Last Updated on December 20, 2022 by andrewshih
How much does a PMP Certification Cost?
Getting PMP certification requires time and resource commitments. The cost of PMP certification can vary significantly depending on your learning style. The PMP cost includes mandatory fees such as the PMP exam fee, renewal fee, and optional fees such as the training fee for earning the 35 contact hours, practice exam simulator, and study guide.
PMI encourages you to join the membership. You will find out the membership fee you pay is worth it and offset by the discounts for the exam and study material. The table below itemizes the PMP Certification cost you can expect depending on if you are a PMI member or not.
Table of Content
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PMP Certification Cost Summary
It is optional to join PMI membership to become PMP certified. However, you do entitle to discounts, especially if you are taking the PMP exam.
Cost summary for PMI members:
| Item | Cost |
| PMI Membership Fee (New Member) PMI Membership Fee (Annual Renewal) PMP Certification Renewal (every 3 years) | $139 $129 $60 |
| 4 Options for earning 35-contact hours: #1: Prior PM courses or training #2: Online courses #3: PMP Official on-demand course (or) #4: PMP live training with A.T.P. | $0 $20 $699 $1000 ~ $2000 |
| PMP Exam Fee | $405 |
| PMBOK Guide (Digital PDF) | $0 |
| Exam Simulator (Strongly Recommended) | $149 |
| 3rd party PMP Study Guide (Optional) | About $50 |
Cost summary for Non-PMI members:
| Item | Cost |
| PMP Certification Renewal (every 3 years) | $150 |
| PMP Official on-demand course (or) PMP live training with A.T.P. | $799 $1000 ~ $2000 |
| PMP Exam Fee | $555 |
| PMBOK Guide | $60 |
| Exam Simulator (Highly Recommended) | $149 |
| 3rd party PMP Study Guide (Optional) | About $50 |
PMP Membership Fee
PMP’s annual membership and renewal fee are $129.
If you are a new member, it will cost $10 extra, with a total of $139.
While it is not a requirement to pay the PMP membership fee for obtaining PMP certification, you should definitely become a PMI member, especially for the first year.
As a PMI member, you are entitled to several discounts, including the PMP exam fee, study material, and attending meetings and events. The total cost of PMP certification will be lower if you are a PMP member.
By paying the PMP membership fee, you are entitled to earn PDU for free on projectmanagement.com.
PMP Course Cost
In addition to meeting the work experience requirement, the PMP candidate must complete 35 contact hours of training.
There are several options for acquiring 35 contact hours.
Option #1: Prior Project Management training from employment or courses
This is the cheapest option if your employer has offered formal project management training or you had attended project management-related courses.
You will need to prove that you have completed at least 35 hours of professional management training. To be considered formal, the course must provide an end-of-course assessment and certificate of completion (or similar documentation verifying that you have successfully completed the course).
Option #2: Online project management courses
There are on-demand courses that are available and qualify for the 35-contact hours. The two most popular courses amongst PMP aspirants and the cheapest course available are PMP Certification Exam Prep by Andrew Ramdayal and Joseph Phillips’s PMP exam prep course on Udemy, which cost less than $20.
Some PMP aspirants who already had the project management training through employment also choose to take the Udemy course as a backup plan in case PMI doesn’t approve the project management training through employment.
Option #3: Take the official PMI on-demand course
PMI offers the official on-demand PMP course. The PMI’s official on-demand training costs $699 for PMI members and $799 for non-members.
However, this is probably the least popular option because it is much more costly than the on-demand course available and has less to offer compared to the PMP boot camp course offered by the authorized training providers.
Option #4: PMP boot camp with A.T.P.
Instead of the on-demand course offered by PMI, if you prefer having an instructor in a live class or online boot camp training and a supportive environment, you can earn the required 35 contact hours and prepare for your PMP Exam with one of the Authorized Training Partners (A.T.P.).
The cost of a live virtual class can range widely, typically between $1000 to $2000. Project Management Academy, PMTraining, and GreyCampus are reputable ATP with PMP online boot camp training. This comparison chart shows the three PMP boot camp programs side by side.
PMP Exam Simulator Cost
It is highly recommended that you use a good-quality mock exam simulation to help you prepare for the PMP exam.
PMP exam questions are not straightforward, and there are many real-life scenario questions. You will need to take plenty of practice questions to get comfortable with answering the questions.
Plenty of mock exam practice is essential for passing the PMP exam. A good mock exam simulator should have the following quality:
- Questions that are similar to the difficulties of the actual exam questions.
- Answers with detailed explanations for the mock exam questions.
- Easy to use interface that is similar to the actual exam
- Ability to track your process
- Ability to randomly generate questions based on your filtering criteria
Here is a complete comparison of the top PMP Exam simulators, and here are two of the popular choices:
Option #1: PM Prepcast Exam Simulator with 2000+ questions
The most solid PMP exam simulator on the market and highly recommended by PMP aspirants who passed the PMP exam is the PM Prepcast Exam Simulator.
