FRM Prep Cost Breakdown 2026: FreeFellow vs Bionic Turtle vs AnalystPrep vs Kaplan Schweser

GARP's fees for FRM Part I and Part II come to $1,600 to $2,000: a $400 enrollment fee plus $600 (early) or $800 (standard) per part, from GARP's 2026 Candidate Guide. Everything you spend on prep sits on top of that. Below is the 2026 out-of-pocket cost of getting through both parts with GARP's materials alone and with each of the four most common providers: Bionic Turtle, AnalystPrep, Kaplan Schweser and FreeFellow, which I built.

Prices below are in USD. Each FreeFellow subscription covers one credential track. Check pricing for your track and country.

Each row says which package it is, the access term and whether the price covers one part or both. Provider prices change, so check each provider's site before you buy.

GARP fees and what they include

The 2026 GARP Candidate Guide lists these fees:

• A one-time USD 400 enrollment fee, paid with your first Part I registration. You pay it again only if you don't pass Part II within four years of passing Part I.
• USD 600 per part if you register early, or USD 800 standard.
• A USD 50 payment processing surcharge if you pay by ACH or wire.
• A USD 250 deferral fee if you postpone an exam after registering.

There's no late registration window in 2026 beyond standard. Standard closes roughly 2 months before the exam, and if you miss it you sit in the next cycle.

Register early for both parts and pay by card, and your minimum is $400 + $600 + $600 = $1,600. Leave both to standard registration and it's $400 + $800 + $800 = $2,000. The $200-per-part gap between early and standard is $400 across both parts, and it's the easiest saving on the FRM. Most candidates who pay standard just didn't register in time, so set a calendar reminder.

Your registration includes GARP's Study Guide with the full curriculum outline, the Learning Objectives the exam writers test against, and practice exams, typically one to two per part with full solutions. Those practice exams are the single best predictor of real exam style, and most candidates underuse them, so take them under timed conditions. GARP doesn't give you a large question bank beyond the practice exams, video lectures or recorded course content, adaptive practice or readiness scoring, or a study plan. That's why every candidate ends up either paying a prep provider or putting together free tools for the practice volume, lessons and analytics around the curriculum.

What each provider costs

Bionic Turtle: $400 to $700 per part (May 2026)

Bionic Turtle is the most established FRM-only prep provider. David Harper, CFA, FRM, founded it, and it's been around for over 15 years. You get Hull-style written study notes mapped to GARP's Learning Objectives, Harper's video lectures (the main draw), a question bank of generally several thousand questions across both parts, timed practice exams, and forum and community support.

Bionic Turtle's per-part package band was $400 to $700 in its May 2026 published pricing, for Part I and Part II packages alike. I couldn't verify current prices on September 7, 2026. Two separate part packages come to $800 to $1,400 combined, with no bundle discount assumed.

If you learn well from video and want one source that's entirely about the FRM, it's hard to beat. The downside is price, so budget for both part packages on top of the exam fees.

AnalystPrep: $349 to $499 per part

AnalystPrep is a multi-credential prep platform that also covers CFA and CAIA®, and its FRM offering is part of that broader product. You get an FRM question bank, mock exams, video lessons (less depth than Bionic Turtle's), and study notes and concept summaries. AnalystPrep lists these FRM packages, checked September 7, 2026:

• Practice package: $349 per part, with 12 months of access
• Learn + Practice package with videos: $499 per part, with 12 months of access
• AnalystPrep FRM Unlimited package: $799 for both FRM parts, with lifetime access

CFA prep is AnalystPrep's core product and FRM is a complement to it. If you don't need David Harper-level video and want a solid question bank with mocks at a moderate price, it's a reasonable choice.

