You can't do the whole CFP for free. CFP Board requires a CFP Board-registered education program before you can certify, and you pay for that and the exam. After that, your practice and review can run on free resources like the ones below, and the most useful one is FreeFellow's question bank: all 2,704 scenario-based questions are free with step-by-step solutions. That's the whole bank, rather than a trial or 50 sample questions behind an email form. Samples need no account, and the full bank needs a free one. The full original question bank is free with an account, subject to usage limits. Worked solutions, written lessons, mixed practice, and your readiness score stay free. I run FreeFellow, so keep that in mind with the ranking.

Free CFP resources, most useful first

1. FreeFellow CFP question bank

CFP Board estimates 74 to 100% of exam questions are scenario-based, and this is free scenario practice (subject to practice usage limits) with a worked solution on every question. The bank has 2,704 of them across all eight domains, most with notes on the answer choices, plus 71 written lessons, a formula sheet with tax tables, mixed practice and a readiness score. Start practicing CFP on FreeFellow.

2. CFP Board candidate resources

CFP Board publishes the exam blueprint (the eight principal knowledge domains and their weights), sample questions and the candidate handbook, all free. The blueprint is the authoritative list of what's testable and how much each domain counts, and the sample questions show the exact scenario style. Read the blueprint early and use it to split your study time.

3. Free video content

Several educators post free CFP explainers on YouTube, and they're strongest on tax, retirement and estate, where watching someone work a case beats reading about it. Search by domain ("CFP retirement planning", "CFP estate planning") rather than for one full course. Videos help most while you're learning the material, and on domains that won't click from text.

4. Flashcards and formula review

FreeFellow's CFP formula sheet with tax tables is a free printable PDF, and Anki has shared decks from past CFP candidates covering definitions and tax figures (search "CFP" in Anki's shared decks). The exam is mostly scenarios, so use flashcards to keep facts and figures fresh, not as your main way of studying.

5. Study communities

r/CFP and other planner communities are useful when a specific rule or scenario won't click, and reading how other candidates reason through a case builds the cross-domain thinking the exam rewards.

How to study with free resources

In months 1 and 2, work through each domain with lessons and free videos, and do 30 to 50 questions on each one as you finish it. In months 2 and 3, move to mixed scenario practice, 40 to 60 questions a sitting, with an error log by domain. In the final month, do full-length timed blocks, review the current-law numbers and spend extra time on your two weakest domains. The CFP pass-rate and study strategy guide covers how to weight the domains.

None of these are required, but they add structure if you have the budget. Prices are in USD.

  • The Dalton Review is $1,659 with the eBook (enrollment page checked September 7, 2026), a long-standing CFP review with mock exams.
  • Kaplan's CFP exam review is $650 for Essential or $1,495 for Premium (review page checked September 7, 2026), with structured question banks and lessons.
  • FreeFellow's Fellow tier is $39 a month or $79 a quarter per track and adds timed mock exams, spaced-repetition flashcards, focus practice, analytics and a personalized study plan. The $199 annual plan is Fellow Plus, which also includes Common traps. Each subscription covers one credential track, and you can check pricing for your track and country.

Whatever else you use, start with the free CFP question bank. If you want a baseline before that, the CFP diagnostic gives you a readiness score with no signup.