This PMP exam simulator offers lots of functionality with 2280 realistic exam-quality questions for $149. There are over 1000 quiz questions for the chapter learnings, 4 mock exams, plus one ITTO exam. The simulator also allows you to mix the quiz and exam questions, select areas of focus, and much more.
Many aspirants who passed the PMP exam, including myself, agree that using a good exam simulator is the most important success factor in passing the PMP Exam.
PM-Prepcast offers monthly coupons for various courses, be sure to check out the latest and upcoming coupons.
Option #2: PMTraining Exam Simulator with 1000 questions
If you are under a very tight budget and just looking for a PMP exam simulator at an affordable price, I would recommend PMP Exam Prep from PMTraining, which only costs $68Â for over 1000+ high-quality exam questions with the features mentioned above.
Free PMP Exam Simulator Questions
There are a few sites that offer free mock exam questions, although the quality will vary. I’ve gathered a collection of free mock exam simulators available on my resource page. However, you should never rely only on these free questions to prepare for the PMP exam.
PMP Exam Cost
PMP Exam Fee
Before you can sign up for the PMP exam, you must satisfy the work experience and application requirements. If you are not a PMI member and taking the exam for the first time, the PMP exam costs $555. However, if you are a PMI member and taking the exam for the first time, the fee for the PMP Exam is $405.
Therefore, you can lower your PMP certification cost by paying the PMI membership fee first and then the PMP Exam fee.
PMP Retest Fee
PMP aspirants can make 3 exam attempts in a year.
If you are a PMI member and failed the PMP exam, the PMP exam retake fee is $275. If you are not a PMI member, the cost to retake the PMP exam is $375.
The PMP aspirant will need to wait for one year from the date of the third exam before applying for the PMP exam again.
PMP Book Price
PMBOK Guide
It is essential to have a copy of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) guide reference because this is what the PMP Exam is primarily based on. If you are a PMI member, you can download a digital copy of the PMBOK guide for free, and you can pay just $49.50 for a printed copy from PMI.org. If you are not a member, you will have to pay $99 on the PMI website, but you can get the PMBOK guide on Amazon at a lower price.
PMP Study Guide
It is optional to get a PMP study guide, but some PMP aspirants use study guides to help them prepare for the PMP exam. There are several reputable study guides, and they cost from $50 to $80.
If your focus is simply to get one study guide to help you pass the exam, may be the best option is PMP Exam Prep Simplified by Andrew Ramdayal because it’s succinct and to the point. Other popular books include:
- The 50 PMP Exam Prep Questions Everyone Gets Wrong: Master The Hard Questions – Ace Your PMP Exam by Cornelius Fichtner
- Andy Crowe’s The PMP Exam How to Pass on Your First Try
If you are interested in learning more detail about the pros and cons of these books, please refer to the PMP Study Guide.
PMP Certification Renewal Cost
Complete 60 PDU every 3 years
In order to maintain PMP certification, you must complete 60 PDU every 3 years.
You can find a list of ways to earn PDU on PMI. In a nutshell, here are my favorite ways of earning PDU for free:
- Watching the live or on-demand webinar on projectmanagement.com. This is the easiest way to earn PDU for free. If you pay the PMI membership fee, there are plenty of premium webinars that you can watch and more than enough to satisfy the PDU requirement.
- Volunteer and give back to the project management community. You can do presentations at professional settings, create content for PMI, serve as a volunteer for PMI or at your local chapter, and many other ways to contribute. However, PDU in this category is limited to 25 PDU.
- Attend local chapter meetings. Attending PMI local chapter is a great way to grow your network while earning PDU. If you are paying the local chapter membership fee, you may be able to join the meeting for free or at a discount price.
There are many providers that offer project management courses that will satisfy the PDU requirement.
If you take steps to earn PDU throughout the 3 years, you should have no problem meeting the requirement, and you do not need to spend extra money to earn the PDUs.
Pay PMP Renewal Fee Every 3 Year
While you do not have to pay the annual membership fee, you will need to pay a PMP renewal fee. The PMP certification renewal fee for PMI members is $60 every 3 years to maintain your PMP certification. For non-members, the renewal fee is $150.
The Continuing Certification Renewal (CCR) fee was initiated in 2004 to cover administrative fees such as tracking PDUs, certification material renewals, maintaining the online PDU registry, PDU reporting system, and the administrative cost associated with inquiries, reviewing and processing PDU claims.
It is a small PMP certification cost that many people overlook.
Conclusion
PMP certification cost should only be one factor in determining if PMP certification is right for you. There are several potential benefits to becoming PMP certified, and it may be the best investment you can make by improving yourself and your career prospect.
