Best CPA Test Banks & 7 Things To Know In 2024

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Regardless of your current CPA Review course, you need a second CPA Test Bank.

Consider it a “hedge” against an exam day disaster.

Since we accountants like math, here's some mathiness:

For every two people who walk into Prometric to take the CPA Exam, one will pass, and one will fail.

To put it another way: one in two CPA candidates will have wasted eight weeks of their life studying for a failed exam.

That is a staggering statistic considering that 90% of CPA Candidates use one of three CPA Review courses.

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I know the CPA Test Bank market very well.

Before creating NINJA MCQ in 2014, another71.com was the #1 reseller of the Wiley CPA Test Bank.

Between reselling a popular CPA Test Bank and creating my own, a strong case could be made that I know the CPA Test Bank market better than anyone.

Now that the Wiley CPA Test Bank has been sunsetted, the three standalone test banks on the market are from NINJA, UWorld, and Gleim.

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1. Yes, You Need a ‘Second' CPA Test Bank

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You've spent thousands on a course and aren't keen on adding more CPA Study Materials (notes, audio, test bank, etc.). I get it.

Think of a second test bank as a sort of insurance policy.

• Insurance against failing and the emotional hangover that follows. If you've experienced a failing score, you know the temporary panic, depression, and paralyzing despair that a bad score release can cause.
• Insurance against eight weeks of studying down the drain (and the flood of reminders of all the things you skipped to study for those eight weeks… guys' night out… girls' night out…fun nights with the kids…weekends with the kids…Friday night Netflix and Chill sessions (is it still called that when you're married?). GONE. You can't get those opportunities back. And for what? You get to study again.
• Insurance against quitting the CPA Exam. One of the biggest risks of failing isn't the NTS fees or the restudying…those things suck really bad, for sure. The biggest risk is that after enough fails, you'll quit.

Statistically, upwards of 20% just up and quit the CPA Exam and never finish. Why? Failure. Enough is enough.

Who do you want to be five years from now?

A CPA.

Being a CPA is a ticket to doing whatever you want – and making more doing it.

Own your own firm/small business?

Do taxes on the side?

Leverage your CPA credential in another area?

It's completely up to you.

While becoming a CPA will improve your future life, what about the pure misery of the CPA Exam life?

The NINJA Study Framework will cut down on weeks of pointless studying and allow you to actually have a weekend (remember those?) again.

Crazy thought, I know.

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Free NINJA CPA Test Bank Access

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FAR, AUD, REG, BAR, ISC, or TCP

No Credit Card Required – Only Your Best Email for Your Login

Full CPA Practice Test + Simulations Included

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2. CPA Test Banks have Different Questions & Answers

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Different CPA Test Banks have different questions. Sure, there is some overlap, but it's not to a material degree, and it has been overblown by people marketing competing “non-AICPA” Test Banks.

For example, Becker CPA Review, UWorld, NINJA, etc., had to update their large numbers of revenue recognition questions a few years back.

The answer explanations were already completely different, but now each question is completely different and tested on a different nuance of the same concept.

Same with Leases.

Same with TCJA.

Same with QBI (REG).

Same with CPA Evolution.

A supplemental CPA test bank may better explain an answer or concept than your “main” course.

These answer explanations are written by people, and some people are better writers (and teachers) than others.

Over time, the questions themselves change due to changing standards/regulations. A classic example of this is FAR, where each CPA Review Course had to completely rewrite its Revenue questions due to FASB ASC 606. Consider for a moment all of the “revenue” questions that the AICPA has released over the years. They all changed. Everything changed—the questions, the answers, and the answer explanations.

The same thing happened with Leases a few years ago. The same thing happened with REG and TCJA in 2017 and again in 2021 when the CPA Exam stopped testing numerous tax concepts. Did the courses simply delete these questions? No. You can see in the table above that there is an “arms race” to have the most questions. The courses rewrote the questions and put them in a different blueprint bucket.

Outside of not wanting to spend money (hey, it's cheaper than buying another NTS for a retake), there's no reason not to use another CPA test bank.

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3. Each CPA Test Bank has its Pros and Cons

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There are tradeoffs with each of the three CPA Test Banks.

NINJA MCQ (my test bank) has the lowest cost and you get the most with your purchase. You don't just get a CPA Exam Test Bank, you essentially get a full course. Granted, I have inherent bias here, and I think that's obvious, but as a CPA, I'm also called to be objective. Objectively, it's the best CPA Test Bank for the money – I don't think there are any compelling arguments against that.

That said, NINJA MCQ is not perfect, and I'm not going to pretend like it's the only choice out there. If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't mention my competitors, with whom I have no affiliate relationship or financial interest. If you buy from them, I don't get a commission or anything.

