FreeFellow has more than 1,700 free CFA Level III practice questions for each of the three pathways, all original and each with a step-by-step solution. Every pathway page has sample questions you can try with no signup. 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 passed Level III on my first attempt while working full time as an actuary.
The next sitting is in February 2027. The Level III pass rate averaged 51% from 2016 to 2025, and CFA Institute publishes each sitting's result.
What's in the bank for each pathway
You sit the same core as everyone else, plus one pathway, and the bank is built the same way:
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
| Pathway | Core questions | Pathway questions | Total | Lessons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio Management | 1,166 | 547 | 1,713 | 31 |
| Private Wealth | 1,166 | 548 | 1,714 | 30 |
| Private Markets | 1,166 | 571 | 1,737 | 30 |
That's about two-thirds core, close to the weights on CFA Institute's Level III exam page:
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
| Topic | Weight |
|---|---|
| Asset Allocation | 15 to 20% |
| Portfolio Construction | 15 to 20% |
| Performance Measurement | 5 to 10% |
| Derivatives and Risk Management | 10 to 15% |
| Ethical and Professional Standards | 10 to 15% |
| Your pathway | 30 to 35% |
Every question in the bank is three-choice multiple choice, like the item sets on the exam. More than 40% of them sit in a vignette, and the rest are standalone concept questions. If you haven't picked a pathway yet, the guides for Private Wealth and Private Markets cover what each one adds.
How I'd practice for both formats
The exam has 11 item sets and 11 essay sets, each worth 12 points, mixed through two 132-minute sessions. One session has 6 item sets and 5 essay sets, and the other has 5 and 6. One item set and one essay set are unscored trials, and that leaves about 12 minutes a set.
Since essays carry as much weight as item sets, a multiple-choice bank only trains half of it. I'd use the bank to learn each topic and check it right after you study it, then read every solution, including on the questions you got right. Mixed practice is free with an account. Topic drills and difficulty filters are part of Fellow.
Start writing essays early rather than saving them for the end. The command word tells you what the grader is scoring, and I go through that in my Level III essay strategy post. A free account gets one full practice essay per pathway, with a prompt builder that puts the scenario, your answer and the rubric into one prompt for your own ChatGPT or Claude. Fellow has 66 original essay sets per pathway and grades your answer against the rubric.
In the last four to six weeks, sit full sessions on the clock so the mix of formats isn't new on exam day. Fellow has six full mocks per pathway, each with 11 item sets and 11 essay sets across two 132-minute sessions.
Past papers, mocks and what's free
CFA Institute gives registered candidates a mock exam in its Learning Ecosystem, and its Level III exam page links a PDF of sample item set questions. Start with those, since they come from the people writing the exam. For past essay papers, check what's in your candidate account. FreeFellow's question bank isn't a downloadable PDF.
FreeFellow is a CFA Institute Prep Provider, independent of CFA Institute, and does not promise a passing score. Every question in its bank and mocks is original, and it doesn't reproduce CFA Institute exam or mock questions.
The free Portfolio Management diagnostic is a 12-question check with an instant readiness read and no signup, and Private Wealth and Private Markets have their own. The optional Fellow tier adds the mocks and essay grading above, plus spaced-repetition flashcards, topic-level drilling and analytics.