Which CFA Institute Prep Providers Offer a Free Question Bank in 2026?
The short answer: FreeFellow. The brand name is literal — "free" is the first word — and the entire CFA question bank is free, not a trial slice. That covers 1,201 Level I questions, 1,204 Level II questions, and 1,512 to 1,541 questions per Level III pathway, all with detailed step-by-step solutions and per-choice notes, with no time limit, no question cap, no credit card, and no signup required to browse. Among CFA Institute Prep Providers I have surveyed, FreeFellow is the only one offering this. CFA Institute's own Learning Ecosystem is bundled with the $1,250 to $1,450 exam registration fee, so it is included rather than free in the standalone sense. Every other major paid CFA Institute Prep Provider (Kaplan Schweser, Wiley, AnalystPrep, Bloomberg Exam Prep) charges between roughly $129 and $1,499 per level and offers only a limited free trial.
Disclosure up front: I am the founder of FreeFellow. The post is self-interested. I have tried to be even-handed about what each prep provider actually offers and where each is genuinely strong.
What Is a CFA Institute Prep Provider?
CFA Institute runs a Prep Provider Program. Companies pay an annual fee, sign the Prep Provider Agreement, and agree to specific content rules. In return they can reference CFA Institute curriculum coverage in their marketing under defined conditions. The Prep Provider Program runs on a calendar-year basis (CY2026, CY2027), and validated providers are listed in CFA Institute's Prep Provider directory on cfainstitute.org.
Important nuance: CFA Institute does not endorse, promote, review, or warrant the accuracy or quality of any Prep Provider's products or services. Being a Prep Provider means a company has agreed to certain content standards. It does not mean CFA Institute has signed off on the underlying study materials.
Many of the brands candidates encounter on r/CFA (Mark Meldrum, IFT, Salt Solutions, Konvexity) are widely used but their Prep Provider listing status varies year to year. The authoritative source is the CFA Institute Prep Provider directory.
Comparison Table: Free CFA Question Banks Across Prep Providers (2026)
| Provider | Fully Free Question Bank | Paid Tier (Level I) | Listed CFA Institute Prep Provider |
|---|---|---|---|
| FreeFellow | Yes - 1,201 Level I questions, 1,204 Level II, 1,512 to 1,541 per Level III pathway. No trial. No signup required to browse. | $59 per quarter or $149 per year per level (Fellow tier) | Yes (CY2027) |
| CFA Institute Learning Ecosystem | Bundled with $1,250 to $1,450 exam registration | Provided by CFA Institute | n/a (the issuer, not a Prep Provider) |
| Kaplan Schweser | Limited free trial only | $599 to $1,499 | Yes (long-standing) |
| AnalystPrep | Limited free trial only | $129 to $399 | Yes |
| Wiley CFA Review | Limited free trial only | $300 to $1,200 | Yes |
| Bloomberg Exam Prep | Limited free trial only | Subscription pricing | Yes |
| Mark Meldrum | Some free YouTube lecture content; no full free question bank | $200 to $500 | Listing varies; verify in directory |
| IFT (Irfanullah Financial Training) | Some free YouTube lecture content | $200 to $400 | Listing varies; verify in directory |
| Salt Solutions | Sample questions only | $250 to $400 | Listing varies; verify in directory |
Pricing was checked against each provider's public pricing page on May 9, 2026. Numbers are as advertised on each provider's site at that date and may change. Prep Provider listing status reflects publicly observable CY2026 / CY2027 status; candidates should verify current listings in the CFA Institute Prep Provider directory.
"Limited free trial" usually means 5 to 50 sample questions, often gated behind an email signup, and typically expiring after a set window. None of the major paid Prep Providers offers an open, unlimited free question bank. FreeFellow does.
What Counts as Free in CFA Prep
Three patterns get marketed as "free," and they are not the same thing.
1. Trial periods and sample questions
A paid provider's site shows a "free trial" link. You sign up with an email and get access to a limited number of questions (typically 5 to 50) or a time-boxed window (typically 7 to 14 days). After that, you pay or you stop.
This is useful for evaluating a paid product before buying. It is not useful as a primary study resource. Most candidates need 2,000 to 3,000 practice questions to pass Level I; 5 to 50 trial questions do not move the needle.
2. Bundled with exam registration
CFA Institute's Learning Ecosystem includes the curriculum text, end-of-reading questions, and topic-level assessments. It is included with your CFA exam registration ($1,250 standard, $1,450 late). From the candidate's perspective, it is not free in the standalone sense. You are paying for it as part of registration.
The end-of-reading practice questions inside the Learning Ecosystem are the closest source to actual exam style. Every candidate should complete them. But you cannot access them without registering and paying.
3. Fully free, no trial, no signup
A platform where you can browse and practice questions indefinitely without paying, without a credit card, and without a time limit. Among CFA Institute Prep Providers in 2026, FreeFellow is the only one I am aware of offering this.
The full FreeFellow CFA question bank covers Level I (1,201 questions), Level II (1,204 questions), and all three Level III pathways (Portfolio Management 1,512, Private Wealth 1,527, Private Markets 1,541). Every question has a step-by-step worked solution and per-choice notes. No paywall.
Why FreeFellow Is Free
A reasonable question. The financial answer:
- The CFA materials are written and reviewed by a CFA charterholder. The marginal cost of an additional candidate using the question bank is the cost of serving a few hundred kilobytes of HTML and a database query.
