Best Suited For?

I would recommend this course to a CPA candidate who has a hard time focusing while studying. If you found yourself struggling to stay awake in some of your accounting lectures, then Roger CPA review will definitely keep you from falling asleep.

If you also like to ask a lot of questions while you study, there is a homework help centre available to you around the clock.

Roger’s CPA course is best suited for students who are audio and visual learners. There is an available audio version of the course, although you will have to pay an additional fee for it.

Roger CPA Prep Course Discounts and Promo Codes

  Get $315 OFF the Roger CPA Review Premier Course! Plus get Unlimited Course Access with the Roger CPA Review Course Elite package for a limited time with this discount code.

Why Choose Roger’s CPA Prep Course?

  If you are lacking in the area of motivation and need someone who can get you pumped up about the CPA exam and keep you motivated, then this is the review course you are looking for.

5. Fast Forward Academy CPA Review: Best for Value

Fast Forward Academy is the most affordable CPA prep course on the market. In fact it costs nearly half of what the top three ranked here do.

If you are on a budget and can do without some of the other perks other CPA exam companies offer, then you may want to take a closer look at Fast Forward Academy CPA Review.

But here’s the kicker:

Fast Forward Academy is relatively new to the CPA Review arena and the course is still proving itself. The student feedback is a bit mixed, but it’s definitely a solid course for passing the CPA exam with.

What to Expect With Fast Forward Academy CPA Prep Courses?

Fast Forward is not a one size fits all type of course, since it actually caters to each student’s specific learning needs. As you progress through the course, data from your practice exams is collected and used to create personalized tests that target your weak areas.

Even though Fast Forward Academy’s learning platform can be accessed from most mobile devices, including iPads, iPhones, and most Android phones, there is no dedicated app to make studying on your phone or tablet more streamlined and convenient. Other courses have awesome mobile apps that makes quick study sessions easy and simple. It helps to have an app that you can use to quickly use on-the-go.

Fast Forward has a guarantee that grants you access to the course until you pass.

But, here’s the deal:

If you don’t fit well with the course structure and want to use a different course, you’ll only have 30 days to figure it out in order to receive a refund. This isn’t a terrible deal, but some courses are a little more forgiving.

Other courses don’t have a time limit on their refund and instead abide by a pass or refund guarantee. You’ll have to make sure you meet all of Fast Forwards 30 day refund qualifications too in order to get your money back.

Who is This Review Course Best Suited For?

If you are looking to cut through the process and make it as efficient as possible, this course has great tools to do just that. If you prefer to focus your studies on topics you are weakest in, rather than learning in a traditional method and going through all of the course material, then Fast Forward Academy may be a good fit for you. 

6. Yaeger CPA Review Course: Best for Most Affordable

Yaeger CPA Review is a great course for you if you want the bare bones done well, not great. The customer support for this prep tool is excellent, and the flexible and customized format is a perfect solution for those who don’t fit into a specific learning style category.

What to Expect With Yaeger CPA Review?

The Yaeger CPA review course is much more of an old school style of teaching. If you have a shorter attention span, you may get bored by the traditional lecture videos. They are structured very much like most accounting classes you probably had in college and move a little slower than an independent self-study type of person might prefer.

The lectures include step by step instructions to ensure that you are clear about the subject material. Instructors work hundreds of multiple choice questions with you and help you navigate through those tricky problems which give you the repetition needed to be successful.

Yaeger does have some of the best customer support available. Yaeger’s Live Instructor Hotline provides responsive personal support that is superior to any other review course I’ve used.

This allows you to directly contact the instructors for help with any questions that arise while you are studying. Yaeger sticks to its promise, “Whether by phone or email—you can contact me and the other instructors personally almost anytime.”

Who is Yaeger Best Suited For?

Yaeger is best suited for you if you need a little customization in your studying but don’t want to splurge on one of the more comprehensive and expensive options. The additional study help that’s offered is also a great way to get more out of your review.

Yaeger CPA Course Discounts and Promo Codes

  10% Off Discount code – applies to all Yaeger products and study materials

  Get $140 OFF the complete Yaeger CPA Review Course!

Why Choose This Prep Course?

Yaeger CPA Review has talented instructors who will break down the content for candidates of all types. With excellent support and a number of add-on features, this course is a great low-to-mid level option.