When people ask me about NINJA MCQ's Simulations – I tell them that they're good enough, but they're not our strength. They're fine – they get the job done.

If your #1 goal is to have a CPA simulation environment that best imitates the actual CPA Exam, then the UWorld CPA QBank or the Gleim CPA Mega Test Bank. They do a better job at that.

Don't get me wrong – our simulations are fine – and they do all of the things that you want simulations to do and test, but they don't look exactly like the Prometric CPA Exam like UWorld and Gleim.

If you simply want a CPA Test Bank that will improve your exam scores and help you nail the concepts – both in MCQ and Sims, then NINJA MCQ is the way to go (again, I'm biased).

The Best Path? Try all three and decide for yourself.

On mobile? This table is best viewed sideways in landscape.

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NINJA MCQ vs Gleim Mega Test Bank vs UWorld QBank

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Course	NINJA MCQ	Gleim Mega Test Bank	UWorld QBank
Retail Price	$67	$250	$299
Section(s)	1 Section	1 Section	1 Section
Access	1 Month	18 Months	6 Months
AICPA-Licensed	✅	✅	✅
8,000+ MCQ	✅	✅	✅
Hundreds of Sims	✅	✅	✅
Adaptive Learning	✅	✅	✅
CPA Book	✅	✅	✅
CPA Flashcards	✅	🚫	✅
CPA Lectures	✅	🚫	🚫
CPA Notes	✅	🚫	🚫
CPA Audio	✅	🚫	🚫
CPA Cram	✅	🚫	🚫
CPA Tutoring	✅	🚫	🚫
Refund Policy*	30 Days	30 Days	10 Days

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4. Adaptive Learning Makes Life Easier

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Adaptive Learning in a CPA test bank was a major feature a few years ago. Today, most CPA Review courses have some form of adaptive technology. You can still pass the CPA Exam without it (as people have done for decades), but you could make a case that you're at a disadvantage vs. other CPA candidates using it. It's like buying a new car without cruise control. It will still get you from point A to B, but it's annoying that it's not there (first-world problems, I get it).

Adaptive Learning allows the test bank to ‘feed' you more questions based on your weak areas. Your strong areas are still tested but less frequently. Different courses have different names for it – and each company uses its own adaptive algorithm, so they aren't the same.

NINJA MCQ, UWorld CPA Qbank, and Gleim CPA Mega Test Bank are all adaptive.

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5. AICPA CPA Exam Questions are a No-Brainer

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Before purchasing any CPA Review Test Bank (aside from Wiley or NINJA), ask them the following question:

Does your CPA Exam test bank use AICPA questions?

If the answer is “no, we don't use AICPA questions” (followed by a long creative excuse explanation as to why), go elsewhere. Period.

“But Jeff, I asked them, and they said they had a really good reason…overlap, blah blah.“

Uh-huh. Find a different test bank.

When your test bank doesn't use AICPA-Licensed materials, you're at a disadvantage because only AICPA-Licensed courses get critical content updates from the AICPA Examinations Team and can use past CPA Exam questions in their materials (or service).

How can they help you pass the CPA Exam if they don't know what's tested on the CPA Exam?

It's less important for supplements to use AICPA content, but it's still very helpful.

Your main course must incorporate them into the materials.

Not knowing what's testable on the exam can be the difference between a 75 and a heart-breaking 74.

NINJA MCQ, UWorld CPA Qbank, and Gleim CPA Mega Test Bank use AICPA Questions.

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6. Eight (Thousand) Is Enough

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Remember that 80s show “Eight is Enough?” We didn't get that memo.

Anyway, NINJA MCQ, UWorld CPA Qbank, and Gleim CPA Mega Test Bank have 8,000+ MCQs, and that is more than enough.

Let's assume that each CPA Exam section has 1,500 questions. I don't know the exact breakdown section-wise for UWorld Qbank and Gleim Mega Test Bank, but let's assume 1,500 each.

(Yes, I know the math doesn't work out because 1,500 x 6 is more than 8,000). Work with me here.

If you study for 7 weeks per exam and study 5 days a week, you will need to answer 43 questions a day just to see each question once.

If you take 3 minutes per question in study mode (that's a fairly good pace, given that the material is new and you're taking notes), that's 2+ hours per day on MCQ alone.

As someone famously said, “Ain't nobody got time for that.”

NINJA MCQ, UWorld CPA Qbank, and Gleim CPA Mega Test Bank all have more than enough CPA Exam questions.

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7. Take Each CPA Test Bank for a Test Drive

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Try all three Supplemental Test Banks.

Choose one.

Study your butt off.