Compare CPA

As you begin your CPA Exam journey, you’ll want to choose the CPA prep course that best fits your needs. We’ve put together this guide of providers to help you select an approach that suits your learning style.

According to several independent review sites, Surgent CPA is the best CPA Exam review course. Review sites include: Crush the CPA Exam, CPA Exam Guy, Beat the CPA and Accounting Institute. Compare Surgent to other top providers below.

Surgent vs.

An expensive option lacking key features

Becker has historically been one of the go-to brands for CPA Review; however, Becker’s Adapt2U technology, powered by a third-party company, is not adaptive. Learners may complete a brief, optional quiz that determines whether they should start with lectures or skills practice videos. Still, they must work through each module linearly regardless of prior knowledge. In Becker’s review program, learners spend hundreds of hours studying for each CPA Exam section. Also, Becker is one of the most expensive options on the market, charging over $1,000 more for their top-tier package compared to Surgent’s Ultimate Pass.
Finally, estimates place the average study time per part as 190 for Becker and 184 for Surgent.


Student assessment with diagnostic report
Customized study plan
Adaptive learning technology
Course category weighting
Personalized, daily study planner
Full purchase price Pass Guarantee

Spend six times the study time with Wiley

Wiley’s CPAexcel® Review course compares a learner’s score to those of successful CPA Exam candidates to help the learner assess their progress; however, the software is not truly adaptive. While Surgent’s software continually adapts to a learner’s progress throughout the course, Wiley CPAexcel Review creates performance metrics that need to be learner-assessed and self-corrected throughout the course. Wiley CPAexcel Review also has a static study planner that does not automatically update based on a learner’s progress. Wiley’s biggest pro is its test bank; it provides 12,000 multiple-choice questions and 500 task-based simulations. Still, despite an ample test bank, Wiley learners average 281 hours of study time per test part, compared to Surgent’s learners’ average study time of 184 hours.


1:1 coaching
Customized study plan
Adaptive learning technology
Course category weighting
Personalized, daily study planner
Pass guarantee

Roger’s adaptive technology falls short

Roger CPA Review Course’s SmartPath Predictive Technology™ compares learners’ scores throughout the course to the scores of successful past CPA candidates who also took the course. While there is no initial assessment to test a candidate’s knowledge, and the study planner is not adaptive, SmartPath Technology uses a candidate’s data to ensure they’re getting the right questions when needed. SmartPath Technology has shortcomings, as comparing a current candidate’s scores to a previous candidate’s scores does not account for new exam changes. Roger does have a robust mobile app, but overall it’s not as responsive as Surgent’s truly adaptive course. This lack of adaptation results in Roger students requiring more study time — 195 hours compared to Surgent’s 184 hours.


1:1 coaching
Customized study plan
Adaptive learning technology
Course category weighting
Personalized, daily study planner
Unlimited course access until learners pass

Customized learning streamlines success

Surgent’s proprietary A.S.A.P.® Technology customizes learners’ content based upon previous knowledge and learning gaps. The curriculum continually adapts, ensuring that study time is spent learning only what the learner needs to know to pass the exam.