CFA® Program
CFA® exam cost: the three levels, retakes included
The three CFA® exams cost about $7,800 in fees once the average retakes are counted, with early registration; $3,520 only if each is passed the first time. Change the settings to see your own figure.
Independent site: not run by, or affiliated with, any body that sets these exams or charges these fees.
CFA® Program: cost of the three levels
Example, not your result yet· change a figure to see yours
Expected cost of the three CFA® exams, prep not included
$7,800
| Level I: $1,140 × 2.47 attempts | $2,817 |
| Level II: $1,140 × 2.21 attempts | $2,523 |
| Level III: $1,240 × 1.98 attempts | $2,460 |
| Your review course and books | not included: type it above |
| Membership fees after you earn the title | not counted |
Assumes early registration and ten-year pass rates. In everyday words: Level I about 2 to 3, Level II about 2 to 3, Level III about 1 to 2 tries on average (an attempt is one try at one exam). If every level is passed the first time: $3,520. No enrollment fee since April 29, 2025.
The CFA® Program has three exams, and CFA Institute charges a registration fee for each one. For exams from February 2026, Levels I and II cost $1,140 with early registration and $1,490 with standard registration; Level III costs $1,240 or $1,590. The one-time enrollment fee of $350 was removed on April 29, 2025, so a candidate who passes every level at the first try with early registration pays $3,520 in exam fees. Most candidates do not: over the ten years to 2026, 40.5% of Level I candidates passed. Counting each level’s fee once per expected try at those rates gives $7,800 at early prices, the figure this site uses for the CFA® Program. Review courses and annual dues come on top, and you type them yourself, so the total stays your own.
Fees read and totals checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Registration fees by level and window
CFA Institute sets two prices for each exam: an early registration fee and a higher standard registration fee for candidates who register later in the window. From February 2026 the difference is $350 at every level; in 2025 it was $300. Prices rose for exams from February 2026, the same press release that ended the enrollment fee.
| Level | Early, 2025 | Standard, 2025 | Early, from 2026 | Standard, from 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level I | $990 | $1,290 | $1,140 | $1,490 |
| Level II | $990 | $1,290 | $1,140 | $1,490 |
| Level III | $1,090 | $1,390 | $1,240 | $1,590 |
Paying early on all three exams saves $1,050 against paying the standard fee three times. That gap grows with every retake, because a retake is a new registration with the same two prices.
Why the expected total is higher than the price list
The program page prices the three levels for a candidate who never fails: $3,520 with early registration. CFA Institute’s own results file shows that this is the exception: fewer than half of Level I candidates pass in a given session. A sitting is one attempt at an exam. When four candidates in ten pass, an average candidate sits the exam two and a half times; when half pass, twice. The table applies that rule with the ten-year pass rate of each level and the early registration fee, as the calculator does.
| Level | Pass rate, 2017 to 2026 | Average attempts | Expected fees, early registration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level I | 40.5% | 2.47 | $2,817 |
| Level II | 45.2% | 2.21 | $2,523 |
| Level III | 50.4% | 1.98 | $2,460 |
The sum, $7,800, is the figure the calculator shows: about 6 to 7 tries (6.67 on average) across the three levels. Registering at the standard fee instead adds $350 to every try ($10,134 for the same tries). Either is the fee bill of an average candidate over the three levels, not of you. A candidate who studies more than average does better than the pooled rate, and one who sits with little preparation does worse. Switch the pass rate setting to “No retake (first try)” to see the price list again.
Prep and dues: the two lines you type
Review courses, question banks and mock exams are often the largest line, and their price depends on the provider and the package. This site sells none of them and loads no price: type what you plan to spend per sitting, and the calculator multiplies it by the expected number of sittings, since a retake usually means paying for materials again. Membership fees (dues) start once you hold the CFA® title, the charter. Type your yearly amount in the last field; a field for the number of years to count then appears below it.
Travel to a test center, time off work, and the rescheduling fee if you move an exam to another window. None of these are fees CFA Institute charges for the exam itself, so they are left out rather than estimated.
When the money is paid
Each fee is paid when you register for a level, so the bill is spread over the time it takes to pass: at least one window per level, and usually more. The exam dates page shows which months each level is offered, and the pass rates page lists every session since February 2024, level by level.
One practical consequence: a budget that assumes no retake is a budget for the best case. Plan for the expected figure and treat anything below it as savings.