How we compile certification costs, requirements and salary data
We compile one honest row per certification from each issuing body's own page and link salary from U.S. federal public data — then we tell you exactly what each figure does and doesn't include. This page explains how, and what we deliberately do not do.
Who’s behind this site
Certification Cost Guide is an independent publisher operated by VentureCorp, Inc. We are not a certifying body, a training provider, or an exam-prep vendor, and we do not accept payment to change a fee, a requirement, or a certification's position. The site answers one question accurately: what does a given certification cost and require, and what occupation does it target?
Where our data comes from
| Data | Source | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Exam fees, prerequisites & validity | Each issuing body's official exam-fee / registration page (cited per row) | Every per-certification page and the comparisons |
| Target-occupation pay | U.S. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) national file — public-domain federal data, joined by SOC code | The salary band shown on each cost page |
What the figures mean. The exam fee is the base official-body fee for a single attempt — it EXCLUDES third-party training, prep courses, study materials and retakes. The salary figure is the occupation’s median wage from the BLS, not a guaranteed lift from the certificate. We do not publish pass rates we can’t source, and we compile fee/requirement FACTS — the opposite of exam-dump content.
How we calculate
Each certification is entered from its issuing body's published exam-fee and requirements page (the per-row source). Membership-tiered bodies record the non-member fee with both tiers noted. Salary is linked, not re-compiled: each certification carries the BLS SOC code of its primary target occupation, which joins onto the public-domain OEWS national file for the median and 10th–90th-percentile wage band. Everything is re-checked on a semiannual cadence, since bodies typically re-price at the calendar-year turn.
What we deliberately leave out. We publish no exam questions, no “braindumps”, and no leaked content — those violate certification agreements. We rank no single “best” prep provider, and we do not present the official exam fee as the total cost of certifying, which depends on the prep path you choose.
Independence & how we make money
Some links on this site may be affiliate links to exam-prep providers; if you act on one we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Partners never see or influence the fees, requirements or salary figures we publish, and no placement is for sale.
Keeping it current
Certifying bodies re-price periodically, often in January, so we re-run the issuer-page checks and re-verify the BLS wage join on a semiannual cadence. Each page carries its verification date; current verification: June 2026.
Corrections
Spot an error? Tell us and we’ll fix it. Contact us →