The main CAIA® study material comes with your exam registration. Register for Level I or Level II and you get the digital CAIA Curriculum for that level, and the exam is written from it. Everything else on this page, free or paid, adds practice or teaching on top of the curriculum and doesn't replace it.

I should mention that I run FreeFellow, which comes up below. FreeFellow is a CAIA Association® Preparatory Program Provider, and its materials supplement the 2027 CAIA Curriculum.

What the CAIA Association® gives you

Most of this is on the association's curriculum and study tools page, and the rest is in the exam handbook linked from it.

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Material Levels What it's for Access
Digital CAIA Curriculum I and II The readings the exam is based on Included with registration
Print curriculum I and II The same readings on paper Extra cost
Curriculum Companion I and II Key topics, essential terms and areas to focus on Linked from that page
Exam Handbook I and II Exam details and step-by-step guidance Linked from that page
Sample Exam I and II A preview of format and pacing Listed as coming in November
Emerging Topics readings II Required readings, tested in the constructed-response section Through your CAIA account

For the March 2027 exams, Level I runs March 1 to 12 and Level II runs March 15 to 26, and early registration closes December 7, 2026. Level I is $995 early or $1,395 standard, plus the $400 one-time enrollment fee, and Level II is $995 or $1,395. The cost breakdown has the rest.

If you searched for CAIA books, check the year first. The association says editions are valid only for the calendar year of your exam, and the 2027 edition covers both the March and September exams. It matters this year, because Level I went from eight topics to seven: Funds of Funds is no longer its own topic, though funds of funds still come up under Hedge Funds, and infrastructure grew into an 11-lesson chapter. The Wiley textbook you'll see sold as Alternative Investments: CAIA Level I is a 2020 edition, so use it for background at most. The 2027 curriculum changes post lists what moved.

Free practice questions

The curriculum gives you the reading, and you still need plenty of questions to find out whether you can use it. FreeFellow's CAIA® Level I and Level II banks have 2,070 and 2,452 original questions, each with a step-by-step solution, written for the 2027 curriculum. 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. Samples need no signup. You also get 25 Level I and 28 Level II written lessons.

The free tier doesn't include timed mock exams, flashcards, analytics or the Level II essay simulations. Those come with the paid Fellow tier. That gap matters more at Level II, where constructed response is 30% of the exam, so if you stay on the free tier you'll need another way to practice writing answers.

Kaplan Schweser also has a 7-day free trial of sample study tools, and its page warns that the trial content may not match the latest curriculum updates.

Paid packages can add question banks, timed mocks, performance tracking, instructor support, video and condensed notes. The association's prep provider page lists its licensed providers and says only those get direct access to the curriculum. It doesn't rate or recommend them, and FreeFellow is one of the names on it. With anyone who isn't listed, ask which curriculum year the material is based on.

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Provider What you get List price per level
UpperMark Study handbooks, formula sheet and test bank. Higher suites add a final review package and on-demand video. $499 to $979 before discounts (checked November 1, 2026)
Kaplan Schweser Study notes, a question bank and mock exams, with more tools in higher packages. Level I $549 to $1,049, Level II $599 to $1,099 (as of October 2026)

If money's tight, I'd start with the curriculum and free questions, then buy more help if you find you need it for the reading, timed practice or feedback. The FreeFellow vs UpperMark comparison goes through that choice, and the Level I study guide has a 12-week schedule.