The lectures aren’t overly exciting, but they cover all the CPA exam topics in a palatable form.

There is a time limit for this course, meaning no unlimited access. If you’re planning on studying for a longer period, this may not be the best fit.

7. Universal CPA Review Course: Best for Supplemental Coursework

Universal CPA Review was designed for one particular purpose. If you’ve already invested time and money into a fully-fledged course like Surgent but need some additional help, this is the choice for you!

What to Expect With Universal CPA Review?

You’re not going to see most of the content found here in any other CPA prep course. That’s because the team of professional CPAs and accounting wizards at Universal CPA Review created thousands of unique questions and simulations exclusively for this course.

Furthermore, each question comes with thoroughly detailed explanations to justify each answer. What do I mean by thoroughly detailed? Essentially, each answer comes with a lecture in both audio and video format. You simply won’t find this anywhere else!

However, the most appealing feature of Universal CPA Review by far is its price. At just under $600 for the full bundle, this is a steal of a deal. But if that’s still too rich for your blood, you can always opt for a single section at a fraction of the price.

Who is Universal CPA Review Best Suited For?

The CPA candidate who will get the most out of this course is one who’s already tried other prep courses. Bonus points for any students who like audio-based learning, studying on the go, and spending as little as possible on their study materials. 

However, you shouldn’t spring for this course if it’s your first ever. Universal CPA Review makes it clear on their site that this is a supplementary course, meant to be paired with another one. This is not a fully-fledged review course like you’d get from Roger or Surgent.

Why Choose Universal CPA Review?

Let’s say you’ve already signed up with a comprehensive CPA prep course. You’ve diligently completed each practice quiz and listened to each lecture according to the schedule. However, you’re still greatly concerned with your ability to really grasp the exam concepts.

Now let’s say you’ve already taken the CPA exam in the past and failed. Once again, you did everything right by signing up for a CPA review course and following its outlined schedule. You were so close to passing too: it only took a bad score on one section to keep you from becoming certified.

In either of these situations, Universal CPA Review is the best choice. The former candidate can brush up on core concepts through their unique curriculum, and the latter can cram for a retake of a specific section without breaking the bank. Either way, you win!

Which CPA Course Has the Best Video Lessons?

If you consider yourself a visual learner, you need a course that has the best video lessons. I personally would rather watch a teacher than try to understand difficult accounting concepts through readings, and I know many other students who are the same.

So who’s the best?

Roger CPA Review has some of the best videos in the industry with his super energetic teaching style.

Another great course for video lectures is Surgent CPA Review, which can be attributed to having some of the most knowledgeable CPA test prep instructors out there.

Best CPA Exam Prep Course Video Lectures – Comparison Table

Which CPA Prep Course Has the Most Practice Questions?

Multiple choice questions are the bulk of any CPA review course, as these mirror the exam content and are the best way to practice for CPA exam.

The number of MCQs isn’t always the most important quality for these questions. You must also note that some questions are harder and more like the actual exam than others.

So who has the most?

Gleim has the most amount of questions. They offer the highest volume of content by far, so you’ll want to try their course if this is the most important feature for you.

Becker, however, has the most adaptive multiple choice questions that are specific to your level of knowledge, helping  you prepare for the test.

CPA Courses With The Most Multiple Choice Practice Questions (MCQs)

Which CPA Prep Course Has the Most Task-Based Simulations?

Task-based simulations have become increasingly important since the changes made to the CPA Exam a few years ago. Because of this new test that places more importance of simulations, CPA review courses now place more emphasis on these questions, ensuring you can pass after practicing the TBS section.

So who is the best when it comes to TBS’s?

Becker and Surgent have some of the best CPA exam Task Based Simulations which include the most up to date CPA exam content covering the new content and topics on the CPA exam blueprints. Becker in particular has an extremely impressive library of TBS content since they also include over 400 instructional videos taught by accounting experts.

Most CPA Exam Task-Based Simulations (TBS) by Course

Which CPA Courses Offer Discounts & Financing Options?

Why would you pay full price for a CPA review course when there are tons of great CPA discount codes available! Save hundreds of dollars off all the most popular prep courses with these great CPA promo codes.

But what if you can’t afford a pricey CPA review course?

Becker offers financing options which allow you to make much more affordable monthly payments over a period of 3 months, 9 months, or one year.

Best CPA Course Financing & Discount Offers (Comparison)