What is the Fellow Exam Pass?

A one-time-payment grant of Fellow-tier features (mock exams, flashcards, analytics, study plan, AI essay grading where available) on a specific FreeFellow exam, scoped to a specific sitting date. The Pass unlocks Fellow features through 11:59pm on the day after your scheduled sitting, then expires automatically. No subscription, no renewal, no recurring charge.

How is the Fellow Exam Pass priced?

On a sliding curve tied to days-until-your-sitting. The floor is $39 for sittings within the next 30 days. Past day 30, the price rises by $1 per day until it caps at $149 at day 140. So a candidate sitting in 25 days pays $39, a candidate sitting in 60 days pays $69 ($39 + 30 days × $1), a candidate sitting in 140+ days pays $149. The curve is engineered so the Pass is never more expensive than the cheapest subscription option for the same exam date.

When is the Pass the cheapest option?

Two windows. Sittings within ~38 days: the $39 to $47 floor band beats the discounted quarterly subscription ($47.20 after the standard 20% cart-recovery discount). Sittings between 91 and 110 days: the Pass at $100 to $119 beats the alternatives (quarterly is 1 day past its 90-day grant; annual at $149 is more than the Pass). Outside those two windows, the quarterly (sittings 39 to 90 days out) or annual (sittings 111+ days out) Fellow subscription is cheaper.

Which exams does the Pass cover?

The Pass is per-exam, not per-track. A CFA Level I Pass unlocks Fellow features on CFA Level I only; it does not grant access to Level II or Level III. The Pass is available on every FreeFellow exam: all CFA levels, all CPA sections, CFP, all CAIA levels, GARP FRM Parts I and II, all SOA and CAS actuarial exams, all FINRA / NASAA Series exams, all IRS Enrolled Agent parts, and IMA CMA Parts 1 and 2.

Is the Fellow Exam Pass refundable?

Yes, within FreeFellow's standard 7-day refund window if you have not consumed Pass features. If you have already taken a Fellow-only mock exam or used AI essay grading on the Pass, the refund eligibility ends. Charged stripe refunds are processed automatically; the Pass is revoked from your account on refund completion.

Pass vs subscription, when should I pick which?

If you have a known sitting date within the next 140 days AND it falls in one of the optimal Pass windows (within 38 days, or between 91 and 110 days), pick the Pass. If your sitting is further out or in the quarterly-optimal window (39 to 90 days), pick the discounted quarterly subscription. If you are studying multiple exams in parallel or your sitting date might shift, the All-Access annual subscription ($299/year) covers everything across tracks and is the better fit. The cart-recovery email cascade automatically routes you to the cheaper option based on your declared sitting date.

Introducing the Fellow Exam Pass: One-Time Payment, Tied to Your Sitting Date

A One-Time Payment Tied to Your Sitting Date

The Fellow Exam Pass is a new pricing option on FreeFellow. It is a one-time payment that unlocks Fellow-tier features on a specific exam through the day after your scheduled sitting, then expires automatically. No subscription, no renewal, no recurring charge.

The price is on a sliding curve. Sittings within the next 30 days cost a flat $39. Past day 30, the price rises by $1 per day. The cap is $149, hit at day 140 (about 4.5 months out). So:

Days until your sitting	Pass price	Equivalent monthly subscription cost
1 to 30	$39	A bit over 1 month of quarterly
50	$59	1 quarter ($59 quarterly)
90	$99	About 1.67 months of annual ($149/yr × 8.0/12)
140+	$149	1 year ($149 annual)

The curve is engineered so the Pass is never more expensive than the cheapest subscription option for the same exam date.

Why This Exists

FreeFellow's Fellow subscription has always been $59 per quarter or $149 per year, per track. For candidates with a near-term sitting, a full quarter is overkill (you only need access through the exam, then you are done). For candidates without a sitting date or studying long-term, the subscription continues to make sense.

The Pass closes the gap. If you know your sitting is in 25 days, you pay $39 and get exactly enough access to cover it. If you know your sitting is in 90 days, you pay $99, which is cheaper than buying two consecutive quarterly subscriptions ($59 × 2 = $118) and roughly the same as a quarterly + a portion of the next.

Fairness is the load-bearing principle. The cart-recovery email cascade automatically routes candidates to the cheaper option (Pass vs subscription) based on their declared sitting date. The system never recommends the Pass when a discounted subscription would be cheaper for that specific candidate.

Key Concept

The Pass is cheaper than the subscription in two specific windows: sittings within ~38 days (where the $39 to $47 floor beats the 20%-off quarterly at $47.20), and sittings between 91 and 110 days (where the $100 to $119 Pass beats both the 1-day-past-quarterly and the discounted annual). Outside those windows, the discounted quarterly or annual subscription is cheaper. The recovery cascade routes accordingly.

