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Gleim vs Becker CPA
Our side-by-side comparison of the Gleim and Becker CPA review courses
In terms of CPA review company history, no two prep providers are more alike than Becker and Gleim. Both prep courses were originated by legendary founders around 50 years ago and have slowly grown into CPA prep giants, each helping millions of students pass the CPA exam. As such, many students want to know how these prep courses differ and which is best for them. To help you make an informed decision regarding which course is right for you, we have compared and rated each course in this detailed guide.
Given this is a lengthy comparison, above find jump-to links for your convenience.
Video review: Gleim vs Becker CPA
In the video above, Lara from the Test Prep Insight team compares Gleim vs Becker CPA. She covers pricing, study materials, practice exams, analytics, pass guarantees, and who each CPA review course suits best. If you’ve been wondering ‘is Becker better than Gleim?’ or which CPA prep fits your study style, this breakdown has the essentials. For more detail, be sure to continue reading our full written comparison below.
To truly understand which of these CPA review courses is best for you, it’s important to analyze the various study materials and features that both companies provide. With that in mind, let’s first discuss everything that Becker brings to the table.
Becker Pricing & Course Options
Becker offers three course options to choose from:
Advantage
Premium
Pro
Becker’s starter level package, the Advantage course, is their most basic offering. This is really just the “essentials” course for those students that just need on demand video lessons and a baseline amount of practice work. This course format will run around $2,500 (roughly the same as Gleim’s entry level package). For reference, Becker’s package does include access to video lectures, while Gleim’s base offering doesn’t have any.
At the next level up, Becker provides its Premium package. This is their most popular choice by far. Costing right around $3,100, this course provides access to prerecorded video lessons, hardcopy textbooks, practice problems, and more. This course costs about $100 or so more than Gleim’s comparable package.
Finally, Becker offers a white glove package. Becker’s Pro course is approximately the same as its Premium course, but additionally allows students to take their live classes in person if they desire, and tosses in a handful of private 1:1 tutoring hours with a Becker pro.
This course prices out at around $3,800 and should be considered by students needing a little bit more guidance and hand holding. Additionally, Becker offers a Concierge course that comes with a Pass Guarantee that refunds you $250 per section if you don’t pass on your first attempt.
Our Thoughts On The Becker CPA Coursework
Unquestionably, Becker provides one of the best all-around curriculums in CPA review. Their course plan is robust, providing a presentation of material in multiple ways to accommodate learners of all styles.
Between the live classes, on demand video lectures, thorough textbooks and practice problems, you will definitely see every possible topic that could come up on the exam. Not to mention, Becker’s course just feels cohesive and deep, while other companies at times feel piecemeal.
The main difference between the Gleim and Becker curriculums is clearly the live classwork offered by Becker. More on these classes below, but this is a super beneficial offering that Gleim just can’t compete with.
In addition to the live class time, Becker also provides some stellar video lessons. Different than Gleim, these videos take the form of an onscreen interactive textbook that the instructor updates with notes, highlights and key points.
Essentially, your instructor reads the text to you, but stops to emphasize key points, provide context and tell you exactly where you do and do not need to memorize something. It is a novel and very cool way of doing a video lecture.
Becker CPA review lesson
Becker’s practice material is also top notch, though it lacks the volume of Gleim’s offerings. Becker provides 8,000 multiple-choice questions to Gleim’s 12,000, but lags in the simulations department.
Offering just 400 simulations to Gleim’s 1,600+, Becker doesn’t have the most practice material out there. But the quality of Becker’s solutions should not be overlooked. They are extremely well designed. They provide 8 full simulated exams and 12 mini exams. And more importantly, Becker provides some fantastic video explanations of each simulation.
Rather than reading about how you should have answered the simulation, you are shown how you should have attacked it on video.
Plus, in 2025, Becker added an AI assistant, Newt, that lets you select from common questions or type your own personalized question into the chat feature. Newt is great at not only clearing up any points of confusion but also adapting to your needs in real time. Becker also harnesses AI to provide you with unlimited personalized practice tests, plus a customizable study planner. All this modernization results in a streamlined experience where you’re constantly targeting your areas of weakness while capitalizing on your strengths.
Finally, the Becker CPA mobile app is fairly comprehensive and easy to use. Gleim doesn’t have a mobile app, which makes their program a lot less flexible. If you’re a busy professional or you’re constantly on the go, you might want to look into Becker.
As mentioned, Becker offers a feature that Gleim simply can’t compete with – live classwork. If you are the type of student that needs commitment and accountability in your studies, this may be a significant advantage.
There are a bevy of different live classes with new ones being added all the time. Each class covers a separate section of the exam and generally meets once or twice per week over several weeks.
These classes are offered live online via webcast or in person, though in person classes are only available to Pro students.
These live classes are a fantastic resource. The instructors are incredibly knowledgeable and are willing to stop and answer questions whenever you need clarification.
They generally cover the same material as the recorded video lessons, but have a freer flowing structure and are open to adapt to the students’ needs. These live classes are the clear highlight of the Becker program.
Now that you have a better idea of the areas in which Becker excels, let’s turn the tables and discuss the major advantages of using Gleim to help prepare you for the CPA exam.
Gleim Pricing & Course Options
Gleim offers three prep course options, similarly styled to Becker’s.
