What 65 Professional Certifications Really Cost in 2026

Key findings

• The spread is enormous: single-exam fees run from free (Google Ads Search, Google Analytics Certification, HubSpot Inbound Marketing) to US$1,699 (OSCP). The median entry fee across all 73 exams is US$300.
• The sticker price is often not the real price: 20 of 73 exams (27%) carry mandatory fees beyond the exam itself - applications, enrolments, memberships or annual maintenance.
• Multi-exam qualifications multiply quietly: the CFA charter's real exam bill is ~US$3,170-4,100, and ACCA's 13 papers add up to ~£1,300-3,900+ before annual fees.
• The retake tax is the easiest cost to avoid: one resit doubles the exam line - on OSCP that is ~US$3,398 in fees alone.
• Renewal is the forgotten line: some credentials renew free every year, others charge continuing-education and maintenance fees every cycle, and a few never expire at all.

All 73 exams, ranked by entry fee

Ranked by the minimum official exam fee (member / early-bird pricing where tiers exist). Every figure links to the exam's page, where the full cost breakdown and official sources live.

ACCA's per-exam fee is charged in GBP; bar lengths use an approximate £1 ≈ US$1.25 conversion (see methodology).

The real total: multi-exam qualifications

Headline fees are per exam. For qualifications made of several exams, the honest number is the whole path:

Qualification	How it adds up	Exam fees, full path
CFA (3 levels)	~US$350 enrollment + 3 × US$940-1,250	~US$3,170-4,100
ACCA (up to 13 exams)	13 × £100-300 + registration + annual fees	~£1,300-3,900+
US CPA (4 sections)	4 × ~US$350 + state application fees	~US$1,400+
Enrolled Agent (3 parts)	3 × US$317 + PTIN + enrollment	~US$951+

Exam and mandatory fees only - study materials, retakes and travel are extra. Exemptions can shorten the ACCA path.

The mandatory fees nobody advertises

20 of the 73 exams we track charge required fees on top of the exam itself. The most common: application fees, one-time enrolments, and annual membership or maintenance charges.

Exam	Mandatory add-on	Cost
CAIA	Enrolment fee	One-time, on first registration
CFA Level I	One-time enrollment	~US$350
CFA Level II	Enrolment	Already paid at Level I
CISSP	ISC2 annual maintenance fee	~US$135 / year
FRM	Enrolment fee	One-time, first registration
CCSP	ISC2 annual maintenance fee	Annual fee
SPHR	Application fee	US$100
CISA	Application fee	~US$50
CISM	ISACA maintenance	Annual fee + CPE
CMA	IMA membership	Annual fee, required
aPHR	Application fee	US$100
PHR	Application fee	US$100
CPA	State application and registration	Varies by state
EA	PTIN	Annual fee
Salesforce Admin	Maintenance	Free
Platform App Builder	Maintenance	Free
PD1	Annual maintenance	Free
CIMA	Annual subscription	GBP 150 per year
ACCA	Initial registration	One-time fee
CIA	Application fee	~USD 120 member / 240 non-member

What it costs to keep a credential

Validity and renewal rules across the 73 exams:

Renewal model	Exams
Never expires	4
Renews free every year (Azure model)	7
Every 2 years	10
Every 3 years (CE / fees apply)	28
Maintained via membership / CPD	2

Counts overlap is avoided by first match; a few exams use provider-specific models not bucketed above.

Average entry fee by field

Methodology

• Source: official provider pages for each of the 73 exams. Every exam page on this site lists its sources and a last-verified date; this report is compiled from that same data at build time, so it always matches the underlying pages.
• Fees: minimum official exam fee (member or early-bird tier where pricing is tiered). Mandatory add-ons are listed separately, exactly as the provider describes them.
• Currency: all fees are charged in USD except ACCA (GBP). Where a single scale is needed, GBP is converted at an approximate £1 ≈ US$1.25; the exact total depends on the day's rate.
• What this is for: planning and comparison. Fees change and vary by region - always confirm the current amount on the official page before you pay.