Best CPA review course: Becker vs UWorld vs Gleim, prices compared, and what happened to Surgent

How the CPA exam shapes what you buy

NASBA's January 2026 candidate guide sets out the structure. The exam has three four-hour core sections: Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), and Taxation and Regulation (REG). You add one four-hour discipline section of your choice: Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR), Information Systems and Controls (ISC), or Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP). You need at least 75 on each.

That structure decides which package you need:

• Four-section packages cover the three core sections and one discipline. They suit candidates who know their discipline, often TCP for tax staff, BAR for audit and reporting staff, ISC for IT audit.
• Six-section packages cover all three disciplines, so you can switch late. Becker Pro, UWorld Elite-Unlimited+ and Gleim Premium Pro are six-section.

The credit window matters too. NASBA's model rule, amended in April 2023, gives candidates a rolling 30-month period to pass the remaining three sections after the first, counted from the score release date. NASBA's candidate guide still mentions 18 months, and each state board adopts its own rule, so check your board's current window before you plan. An access length shorter than your window is a risk.

The CPA exam page covers each section's content, and how long to study for the CPA sets out the hours per section.

UWorld CPA review, and what happened to Surgent

Surgent's CPA exam review page now reads "CPA Exam Review, Now Through UWorld" and says Surgent is part of UWorld. If you were comparing Surgent with UWorld, you are now choosing one company's packages. UWorld's own page describes its course as the best of Roger, Wiley and Peter in one.

UWorld's three CPA packages, as shown on 2 November 2026:

• Premier: $1,999, against a $3,499 list price. Four sections, 18 months of access, 9,000+ practice questions, 500+ simulations, digital study guides, 1,400+ video lectures, SmartPath adaptive study and an AI assistant.
• Elite-Unlimited: $2,299, against $3,899. Adds unlimited access until you pass, printed study guides, full-length mock exams and live instructor boot camps.
• Elite-Unlimited+: $2,899, against $4,699. Adds all six sections, the full guide library and a money-back pass guarantee.

The guarantee on Elite-Unlimited+ refunds $250 per section you do not pass, up to $1,000, if you meet UWorld's study requirements, which UWorld's FAQ says include completing much of the question bank and meeting SmartPath targets.

UWorld also sells a QBank alone at $299, with six months of access, and printed study guides from $75 per part. UWorld's Elite-Unlimited page showed its reduced price with a note that the sale ends on Thursday, so check the price on the day you buy.

For most working candidates, Elite-Unlimited is the package to compare against Becker and Gleim: four sections, unlimited access, and mock exams.

Becker: the best-known course, at the highest prices here

Becker's CPA review page listed four packages on 2 November 2026:

• Advantage: $2,499. Four sections, 24-month access.
• Pro: $3,845. Six sections, unlimited access. Becker marks it most popular.
• Pro+: $4,044. Six sections, unlimited access, with more add-ons.
• Concierge: $6,349. Six sections plus tutoring, success coaching, licensing support and a 100% money-back pass guarantee.

Across the packages Becker lists 1,000+ concept video lectures, 300+ SkillBuilder solution videos, 9,500+ multiple-choice questions, 450+ task-based simulations, 1,500+ flashcards, mini and simulated exams, its Adapt2U practice tests and an AI assistant called Newt. Becker also lists a $1,000 Pass Guarantee among package features. Read Becker's Pass Guarantee Policy for which packages include it and what you must complete.

Becker offers six- or twelve-month installment plans on all CPA packages, with a one-time non-refundable processing fee of up to $119.

The catch with Advantage is the access. Twenty-four months is less than a 30-month credit window plus the months before your first pass, so a candidate who stalls can run out of course before running out of credit. If you choose Becker and expect to take more than two years, Pro removes that risk.

Gleim: access until you pass, and the large test bank

Gleim's CPA review page listed four products on 2 November 2026:

• Traditional CPA Review: $2,499. Three core sections plus your discipline, a full-length simulated mock exam for every section, digital books with print on demand, a personal counselor and SmartAdapt.
• Premium CPA Review: $2,999. Everything in Traditional, plus Gleim's Access Until You Pass guarantee, all-new lecture videos, digital flashcards and one free discipline switch.
• Premium Pro CPA Review: $3,499. All six sections, Access Until You Pass, an AI study assistant, office hours archive and a year of free CPE.
• CPA Mega Test Bank: $999. 12,000+ multiple-choice questions, 1,200+ task-based simulations, digital books and 18 months of access.

Gleim says students can save up to 30% off, on application.

Gleim's question bank is the largest listed here by count, which is why the Mega Test Bank works well as a second source next to another provider's course. If a section keeps beating you, practising on a bank written by different people is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the topic or remember the wording.

Premium's one free discipline switch is a cheaper hedge than paying for six sections if you are only unsure between two disciplines.

Best CPA review course for full-time workers

If you work full time, the course you finish beats the course with the most features. Three things matter most.

1. Access that outlasts your credit window. Choose unlimited access (UWorld Elite-Unlimited, Becker Pro, Gleim Premium) unless you are sure you will finish inside 18 to 24 months.
2. Short study blocks. All three providers have mobile apps and adaptive question sets. Use them on commutes and lunch breaks, and keep the long sessions for simulations.
3. Sequencing. Take your strongest section first. A pass starts your credit window, and an early pass makes the remaining sections easier to schedule around work.

Check whether your employer pays. Ask HR whether your firm reimburses review courses or has a rate with a provider before you buy, because a firm rate can beat any public sale.

If you have already failed a section, side income after failing a CPA section covers keeping money coming in while you retake, and failed a CPA section covers the retake rules.

How to choose in ten minutes

Answer these in order.

1. Do you know your discipline? Yes: four-section package. No: a six-section package, or Gleim Premium with its free switch.
2. Will you finish within 18 months? Yes: UWorld Premier at $1,999 or Becker Advantage at $2,499 work. No or not sure: unlimited access.
3. Do you learn from lectures or from questions? Lectures: compare Becker's and UWorld's video libraries in their free trials. Questions: Gleim's bank is the largest.
4. Do you want a money-back guarantee? UWorld Elite-Unlimited+ refunds up to $1,000 on conditions, and Becker Concierge offers a full refund on its terms.
5. Does your employer pay? Ask before you buy.

Then start a free trial of your top two and work one FAR chapter in each. Keep the one whose explanations make sense to you on a tired weeknight.

If you are still choosing between credentials, CPA vs CFA compares the two, and the enrolled agent vs CPA guide covers the tax-only route.

What a review course cannot do for you

A course gives you material and a plan. It does not give you the hours, and falling behind a study schedule is the usual way a well-chosen course ends in a failed section.

Two habits matter more than the provider:

• Schedule the exam date first. A booked date makes the study plan real.
• Do simulations every week. Task-based simulations take the longest to get fast at.

Never use leaked or recalled exam content. Candidates sign the AICPA's Conduct and Non-Disclosure Agreement, and the Big Four exam cheating case shows how firms and regulators treat breaches.