Gleim’s basic offering, the Traditional Review System, provides text-based instruction through Gleim’s prep books and access to all of their practice problems. This package does not include any video lessons, and limits access to online content to only 18 months. It costs around $2,500 full retail.
Gleim’s much more popular and flagship Premium Review System course costs right around $3,000. This package includes almost everything Gleim has to offer and adds 450+ video lessons to the mix, as well as unlimited access, among other things.
Lastly, if you upgrade to the Premium Pro Review System, Gleim adds in live webinars and access to all 6 exam sections, disciplines, and core. The addition of live classes is a big deal for candidates needing more structure in their studies. This package runs for about $3,500 (roughly $300 less than Becker’s comparable offering).
Analysis Of Gleim’s CPA Study Materials
Despite being relatively inexpensive as compared to Becker, Gleim manages to not sacrifice curriculum quality. Their coursework and study plan are comprehensive and well-organized, covering everything you need to learn for the exam in an efficient manner.
Each of the four sections is divvied up into 20 or so study units covering a major subtopic of that section. The course flows smoothly and naturally with its logical groupings of topics and you never feel like you’re jumping around.
The lesson work is led by a combination of Gleim’s bite-sized video lectures and concise outline-style texts. You typically start by reading a select passage from one of Gleim’s infamous textbooks, which takes the format of a succinct outline – you’re probably looking at about 5 to 10 pages per day, which is definitely doable.
This creates a very nice balance of critical detail with brevity. There are no dense passages or lengthy paragraphs. Everything is neatly broken up into bulleted lists and quick hit points. This is a different format from Becker’s books, but in our team’s opinion, is just as good.
Gleim CPA review simulation
You then move onto Gleim’s video lessons, which usually feature a Gleim instructor before a green screen. As they speak, short form text appears beside them in bulleted lists and one or two sentence blurbs. Keeping these visuals short and to the point greatly improves engagement and material retention.
These video lectures also always feature a series of example problems at the end of the video, which are really helpful for comprehension purposes.
Beyond the instructional video lessons and text assignments, Gleim offers a solid amount of practice material. Offering 12,000+ multiple-choice questions and 1,600+ simulations, Becker simply can’t compete when it comes to practice quantity (neither can Yaeger CPA).
Not only that, the quality is pretty close to as good as Becker’s as well. And in fact, their text explanations are maybe even better. The Gleim problem explanations provide much more detail than Becker’s and cover each answer choice thoroughly.
This can be a good thing if you’re a detail oriented person, but I could also see it being a negative if you’re busy and don’t have tons of time for extensive problem reviews. Either way, we think this is a definite strength of Gleim.
And like Becker, Gleim added a new AI assistant tool in 2025 called the Prep Pal AI assistant – but their AI tutor is only included in the high-end package, and they don’t include additional AI features like Becker does. No matter which tier you go with, however, you can get extra support through the private study groups and check-ins with a personal counselor, which is a huge plus.
Course Highlight: Task-Based Simulations
The most noteworthy aspect of the Gleim CPA Review course is their bundle of task-based simulations. Gleim places a huge focus on simulations, offering 1,600+ practice opportunities, with 350 or so of these having exhibits (to replicate many of the simulation types you will see).
This is twice as many simulations as any other provider and roughly four times as many as you get with Becker. And this is a very good thing, considering task-based simulations now make up 50% of the exam.
Not only do they offer a boatload of practice opportunities, but the quality of the Gleim simulations is also excellent. These task-based simulations really mirror the simulations you will see on exam day, right down to the testing format.
In addition, they offer some really helpful simulation explanations to accompany each, so you can learn from your mistakes and confirm where you’re doing things properly.
Our team loved that Gleim doesn’t shy away from the simulations, as this portion of CPA prep is often neglected.
So, who has the better CPA prep offering – Becker or Gleim? Honestly, these are overall very similar programs, so you really can’t go wrong with either option. But if you’re looking for the best live class sessions, video lessons, and course structure out there, then my answer is Becker, hands down.
Now, Gleim still has a lot to offer. I see their course as being very streamlined and approachable, with punchy, outline-style review books and bite-size learning module. Still, Becker has the overall superior program. They offer the most in-depth curriculum with engaging instructors, really smart AI integration, and 8 full-length simulated practice exams. They also throw in more bonus features, like a really smooth mobile app, access to student forums, final review sessions, and academic support from CPAs and exam success coaches. This is the whole package.
Bottom line: while Becker and Gleim both make our list of the best CPA review courses on the market, Becker is best for people who like having lots of study materials to choose from and more interactive tools, plus anyone who benefits from live instruction. They also make more sense for busy professionals and anyone who needs to knock out some studying on the go. If you’re on the fence, go with Becker.
FAQ
Which CPA review course costs more – Becker or Gleim?
Gleim CPA Review is the more affordable option, with its course options costing around $2,500 to about $3,500. However, both companies are aggressive with their sales and the net overall cost can vary greatly depending on discounts.
What’s the main difference between the Gleim and Becker CPA review courses?
The primary difference between Gleim and Becker is the extent and style of instructional lesson work. Becker offers live classes and a novel video lesson approach, while Gleim takes a more traditional take on video lectures.
Which company provides more study material, Becker or Gleim?
Gleim edges Becker in the category of practice material volume. Gleim offers 12,000+ MC questions and 1,600 simulations to Becker’s 8,000 MC questions and 400 or so simulations.
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