CFA Level I in February: your $1,490 exam fee already buys the books

If you’re sitting CFA Level I in February, register before 5 November and don’t pay for a second set of books: the $1,490 fee already includes CFA Institute’s learning materials. Spend $349 on practice instead, AnalystPrep’s question bank and mock exams. If you plan to sit all three levels, its $799 lifetime package beats buying practice three times.

Or read on for what each price buys you ↓

CFA prep is sold as if the exam fee bought you a seat and nothing else. It doesn’t. Here is what you already get, what’s worth adding, and when the expensive packages earn their price, with every figure read on 12 October.

1. $1,490: what the exam fee already includes

For the February 2027 Level I exam, CFA Institute’s registration fee is $1,490. The early rate of $1,140 has closed, and registration closes on 5 November. The exams run from 22 to 28 February. CFA Institute lists the fee as including its learning materials, and it estimates 300 hours of study per level. Its own figure for the whole charter is $3,520 to $4,570 in exam fees across all three levels.

The curriculum is the one thing you don’t need to buy twice. Paid providers rewrite it into shorter notes and videos, which some people find easier to get through. What the official materials can’t give you in the same volume is practice: timed questions, mock exams and a record of which topics you keep getting wrong. That is where a prep budget does the most. If you also need to move your appointment later, CFA Institute charges $250 to reschedule within your window, so book a date you can keep.

2. $349: practice, from AnalystPrep

AnalystPrep sells three Level I options. The Practice package is $349 for 12 months and covers its question bank, computer-based mock exams and performance tracking. Learn + Practice is $499 and adds video lessons, study notes and review summaries. The Unlimited package is $799 with lifetime access to all three levels. Practice for Level II and Level III is $349 each on its own, so if you expect to sit all three, $799 costs less than the $1,047 you’d pay buying practice level by level.

Two things make this low-risk. You can sign up free and work through more than 150 exam-style questions before you pay anything, which tells you whether you like how the questions are written. And AnalystPrep says it will extend your access as many times as you need until you pass, so a failed attempt doesn’t mean buying again. Our AnalystPrep vs Kaplan Schweser comparison covers the two question banks side by side.

3. $429 to $1,499: when Schweser is worth more

Kaplan Schweser is the name most candidates know, and it says more than 700,000 have prepared with it. Its Level I packages are Basic $429, Essential $799, Premium $1,099 and Ultimate $1,499. From Essential up, each one comes with its PassProtection guarantee, which gives you a second chance if you don’t pass.

The honest comparison is Schweser Essential at $799 against AnalystPrep at $349 for one level, or $799 for all three. If you want the most widely recognized notes and a retake guarantee on a single level, Schweser’s middle tiers are a reasonable buy. If you mainly need questions to drill, the extra $450 buys you a brand rather than more practice. Whichever you pick, start with the curriculum you’ve already paid for.

A disclosure: AnalystPrep, Kaplan Schweser and CFI, in the box above, all pay OnlineCourseing a commission if you buy through these links. CFA Institute pays us nothing, and it’s the one I’m telling everyone to pay first. Sitting Level I in February? Reply with how many study hours you have left before the exam and I’ll tell you what I’d spend them on.