Becker CPA Review vs Gleim CPA Review

Becker CPA Review vs Gleim CPA Review [2024 COMPARISON!]

• Quick Stats & Video Reviews
• Becker vs Gleim CPA Review Price Comparison
• Video Lectures
• Multiple Choice & Simulations
• Customer Support
• CPA Study Software Access
• CPA Course Supplements
• Final Recommendation

It's hard to even compare the price between Becker CPA Review and Gleim CPA Review.

Becker CPA Review ranges from $2,399 to $3,499 for all four parts (before discounts).

Gleim CPA Review will only set you back $1,999 (before discounts)

NOTE: For this comparison I will be using the Gleim CPA Premium Review System as it most closely mirrors Becker CPA Review Premium Package.

The biggest difference between Becker CPA Review and Gleim CPA Review is absolutely going to be the video lectures.

Becker CPA Review revolves 100% around the video lectures. You are expected to watch 30-60 minute lectures in one sitting while studiously highlighting your textbook.

Gleim CPA Review takes a different approach, they give you shorter lectures and focus more on helping you learn on your own through the textbook and multiple choice questions.

Now I will admit that Becker CPA Review's video lectures are far more advanced in terms of functionality. Their electronic textbook automatically syncs with the video lectures and you are able to take notes and bookmark the lectures.

You can't do any of this with Gleim. It just a video and you are on your own to follow along in the textbook.

With this being said it's clear that if you are someone who NEEDS video lectures to learn, then Becker CPA Review is your course BUT personally I would compare Becker CPA Review to UWorld Roger CPA Review before making a final decision. UWorld Roger CPA Review has by far the most engaging lectures in the industry.

However, if you are more of a self-studier who prefers to teach yourself the material and just need video lectures as a reference point, then I would recommend Gleim.

At this point, I will have to give Becker CPA Review the WINNER tag for video lectures.

The most powerful study tool you can have to learn the CPA exam material is going to be your multiple choice and simulations.

Both Becker CPA Review and Gleim CPA Review are kings of the CPA exam questions and explanations.

They have both also recently added smarter learning technology, Becker now has "Adapt2U" and Gleim has "SmartAdapt" technology to help you focus on the right topics at the right time to maximize your chances of passing the CPA exam.

Let's breakdown what each course has to offer.

Becker CPA comes with more than 7,200 multiple choice questions. You can expect each question to contain detailed explanations and reference to the textbook.

Their simulations are also on par with what you will expect to see on the CPA exam.

Similarly, Gleim CPA Review comes with 10,000+ CPA exam MCQs and 1,300+ simulations that all have very detailed explanations and breakdowns of why the questions are right or wrong.

In my opinion Gleim CPA Review has an edge over Becker CPA Review in terms of CPA exam question offering.

Multiple Choice Analytics

If you want to understand where you should focus your time, then multiple choice analytics are essential to your success.

Gleim CPA Review offers some of the most in-depth multiple analytics that I have seen and will allow you to dig down into the sub-topic level. Something most CPA review courses won't give you.

Becker does offer a similar level of detail but not quite as granualar as Gleim. The other CPA Review Course that you can compare to Becker is Wiley CPAexcel.

Learning Technology

In terms of learning technology, Gleim and Becker CPA Review differ slightly on how they handle automating your study process.

Becker focuses on utilizing their student data to compare your results to other students who have been successful.

Gleim CPA Review's SmartAdapt focuses on diagnosing your weakest areas and assigning you topics you need to spend more time studying on.

You also have the ability to manually quiz yourself with Gleim CPA Review which is good as well if you want to have full control of your studies.

I believe that Gleim is the clear winner for CPA exam questions.

Customer support is important for many reasons, the most important being the ability to outsource research of various topics you don't understand.

You want a CPA reveiw course that will be able to get you an answer quickly and an answer that actually helps.

So how does Gleim and Becker handle customer support?

Becker CPA Review has a help desk that you can send your questions too as they come up.

I found the responses to be helpful, but here is the kicker. Most CPA candidates study on the weekends and Becker CPA Review does not offer support during this time except for Saturday morning.

So if you send a question on Friday evening, you should expect a response until Monday at the earliest unless you are lucky and someone get's to your response on the short Saturday window.

To me this is unacceptable, but because Becker is a massive company it's to be expected.

Now if you opt for the Premium or Pro package offered by Becker you will receive a CPA exam success coach and if you opt for Pro then you will receive 5 hours of one on one tutoring from a CPA exam expert.

This is something that Gleim does not currently offer.

Gleim CPA Review on the other hand is still a large company, but I found to be much more responsive to customer questions.

They give each student a "personal counselor" and for it's premium CPA review system students they give you direct access to their accounting experts for your specific questions related to accounting topics.

Gleim CPA Review is the clear winner here.

Becker CPA Review has finally started offering unlimited access until you pass which is a big deal as they have never done this before.

Now unless you invest in their "Premium or Pro Bundles" you will still be stuck with their strict software access period of 24 months.

Even worse, in order to qualify for a renewal you also have to complete 90% of the multiple choice questions and all this other red tape.

I have first hand experience with this...

When I used Becker I was in the middle of studying for the CPA exam when it expired (after I had failed multiple times in a row using Becker). Now the reasons I failed is a story for a different day, but I went into panic mode and scrambled to find something else so I didn't have to pay the massive renewal fee.

To me this way to complicated and when you have already paid $2,399, I personally think you should have unlimited access until you pass the CPA exam.

Thankfully you do have that option now, but the cost is close to $3,000.

Now my story didn't end in failure...

After my Becker expired, I found Gleim CPA Review and they were able to help me pass the CPA exam.

Moral of the story, find a CPA review course that sticks behind it's product and won't screw you over when you need it the most.

FYI - All Gleim Premium students receive unlimited access to the course and free digital updates until you pass.

Clear winner here is Gleim CPA Review for price but both now offer unlimited access until you pass.

Becker CPA Review offers multiple study supplements such as flashcards, test banks, final review and a fully integrated mobile app.

You also have the option for a live classroom in your city to go through the lectures in front of a live instructor.

Gleim offers students with a their MegaBank (the product I used to pass the CPA exam) and their downloadable audio lectures.

Gleim also includes digital flashcards which can be organized at the study unit level which is great for staying organized and highly targeted.

In terms of variety of products offered, Becker CPA Review is the clear winner.

But again these are just supplements to the primary course and depending on your study personality, you may not need all of these extra bells and whistles.

Discover your study personality here

The decision to make between Becker CPA Review and Gleim CPA Review really boils down to how much you want to spend on a CPA review course.

Becker CPA Review is the best known CPA review course in the industry but that does not make it the best CPA review course for you.

As you heard from my story, Becker not only could help me pass the CPA exam it also didn't stick with me until I did and it put me in a pretty stressful spot.

But if money is not an object and you highly value video lectures then Becker CPA Review is probably the right choice.

However if you prefer to teach yourself the material and need thousands of multiple choice questions with excellent analytics and explanations, then I would absolutely invest in Gleim CPA review. You won't regret it.

Give Gleim CPA Review a try on me.

Gleim CPA Review Free Trial

Becker CPA Review Trial

Also consider the fact that regardless of which CPA course you pick, I can help.

My CPA exam mentorship program Ultimate CPA Exam Guide works in sync with both programs.