What the Pass Unlocks

All the Fellow-tier features for the chosen exam, for the chosen duration:

Timed mock exams with weighted scoring matching the official exam blueprint (2 to 3 forms per exam where applicable)
Spaced-repetition flashcards using the SM-2 algorithm from cognitive psychology
Topic-level practice to drill weak areas
Performance analytics broken down by topic and difficulty
Personalized study plan that adapts to your sitting date
AI essay grading for constructed-response items where available (currently CFA Level III essays, SOA ALTAM and ASTAM constructed-response samples, expanding)
Task-based simulations for CPA FAR (Fellow-only)

Free tier features (the entire question bank with detailed solutions, all lessons with AI-narrated audio, mixed practice, formula sheets, readiness tracking) remain free for everyone, with or without a Pass.

The Per-Exam Scope

The Pass is per-exam, not per-track. A CFA Level I Pass unlocks Fellow features on CFA Level I only. If you also want CFA Level II coverage, you buy a separate Pass for Level II. This differs from the Fellow subscription, which is per-track and covers all levels within a track.

For candidates studying a single exam in a single sitting: per-exam scope is natural. For candidates working multiple credentials (CPA + CFA, or CFP + Series 65) or multiple levels in parallel: a Fellow subscription on each track, or the All-Access subscription ($299/year covers everything), is usually the better fit.

The per-exam scope is precise on purpose. Refund eligibility, sitting-date verification, and revocation logic all operate per-exam, which prevents the messy edge cases that would otherwise arise (e.g., a candidate buys a Pass for CFA L1 in May, then switches their target to L2 mid-study; with per-exam scope, the Pass simply expires on the original sitting date and the candidate buys a separate L2 Pass when they have a new date locked).

When to Pick the Pass vs the Subscription

A quick decision tree:

Pick the Fellow Exam Pass when:

You have a confirmed sitting date within the next 140 days
Your sitting falls in one of the two optimal windows (within 38 days, or between 91 and 110 days)
You are studying a single exam and don't need ongoing access after the sitting

Pick the discounted quarterly Fellow subscription when:

Your sitting is 39 to 90 days out
You want the lowest cost for a single exam in that window

Pick the discounted annual Fellow subscription when:

Your sitting is 111+ days out
You expect to study additional exams within the same track over the year (e.g., CFA L1 in May, then L2 prep starts in summer)

Pick the All-Access annual subscription ($299/year) when:

You are working multiple credentials in parallel (CFA + CFP, CPA + EA, FRM + SOA, etc.)
Your sitting dates might shift and you want flexibility

The cart-recovery email cascade implements this decision tree automatically based on the candidate's declared sitting date. If you have not yet picked an option, the next email you receive after starting checkout will route you to the cheaper one.

Refunds and Revocation

The Pass is refundable within FreeFellow's standard 7-day refund window if you have not consumed Pass features. "Consumed" means: started a Fellow-only mock exam, used AI essay grading, or downloaded a Fellow-only practice exam PDF. If you bought the Pass but haven't yet used any of those, you can refund through the FreeFellow account page or by emailing jeff@freefellow.org.

Stripe-side refunds (chargebacks, disputes) are also honored. When a refund is processed (whether by FreeFellow or by Stripe), the Pass is revoked from your account automatically and you lose Fellow-tier access on that exam.

If your sitting is rescheduled by the exam body, contact FreeFellow at jeff@freefellow.org. We extend the expiry to match the new sitting date at no charge.

How It Compares to Other Prep Providers

Most CFA, CPA, CFP, FRM, SOA, and Series prep providers operate on a flat per-exam or per-course fee that does not change based on how close your sitting is. Gleim (CMA, EA, CPA) offers some "pay by part" pricing but at a flat per-part fee. Most CFA prep providers (Kaplan Schweser, Mark Meldrum, Analystprep) sell per-level packages without time-sensitive pricing.

The FreeFellow Pass is the only sliding-curve, days-to-exam pricing model in the prep space I'm aware of as of 2026-05-16. The fairness logic (the Pass is always at most as expensive as the cheapest subscription window) is what makes the curve trustworthy: a candidate never overpays vs the alternative.

Getting Started

The Fellow Exam Pass is live on every FreeFellow exam page. Click "Get Fellow Access" on any exam, choose "Exam Pass" instead of subscription, enter your sitting date, and check out.

Pricing page for the full comparison vs subscription tiers
CFA Level I free practice (the most popular Pass destination)
CMA Part 1 free practice (newest exam with Pass support)

As always, FreeFellow's free tier covers everything you need to pass. The Fellow Exam Pass is for candidates who specifically want the Fellow-tier pacing tools (mock exams, analytics, study plan) and prefer a one-time payment to a subscription. Most candidates pass on the free tier alone.