Best Free Actuarial Exam Prep Resources in 2026
Actuarial exam preparation is notoriously expensive. Commercial study packages typically cost \$300-\$1,500 per exam, and with six preliminary exams to pass, candidates can spend \$5,000+ before even reaching the fellowship track. But the landscape is shifting. High-quality free resources now exist for every SOA preliminary exam, and smart candidates are combining them to pass exams without the financial burden.
This guide covers the best free resources available in 2026, organized by exam and study need.
FreeFellow — 6,300+ Free SOA Practice Questions
FreeFellow offers the largest free actuarial question bank available, covering all six SOA preliminary exams:
| Exam | Questions | Link |
|------|-----------|------|
| Exam P (Probability) | 1,132 | Practice |
| Exam FM (Financial Mathematics) | 1,000 | Practice |
| Exam FAM (Fundamentals of Actuarial Mathematics) | 1,040 | Practice |
| Exam SRM (Statistics for Risk Modeling) | 1,140 | Practice |
| Exam ALTAM (Advanced Long-Term Actuarial Mathematics) | 1,010 | Practice |
| Exam ASTAM (Advanced Short-Term Actuarial Mathematics) | 1,065 | Practice |
Every question includes a detailed solution, and the platform provides features that paid providers charge for:
- Adaptive practice that targets your weakest learning objectives
- Readiness scoring that estimates your probability of passing
- Full practice exams simulating real exam conditions (30 MCQs, 3 hours)
- Performance analytics with topic-level accuracy breakdowns
- Flashcards with spaced repetition for concept review
- Dynamic study plans based on your exam date and progress
SOA Official Resources
The Society of Actuaries provides several free resources that candidates often overlook:
Sample Questions and Solutions
The SOA publishes official sample questions for each exam. These are particularly valuable because they are written by the same committee that writes the actual exam. For Exam P, there are 326 sample questions with detailed solutions. For Exam FM, a similar set exists.
Where to find them: SOA website under each exam's study materials section.
Study Notes and Textbooks
For some exams, the SOA syllabus references open-source or freely available textbooks. Exam SRM, for example, draws heavily from An Introduction to Statistical Learning (ISLR), which is freely available online from its authors.
Past Exam Questions
While the SOA no longer publishes past exams, the sample question sets are periodically updated with questions drawn from recent sittings.
Free Video Resources
YouTube Channels
Several actuarial educators maintain YouTube channels with free content:
- The Infinite Actuary — selected free video lessons for Exam P and FM
- Coaching Actuaries — publishes some sample lectures publicly
- Professor Leonard — not actuarial-specific, but his calculus and probability lectures are exceptionally clear and relevant for Exam P
University OpenCourseWare
MIT, Yale, and other universities offer complete probability and statistics courses online:
- MIT 18.05 — covers probability topics directly relevant to Exam P
- MIT 18.S096 — topics in mathematics with applications in finance (relevant to FM)
- Yale STAT 241 — probability theory
Study Manuals and Notes
Marcel Finan's Free Textbooks
Professor Marcel Finan at Arkansas Tech University has written free textbooks covering Exam P and Exam FM material. These are comprehensive, well-organized, and have practice problems at the end of each section.
ACTEX Free Samples
ACTEX publishes free sample chapters from their study manuals. While you do not get the complete manual, the samples often cover high-weight topics and give you a sense of how the material is organized.
How to Combine Free Resources Effectively
Having access to free resources is only half the battle. Here is a study framework that works:
Phase 1: Learn the Material (40% of study time)
Use a combination of study notes, textbooks, and video lectures to learn each topic. Marcel Finan's textbooks or ISLR (for SRM) provide the theoretical foundation.
Phase 2: Practice Problems (50% of study time)
This is where most of your time should go. Start with topic-specific practice on FreeFellow, working through easier questions before progressing to harder ones. The platform's three difficulty levels (D1, D2, D3) let you build up systematically.
Phase 3: Practice Exams (10% of study time)
In the final 2-4 weeks, take full-length practice exams under timed conditions. FreeFellow's practice exam feature generates realistic simulations for each SOA exam.
The Real Cost Comparison
Here is what candidates typically spend on actuarial exam prep:
| Resource | Cost Per Exam | All 6 Exams |
|----------|---------------|-------------|
| Coaching Actuaries | \$300-\$500 | \$1,800-\$3,000 |
| ACTEX/ASM Study Manual | \$100-\$200 | \$600-\$1,200 |
| The Infinite Actuary | \$250-\$400 | \$1,500-\$2,400 |
| FreeFellow | \$0 | \$0 |
The commercial providers offer excellent products, and many candidates benefit from their structured video courses. But if your primary need is practice questions and performance tracking — which is what most candidates need most — you can get that entirely for free.
Which Free Resources By Exam
Exam P
FreeFellow (1,132 questions) + SOA sample questions (326) + Marcel Finan's textbook + MIT 18.05
Exam FM
FreeFellow (1,000 questions) + SOA sample questions + Marcel Finan's FM textbook
Exam FAM
FreeFellow (1,040 questions) + SOA study note texts + Bowers et al. referenced sections
Exam SRM
FreeFellow (1,140 questions) + ISLR (free textbook) + SOA sample questions
Exam ALTAM
FreeFellow (1,010 questions) + SOA study notes + Dickson, Hardy & Waters referenced sections
Exam ASTAM
FreeFellow (1,065 questions) + SOA study notes + Klugman referenced sections
Start Your Preparation
The barrier to actuarial exam success is not money. It is consistent effort and smart practice. With over 6,300 free questions across all six SOA preliminary exams, FreeFellow gives you the tools to pass. Start with whichever exam is next on your list.