Kaplan Schweser: Part I from $499

Schweser is the name brand in finance exam prep, and most people who studied for the CFA know the orange Schweser Notes. For the FRM you get Schweser Notes, a QBank, mock exams, OnDemand video courses in the premium tiers, and live online classes in the highest tiers. Schweser lists these packages on its Part I page and FRM page, checked September 7, 2026:

• Essential: $499 for Part I or $549 for Part II, each sold separately
• Premium: $899 for Part I or $949 for Part II, each sold separately
• Both Essential packages total $1,048, and both Premium packages total $1,848, with no bundle discount assumed

The brand is well known and the Schweser Notes have a loyal following. It costs more, though, so for FRM-only prep, compare what's in each package and how long access lasts.

FreeFellow: $0, or Fellow and Fellow Plus

FreeFellow is the platform I built. The free tier has a growing FRM Part I and Part II question bank (1,076 and 1,242 questions) with detailed solutions, 31 Part I lessons and 28 Part II lessons covering the core curriculum, mixed practice across topics, readiness tracking and a formula sheet, with no trial period and no credit card. It doesn't have video lectures, a signature instructor like David Harper, or live classes. If you read well from text and want a free way to work questions and review lessons, it's a real option. If you want video or a polished, turnkey course, buy a paid provider.

Fellow costs $39 a month or $79 a quarter per track, and the $199 annual plan is Fellow Plus. Fellow adds timed full-length mock exams, SM-2 spaced-repetition flashcards for high-yield concepts, analytics with topic-level accuracy and trends, and a study plan keyed to your exam date. It's built around the FreeFellow question bank, so compare the subscription term with each provider's access period and package contents. If your gap is mock exams, flashcards and analytics, Fellow fills it cheaply. If your gap is video instruction, Fellow won't solve it.

FreeFellow doesn't replace the GARP curriculum. You should still read the GARP-prescribed readings or a Hull-style summary, because FreeFellow's lessons cover the curriculum without replacing the source material. It doesn't replace GARP's practice exams either: use the one or two per part that come with registration, since they're the closest thing to the real exam in style and difficulty. And if you learn mainly from video, it shouldn't be your main tool, so pair it with Bionic Turtle or buy a video-only package from a provider.

What I'd buy

If you work full time and your employer is paying, go with GARP plus Bionic Turtle. The videos are good, and since it isn't your money, the price matters less than your time.

If you work full time and you're paying yourself, go with GARP plus Fellow Plus and make full use of GARP's practice exams. That adds $199 to the exam fees for one year of the annual plan. If one weak topic would benefit from video, compare that provider's access options for that part.

If you're a recent grad on a tight budget, use GARP plus FreeFellow free and the materials that come with your registration. That's just the GARP fees, $1,600 to $2,000, and it can be enough if you put in the hours and have the discipline to learn from text.

If you're coming from a non-finance background, go with GARP plus Bionic Turtle (or AnalystPrep with video), and use FreeFellow free for extra questions. Video matters more when you're learning concepts cold.

If it's your second attempt, go with GARP plus Fellow. You already know the curriculum, so what you need is more practice, timed mocks and analytics to find the gaps that caught you the first time. Skip the full course bundle and buy only what's missing.

If you have a strong quant background and study well on your own, GARP plus FreeFellow free and the GARP Study Guide will do. You can teach yourself from text and don't need video.

If you're still unsure, buy whichever one you can afford to use fully. A Schweser package you only get halfway through does less for you than a $199/year FreeFellow Fellow Plus subscription you use every day. I don't claim Fellow is as good as Bionic Turtle. It's a different product at a much lower price, and that tradeoff suits some candidates and not others.

The GARP fees come from the 2026 GARP Candidate Guide, which lists the $400 enrollment fee, $600 early and $800 standard registration, and the $50 ACH/wire surcharge on pages 9-12. I checked the AnalystPrep and Kaplan Schweser package prices on their linked pages on September 7, 2026. Bionic Turtle's figures are its May 2026 published per-part band, because I couldn't verify current prices, so check your package before buying. The FreeFellow prices above are as of September 7, 2026.

If you want a free place to start, FRM Part I and FRM Part II practice are open. You can try sample questions without signing up, and the full banks and written lessons need a free account.