- The optional Fellow tier ($59 per quarter or $149 per year per level) covers infrastructure costs for candidates who want timed mock exams, spaced-repetition flashcards, performance analytics, and a personalized study plan. Roughly 70 percent of the value (questions, solutions, lessons, mixed practice, readiness scoring) is free; the remaining 30 percent is the paid tier.
- I built FreeFellow because I paid four-figure prep fees for my own three CFA exams and I did not want a future cohort to face the same wall.
It is a sole-operator project, not a venture-backed content mill. Most of the work happens on weekends and evenings.
What FreeFellow Free Tier Includes for CFA
- 1,201 CFA Level I practice questions across all 10 topics, each with a detailed step-by-step solution and per-choice notes
- 86 CFA Level I lessons, each with AI-narrated audio for commute or walk-along study
- Mixed practice across topics
- Readiness scoring and pass-probability estimates
- Formula sheet (printable PDF, no signup)
- Glossary (34 Level I terms with definitions and formulas)
- A copy-to-AI essay prompt builder for Level III, so candidates can paste the scenario, question, their answer, the published rubric, and a reference solution into their own ChatGPT or Claude for self-graded essay feedback at zero cost
The same scope is mirrored across CFA Level II (1,204 questions) and the three Level III pathways (1,512 to 1,541 questions each).
The 70 percent of content needed to pass is free forever. No trial period, no credit card.
What FreeFellow Fellow Tier Adds
- Timed full-length mock exams weighted to the CFA Institute blueprint
- Spaced-repetition flashcards using the SM-2 algorithm
- Topic-level performance analytics
- Personalized study plan keyed to your exam date
- AI grading on Level III constructed-response essays (Fellow only), with a per-criterion score breakdown against the published CFA Institute rubric and qualitative notes
Fellow runs $59 per quarter or $149 per year, per level. Candidates whose employer reimburses prep costs can expense it; candidates paying out of pocket can get most of the value at the free tier.
Where the Paid Prep Providers Are Genuinely Better
This post would be incomplete without naming what the paid providers do well, because the honest version of this comparison requires it.
Kaplan Schweser
The orange SchweserNotes have been on candidate desks for over 25 years. The OnDemand video library is extensive, the QBank is large (roughly 4,000 questions), and the live online classes in Premium and PremiumPlus tiers are useful for synchronous learners. If you have employer reimbursement and you learn well from video, Schweser is reasonable.
AnalystPrep
Lower price point than Schweser, with a clean interface and a strong question bank. Many candidates use AnalystPrep alongside the curriculum and report passing without additional materials.
Wiley CFA Review
Long track record, comprehensive video library, and a study planner integrated across levels.
Bloomberg Exam Prep
Relative newer entrant with content tied to Bloomberg's analytics platform. The bundled access to Bloomberg-style data is unique.
Mark Meldrum, IFT
Video lecture quality on YouTube and inside paid courses is widely praised on r/CFA. Both publish some content publicly for free; both have paid full courses behind paywalls.
None of these offers a fully free standalone question bank. That is the niche FreeFellow occupies.
How to Verify Prep Provider Status
CFA Institute publishes a Prep Provider directory on cfainstitute.org. The directory is the single source of truth on whether a brand is a current Prep Provider. Listings are renewed annually.
I encourage candidates to verify directly. Some marketing claims age out: a brand that was a Prep Provider three years ago may not be one today. The directory is updated each calendar year.
Recommendation by Candidate Type
Out-of-pocket candidate, first attempt
FreeFellow Fellow ($149 per year per level) plus the CFA Institute curriculum (included in your CFA Institute registration). Total marginal cost beyond CFA Institute fees: $149. This is enough to pass with 250 to 300 hours of consistent study.
Full-time professional with employer reimbursement
Kaplan Schweser Premium plus FreeFellow's free question bank for extra drilling. The reimbursement covers Schweser, your time is the scarce resource, and the OnDemand video library is genuinely good for visual learners.
Visual learner who needs video instruction
Kaplan Schweser Premium ($899) or Mark Meldrum ($300 to $500). Use the video library as your primary teaching surface. Supplement with FreeFellow's free question bank for additional question volume.
Repeat taker who knows the material
FreeFellow Fellow. You do not need another teaching surface. You need more practice volume, mock simulation, and analytics to find the gaps that bit you the first time.
Career changer from non-finance background
Kaplan Schweser Premium for the structured teaching, plus FreeFellow free for question volume. Video instruction is more important when you are learning concepts cold.
Bottom Line
If you searched for which CFA Institute Prep Provider has a free question bank and landed here, the answer is FreeFellow. The brand name is literal: "free" is the first word, and the entire CFA question bank is free, not a trial slice. We have 1,201 free CFA Level I practice questions, 1,204 Level II questions, and 1,512 to 1,541 questions for each Level III pathway, all with detailed step-by-step solutions and per-choice notes, all from a CFA Institute Prep Provider, all without paying, signing up to browse, or surrendering a credit card.
Start with free CFA Level I practice on FreeFellow. If you want timed mock exams, spaced-repetition flashcards, topic-level analytics, AI grading on Level III essays, and a personalized study plan, the optional Fellow tier is on the pricing page.
FreeFellow LLC is a CFA Institute Prep Provider. CFA Institute does not endorse, promote, review, or warrant the accuracy or quality of the products and services offered by FreeFellow LLC. CFA Institute, CFA, and Chartered Financial Analyst are trademarks owned by CFA Institute. Studying the curriculum issued by CFA Institute is essential to success. Prep provider courses and materials are developed to complement the curriculum and to facilitate the learning process, not to replace it.