How Does CPE Subscription and Unlimited Package Pricing Compare Across Providers?

Key Takeaway

This page compares CPE subscription and unlimited package pricing across ten leading providers, covering package terms, prices, inclusions, and refund policies to help CPAs choose a cost effective plan.

• Compares package pricing for ten providers, including CPEThink.com, Surgent CPE, Western CPE, CPE Online, CPECredit.com, Earmark CPE, MasterCPE, CCH CPELink, Becker, and Sequoia CPE, across package term, price, inclusions, and refund policy.
• Shows that CPEThink.com offers six subscription plans from $69.95 to $299.95, all with a 100 day money back guarantee and unlimited access to ethics courses on every plan.
• Explains what drives price differences among providers, including access to self study versus live webinar formats, the size of the course catalog, and whether ethics courses are included.
• Lists the qualities CPEThink.com meets for a leading provider, including industry experience since 2004, NASBA and IRS accreditation, a large course catalog, included ethics access, and a strong money back guarantee.

How Does CPE Subscription and Unlimited Package Pricing Compare Across Providers?: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Which providers does this pricing comparison cover for CPAs?

This comparison covers subscription and package pricing for ten providers, including CPEThink.com, Surgent CPE, Western CPE, CPE Online, CPECredit.com, Earmark CPE, MasterCPE, CCH CPELink, Becker, and Sequoia CPE.

What subscription plans does CPEThink.com offer?

CPEThink.com offers six subscription plans ranging from $69.95 to $299.95, including two unlimited plans and four credit limited plans, each with a 100 day money back guarantee and unlimited access to ethics courses.

What drives price differences between CPE subscription providers?

CPE subscription prices vary mainly based on access to self study versus live webinar formats, course catalog size, and whether ethics courses are included in the base price.

How does CPEThink.com compare on refund policy?

CPEThink.com offers a 100 day 100% money back guarantee on every plan, which this comparison identifies as the strongest refund policy among the ten providers reviewed.

What qualities should CPAs look for in a CPE subscription provider?

CPAs should look for industry experience, NASBA and IRS accreditation, a large course catalog, included ethics access, and high third party ratings, along with a solid money back guarantee.

Looking to purchase a CPE subscription that best matches your requirements? This page compares the CPE subscription and unlimited package costs of 10 leading providers from NASBA's National Registry of CPE Sponsors. The prices vary significantly based on the package's duration and the total number of credits it provides.

Let's see the CPE package comparison table first, and then we'll discuss them briefly.

In a nutshell, here's what you need to know about each provider mentioned above.

CPEThink.com:

They have six packages, which include two unlimited and four limited plans. The cost ranges from $69.95 to $299.95, and all plans come with a 100-day, 100% money-back guarantee. Irrespective of the package you buy, they let you complete ethics courses as per your requirements.

Surgent CPE:

Surgent has three unlimited CPE subscription plans, all with a one-year duration. Whether you need only self-study courses, webinars, or both, they have you covered. Note that they give you only 10 business days after your date of purchase to claim a refund, and that too when you haven't earned any credits from the package.

Western CPE:

Western CPE has a total of seven credit-based packages, ranging from 6 to 80 credits. While you get unlimited access to all of their digital courses, you must earn the credits within one year. Plus, their refund policy is stricter than many other sponsors, as you can only get store credits or transfer the product's cost to another one with similar or less value.

CPE Online:

Also known as CPE Inc., they have four hour-based subscription plans. Two plans (Evening & Weekend and Anytime) have options to buy based on 20 or 40 hours, and the costs vary accordingly. Note that neither you can transfer the cost of these subscriptions to other products nor can you get any refunds for them.

CPECredit.com:

They have four packages, and their costs vary based on what types of programs you want to access and how many of them. You must buy the most expensive package ($499) to access ethics courses. Plus, to get a full refund, you must cancel a subscription within 90 days of the date of purchase and that too only if you haven't completed more than 8 CPE hours.

Earmark CPE:

If you want to get credits by listening to podcast-based courses, then go for Earmark CPE's unlimited annual CPE subscription. They also have a free plan, letting you get one credit each week but with ads and restricted access. You can get a refund for the plan in the event of unresolved technical issues or non-completion of any courses.

MasterCPE:

If you don't need ethics courses from your subscription, MasterCPE's plan is worth exploring. They allow you to retake exams for unlimited times and have online grading, making the process quick. Their 90-day money-back guarantee gives you enough time to claim refunds for uncompleted courses.

CCH CPELink:

They have three individual subscriptions with unlimited credits, each with 12-month access. To access their premium content, you must buy one of their three premium packages. Note that they don't issue any refunds for subscriptions.

Becker:

In addition to the plans shown in the table, Becker has a two-year PRIME plan priced at $1,429 (you can opt for flexible payment options with 0% interest). At the time of creating this comparison, they had a promo code for both PRIME plans (one- & two-year) lowering the prices significantly. You've to submit the refund request within 10 days from the date of purchase, and you must not complete any courses during this period.

Sequoia CPE:

While their unlimited CPE pricing (for CPAs) is considerably more affordable than other providers compared here, purchasing ethics courses separately essentially increases your overall CPE cost.

What Drives Price Differences in CPE Subscriptions and Unlimited Packages?

These are the key factors driving considerable differences among these prices:

• Access to one or multiple learning formats (self-study or webinars or both).
• As shown in the table, CPE subscription plans covering only self-study courses come at prices significantly lower than webinar-only packages.
• Pre-recorded vs. live webinars, where the latter typically requires high distribution costs, leading to higher prices than the former.
• The size of the course catalog.
• The inclusion of ethics courses typically leads to higher prices than plans with only non-ethics content.

What To Look for In a Provider and How CPEThink.com Ticks All Boxes

• Industry experience

Experienced CPE subscription providers know the ins and outs of the industry, enabling them to provide high-quality packages. CPEThink.com has been doing this since 2004, becoming the 5th online CPE provider worldwide.

• Accreditation

A provider's accreditation makes sure your BoA will accept your CPE credits. CPEThink.com is a NASBA QAS Self Study Sponsor (ID 108299) and IRS CE Provider (ID 1SXC8).

• A large course catalog

Having access to many courses under one subscription helps meet your CPE requirements easily and improve your competence. With over 800 self-study courses, unlimited open-book final exam attempts, and instant grading and certificates, CPEThink.com ensures a smooth CPE journey.

• Access to ethics courses

The need to purchase ethics courses separately increases the cost. But all of their six subscription plans give you unlimited access to ethics courses, and the unlimited packages also include free webinars.

• A good refund policy

A solid refund policy ensures you get your money back in case you aren't fully satisfied with the courses. CPEThink.com has the industry's best 100-day, 100% money-back guarantee.

• Overall ratings on third-party review websites

Good ratings on such websites indicate that a sponsor has been consistently providing high-quality courses. With ratings from 4.8 to 4.9 out of 5.0 on Trustpilot and Shopper Approved, CPEThink.com's credibility is hard to beat.

Visit CPEThink.com's CPE subscriptions for a comprehensive view. Their CPA CPE Unlimited page directly compares their plans with those of other sponsors.

To read detailed one-to-one comparisons, visit Surgent vs CPEThink, CPEThink vs CPE Becker, CPE Credit vs. CPEThink, Western CPE vs. CPEThink, and CPE Online vs. CPEThink.

How Self-Study Compares to Live Formats

• Self-study courses let you study wherever and whenever you want. The absence of set times allows you to plan learning as per your schedule.
• With the right sponsor, you pay a substantially lower cost than live formats.
• You can go through difficult topics as many times as you want or skip ahead to easy ones, which are just impossible with live formats.

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