What certification exams cost in 2026

Exam fees for the certifications covered here run from 75 to 599 US dollars, and several vendors do not publish a price at all. This page lists what each one actually costs, and is explicit about where a figure is unavailable rather than inventing one.

Published fees

Where no price is published

This is not an oversight on our part. These vendors genuinely do not put a figure on the certification page.

If you find a confident single price for any of these quoted elsewhere, it is either region-specific or invented. Check at the booking step.

The costs nobody advertises

The exam fee is rarely the real number.

Retakes. Most vendors charge full price for a second attempt, and impose a waiting period. A 200 USD exam you fail twice is a 600 USD exam.

Retakes on the SEE. Each part of the IRS exam can be taken up to four times per testing window, and every attempt costs the full 317 USD.

Prerequisites. The three ISACA certificates require an existing designation — CISA for AAIA, CISM or CISSP for AAISM, a recognised designation for AAIR. If you do not hold one, the honest cost includes earning and maintaining it first. That is months and several hundred dollars before you start.

Maintenance. ISACA credentials require continuing professional education, for the new certificate and for the base credential underneath it. Databricks certifications are valid for two years; MLA-C02 for three. Enrolled agents renew every three years and need 72 hours of continuing education per cycle. Renewal is a recurring cost, not a one-off.

Membership. ISACA membership costs money but reduces the exam fee by 140 USD. For a single exam it roughly breaks even; for two it pays.

Your time. At four to six weeks of evening study, the fee is usually the smallest part of what the certification costs you.

Cheapest route into each ecosystem

Before you pay

Read the exam changes tracker first — paying for an exam whose objectives shifted last month is an expensive way to discover it. Then take the free practice test in the relevant exam section, because the cheapest exam is the one you pass first time.

If you are still choosing, the certification paths order the exams by vendor and say which to skip. Prices change, so confirm the current figure on the vendor’s own page; the useful links page collects them.

Still a student? Certifications before graduation covers which entry-level exams make sense first. Paying for a second attempt? Retaking a certification exam after failing explains how to spend it well.