Like with many careers that require licensing, working as a CPA means you must meet state board-based requirements for continuing professional education (CPE).
But with so many CPE courses to choose from, it can be tough to find which ones are the best.
Everybody has a different set of skills and needs when it comes to CPE, so it’s extremely important to find the course that best fits you. Well, the search for that best fit just got easier!
Listed below are the top-ranked courses for anyone interested in earning credits for CPA license renewal. The information below should help you find the course that best fits your learning style. Each and every course listed here ranks among the top continuing education courses on the market, and I personally feel they are worth your time and money.
Keep reading to find out why Becker is my top pick and what I think about some of the other CPE programs being marketed to public accountants.
| Course Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 5 |
| Course Name |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Price | $799 | $899 | $399 | $699 | $600 | $699 |
| Discount | Save $280 | Save $200 | Save $25 | Save 20% | No Discount | No Discount |
| CPE Credits | Unlimited | 7500 or more | Unlimited | 500 or more | 100 or more | Unlimited |
| Study Resources | Webcast, Video, Self Study, Live Conferences | Webinars, Video, Self Study, Live Seminars | Self-Study, Webinars, Microcerts | Video, Self Study | Webinars, Video, Quiz, Self Study | Live Webinars, Reference Texts |
| Live Content | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Access Period | 1-3 Year | 1 Year | 1 Year | 1 Year | 1 Year | 1 Year |
| Support | Phone, Email | Phone, Email | Phone, Email, Social Media | Phone, Email | Phone, Email, Chat | Phone, Email, Chat, Social Media |
| GET STARTED | Full Course | Full Course | Full Course | Full Course | Full Course | Full Course |
1. Becker: Best CPE Course for CPAs
Becker CPE Pros & Cons
- Proven Track Record of Success: Thousands of professionals trust Becker CPE for their continuing education needs. The high satisfaction and success rates among Becker students are a testament to the quality and effectiveness of their programs. When you choose Becker, you’re joining a community of learners who consistently achieve their career goals.
- Pricing Options: Becker’s subscription prices are based primarily on the format and access period of the content you’re interested in. That means that pricing is based on whether or not you want webcasts or self-study courses. Furthermore, the price can be customized based on how long you want unlimited access to your materials.
- Up-to-Date on Trends: Becker CPE courses are continuously updated to reflect the latest industry trends, regulations, and best practices. This commitment to current and comprehensive content means you’ll always have access to the most relevant and cutting-edge information.
- Live Content: Becker CPE also holds live accountancy conferences and webinars. Between the on-demand content and their expansive webcasts, it’s clear that Becker is interested in offering a more varied set of study materials.
- Adjustable Study Formats: A major focus for Becker has been creating a system that allows you to customize your study materials. Both their webcasts and their self-study courses are paced in a way that allows you to consume them in bite-sized chunks throughout your day. Hence, it’s quite clear that Becker emphasizes flexibility when it comes to their customers’ needs.
- Limited Refunds: Unfortunately, Becker has a limited return policy that can only be used within the first day of purchasing. However, this is more than made up for by the great pricing system and quality of their on-demand content. While disappointing, this is hardly a deal breaker.
Becker CPE Dashboard
Bottom Line
As a CPE course, Becker is top of the line. Their focus on personalized pricing and self study content is easily their greatest strength. Ultimately, I wholeheartedly recommend Becker!
2. Illumeo CPE Training
Illumeo Pros and Cons
- Live Instruction: It’s not easy to find CPE for CPAs that can compare to the high standards of regular CPA certification courses. Fortunately, Illumeo offers some of the best continuing education study materials for public accountants that are comparable to premium CPA prep programs. This is especially true for their live webinars that are taught by instructors with the highest possible student ratings.
- Make Your Voice Heard: Speaking of ratings, Illumeo has an excellent feature to incentivize students who want to make their voices heard about their curriculum. Any student who leaves a course review on this platform (positive or negative) will receive full access to reuse any of their materials. You can’t find a deal like this on any other CPE platform!
- High Standards: You might assume that Illumeo’s large catalog of CPA continuing education courses and webinars would be for the sake of quantity at the expense of quality. However, they manage to provide both in equal measure by constantly evaluating the student ratings for each course on their platform. If any CPE review course on Illumeo receives an average under four stars, they replace it with a better one.
- Tough To Stay Focused: When you’re an established CPA looking to maintain your professional status, it’s important to keep your eyes on the prize. And while Illumeo is definitely capable of enabling you to do so, they also have a substantial catalog of supplementary CPE and microcerts that can be distracting. If you’re the type of person who finds themselves falling down a hole of Wikipedia links, beware!
- Lack of Recommendations: One notable drawback of Illumeo CPE is the difficulty in finding CPAs who strongly recommend their services outside of their website. An extensive search on Reddit yielded only a single comment mentioning, “Shopped around for a while. Landed on Illumeo.” This limited feedback raises concerns about the platform’s popularity and effectiveness among industry professionals.
