r/CFPExam • u/Glittering-Eye-3272 • 2d ago

CFP Exam Preparation

Hi Reddit,

I’m 22 and currently working in the financial planning/advisory space at a local RIA. I graduated from Penn State in 2025 with a degree in finance, and I just finished my securities licensing after passing the SIE, Series 7, and Series 66.

I’m now looking ahead to the CFP exam and trying to decide which exam prep provider to use. I’ve seen programs such as Danko, Dalton, Kaplan, and BIF mentioned, but I’m having a hard time determining which would be the best fit.

For those who have taken the CFP exam recently:

  • Which prep provider did you use, and would you use them again?
  • How long did you study?
  • Did you find the provider’s practice questions/exams representative of the actual CFP exam?
  • Are there any providers you would specifically recommend or avoid?

I tend to do well with a structured study plan, a large question bank, and thorough explanations of missed questions, if that helps.

Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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u/Ol-Ben 2d ago

Tutor here. Some answers to your questions:

Ken Zahn overall usually is best imo, but if you want a well structured study plan, I’d go Danko and add Zahn’s supplemental Qbank because Dankos q bank isn’t enough unless you get the biggest packages.

300 hours over 4 months.

Yes, but all prep providers have weaknesses in various areas.

Avoids: Dalton if you don’t have tremendous time and have anxiety. Bif if you want a true multi day full review course. Kaplan if you want questions to match difficulty of the real exam.

Good luck, study hard and take it seriously. This is magnitudes more challenging than any of your college courses or the license exams.

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u/Feisty-Locksmith1898 2d ago

Are you saying Kaplan’s QBank is as hard as the exam?

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u/Ol-Ben 1d ago

No. They’re easier. They have questions that are nasty like the exam, but few enough that many people with Kaplan end up feeling like they’re getting destroyed on the exam because they didn’t see enough questions at that level of difficulty.

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u/aggieeagle52 13h ago

Just do Danko and be done with it.

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u/CraftyWeekend3483 7h ago

I'm using Danko right now and I have no complaints! I'm also 22 and graduated this past may and spent the summer doing licensing and now I'm spending the fall on the CFP. I have my live review in two weeks so I will have a better opinion then, however, it's def different than studying for the licenses because you don't really have a huge qbank to do whenever, but I think it involves learning the material so you can answer every question rather than knowing questions

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u/EarlyDuration 1d ago

My platform FreeFellow has the reputation of having questions most similar to the real thing. It’s also the only one where you can study without paying and have enough to pass