Bottom Line
Illumeo CPE stands out for its high standards and unique incentives for student feedback, ensuring a continually improving curriculum. However, its limited endorsements from CPAs and minimal presence in online discussions raise questions about its popularity and effectiveness among industry professionals.
3. Surgent: CPE Webinars and Courses
Surgent CPE Pros and Cons
- Expansive Resources: Surgent’s biggest selling point is the massive breadth of study materials they have on offer. This is because they offer more than ten thousand CPE hours through their courses. Furthermore, the material being offered is of extremely high quality and is indispensable to anyone interested in accountancy.
- Firm Partnerships: Surgent also puts emphasis on developing work relationships with various accounting firms. This is done by partnering with firms to provide CPE course content at lowered bulk costs or by developing specialized content. Hence, by working with Surgent, smaller firms can find themselves developing a pricing and access plan based on the company’s needs.
- Pricing: Surgent is, unfortunately, one of the most expensive options on this list. Any content beyond live webinars is locked behind its Unlimited Plus option. This isn’t a huge deal breaker, though; if you can afford the course, the depth and breadth of the study materials more than make up for the price tag.
- Platform Learning Curve: Surgent’s adaptive learning technology is impressive, but it may take some getting used to. For example, when I tested the platform through the Unlimited Plus plan, I found the initial setup process a bit confusing—the system asked a series of diagnostic questions and then auto-populated a learning path. While powerful in theory, it wasn’t immediately clear how to navigate back to browse courses manually or adjust the plan.
- Limited Customization in Course Bundles: While Surgent offers a large catalog of CPE courses, customizing bundles to match specific roles or industries can be a challenge. For instance, I had to manually search through individual courses to find relevant content. This lack of tailored learning paths can be frustrating for professionals in specialized fields who need a more streamlined, role-specific learning experience.
Surgent CPE Dashboard
Bottom Line
Surgent offers decent content and standout tax coverage, especially through its live webinars. However, its high price and less intuitive platform may not work for everyone. Great for those who want depth—less ideal for those seeking simplicity or budget options.
4. Lambers CPE Credits Courses
Lambers Pros and Cons
- Experienced Instructors: Lambers possesses some of the most qualified staff in the field. Each instructor is highly qualified, typically holding both a professional certification and a minimum of a four-year degree. Thanks to this extremely qualified staff, all content is designed to ensure your success.
- Course Content: Lambers’ content has been expertly designed to cover skill sets from a wide range of accountancy positions. This is a company that recognizes that CPAs will need to practice specialized skills based on where they work. Therefore, Lambert ensures that you’ll always have unlimited access to the courses of your choosing.
- Frequent Updates: Lambers is constantly working on adding new materials to their course catalog. Monthly updates add fresh, new, and cutting-edge content for all customers. As a company, Lambers never wants anyone to work off of outdated information.
- Price: When compared to top educational companies and prep course providers like Fast Forward Academy, it’s been a difficult task to justify paying the prices Lambers asks for to enroll in their comparably weaker CPE course. In all fairness, they’ve come a long way in recent years to address concerns from students and reviewers like us. However, they still have a ways to go before we can honestly say they’re charging a fair price for their service.
- Customer Service Charges: Lambers charges extra for customer service, which can be seen as a penny-pinching move. This additional cost can be frustrating for users who expect comprehensive support to be included in their subscription, especially when many competitors offer this service at no extra charge.
Bottom Line
Lambers is a solid option for those seeking a relaxed study atmosphere. While the asking price is high, the quality of instructors and content compensates for it, making Lambers a strong contender for fulfilling CPE requirements. However the price plus extra charges for customer service can be drawbacks to consider.
Exclusive Offer – 10% Off Lambers CPE Courses
5. Gleim CPE Courses
Gleim Pros and Cons
- Bulk Pricing: Gleim’s price tag is based on how much content you’re interested in buying. Typically, prices begin at twelve dollars per hour, but larger bulk purchases push down the price per hour. However, certain package prices are even as low as six dollars per hour.
- Modular Study Choices: Gleim’s CPE courses are fairly customizable, thanks to on-demand materials being based on hours purchased. Consequently, you can mix and match content from over thirty-five different topics when using your purchased hours.
- Free Content: For anyone on the fence about Gleim, the company actually offers several different free CPE options. In addition to two free course trials, Gleim also has its own Pilot Test program. Any accredited CPA interested in testing new online CPE courses can apply to the program and earn free online CPE hours.
- Extra Cost for AFSP Course: Unfortunately, if your position requires hours from the Annual Filing Season Program (AFSP), you will have to pay extra. This can mean that you might find yourself spending more than you expected to meet your requirements.
- Too Many Options: One notable drawback of Gleim CPE is the complexity of its multi-hour package options. Although I see it as a positive in some ways, it can be confusing for users trying to determine the appropriate amount of study time and content required to meet their specific needs. The lack of clarity in choosing the right package can detract from the otherwise high-quality learning experience that Gleim offers.
- Lack of Detailed Course Information: One significant con of Gleim CPE is that even after adding a course to your cart, you still can’t see much detailed information about the course beyond the number of credit hours. This lack of transparency can make it difficult to assess the course content and determine if it aligns with your learning needs and professional requirements. The limited information provided can be frustrating for users who want to make informed decisions about their continuing education options.
Bottom Line
While not as strong of a choice as Becker, Gleim is still well worth your time. Essentially, this is a great service for someone who knows exactly what topics they’re interested in and how many hours of online CPE they need.
6. Lorman CPE Review
Lorman Pros and Cons
- Full Curriculum: When you’re already working as a professional accountant, it’s not easy to find the time to look for all the required educational material to maintain your credentials. That’s what makes Lorman’s All Access Pass so appealing; it takes the work out by providing unlimited courses for an entire year, ensuring you can get all the CPE you need in one place!
- Talented Instructors: Studying for the initial certification exam is one thing, but learning continuing education is another entirely. That’s why the instructors at Lorman are considerably more experienced and knowledgeable when it comes to professional accounting and business law. Just look at the credentials among the faculty teaching webinars on Carry Waivers and the instructor for their Safety Complaints course!
- Varied Coursework: In addition to offering live courses taught by professional instructors, Lorman CPE provides their learning materials in a wide range of formats. This is especially helpful for full-time accountants who can’t always make it to the live lectures; archived versions with accompanying reference manuals are a lifesaver in these situations.
- Limited Refund Policy: Sometimes, it can take a while before deciding whether or not an educational program is the right fit for you— especially if you’re also pressed for time with a day job. And although Lorman does offer a refund policy if you change your mind about their course, you only have 72 hours to do so. This means you’re going to have to decide quickly whether or not you’re interested in committing to this option!
- High Initial Commitment: For those unsure about their long-term needs, the requirement to purchase a full-year subscription for unlimited courses can be a significant initial commitment, potentially deterring some users from enrolling.
- No Middle Ground Pricing: Lorman’s pricing structure can be challenging if you are midway through your CPE credit requirements. They only offer individual course pricing or a full one-year subscription, which isn’t cost-effective for those needing just a few more credits.
Bottom Line
When it comes to getting the most supplementary educational materials in the most convenient way, Lorman CPE ranks among the best options. However, some of the cons make it hard for me to fully endorse Lorman. Make sure you know what you’re getting into before you take full advantage of their All Access Pass for an entire year with no regrets!
7. Fast Forward Academy CPE Course Reviews
Fast Forward Academy Pros and Cons
- Detailed Catalog: Fast Forward Academy offers an extremely varied and diverse range of study topics in its course catalog. This includes over forty-five different accountancy topics. Every type of work is covered here, so there’s no need to worry about missing out on content.
- AFSP Course: Much like Gleim, FFA also offers an AFSP course. This is because they understand that not all positions are exempt from this requirement. When working with Fast Forward Academy, all professional positions are represented.
- Free Results Reporting: Upon completion of any course, FFA will report the credits you’ve earned to the IRS and/or the California Tax Education Council free of charge. Additionally, you’ll also receive a free PDF of your course completion certificate just in case you need it. This is because FFA wants to be sure that you never have to worry about being caught off guard by your results.
- No Live Content: One downside of FFA is that they don’t offer any live content similar to Surgent or Becker. Instead, it’s quite clear that they’ve chosen to focus on their on-demand courses as an alternative. While it’s regrettable that there are no live webinar options, FFA makes up for it with the quality of their self-study course materials.
- Unnecessary Programs: Fast Forward Academy offers programs that aren’t necessarily needed since the IRS no longer mandates CPE for tax preparers. While the IRS still accepts CPE for tax preparers, it’s now optional. Instead, tax preparers might consider participating in the new IRS Annual Filing Season Program (AFSP), which could be more relevant and beneficial.
- Uncompetitive Discounts: Fast Forward Academy’s discounts, while available, are often less substantial compared to those offered by other companies, which typically provide only around 10% off. This can make their courses seem less cost-effective in comparison to competitors offering more significant CPE discounts, potentially impacting the perceived value.
Bottom Line
Fast Forward Academy (FFA) offers a diverse catalog with over forty-five accountancy topics, the IRS Annual Filing Season Program (AFSP), and free reporting. However, the platform’s listing of programs that are no longer needed and less competitive discounts make it less appealing. These drawbacks can significantly impact the overall value and user experience.
FAQs
Continuing Professional Education (CPE) refers to the ongoing learning required for certified professionals—such as CPAs—to maintain their licenses and stay current with industry standards. CPAs must earn a specific number of CPE credit hours, not points, typically on an annual or biennial basis, depending on state board requirements.
CPE is an acronym that stands for Continuing Professional Education. It’s a term that describes the requirement that many high-skill trades have in order to maintain professional status, such as Certified Public Accountants.
CPE credit is earned through watching or completing educational material related to your professional certification. They are required to prove that you’ve completed Continuing Professional Education.
![Best CPA Study Materials and Review Courses [2026]](https://www.sacbee.com/careers-education/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/07/Best-CPA-Review-Courses-1024x569.png)
