CFA Level I course round-up
2 ways to prepare for the Chartered Financial Analyst Level 1 exam if Kaplan Schweser is not giving you what you need — ranked by what each one is genuinely good at.
The right Kaplan Schweser alternative for CFA Level I depends on what you are missing. Edureify is the strongest choice if you want a diagnostic, an adaptive plan and a predicted ready-by date rather than another library of lessons. Udemy is the closest like-for-like swap.
Exam CFA Level I — Chartered Financial Analyst Level 1 Options reviewed 2 Kaplan Schweser ~$800–$1,400 Edureify $49–$599 Updated 15 September 2026
Kaplan Schweser is one of the most widely used third-party CFA prep providers, known for its condensed Schweser Notes, practice question banks, and mock exams covering ethics, quantitative methods, financial statement analysis, and the ten CFA topic areas. Its materials are trusted by a large share of CFA candidates globally as a supplement to (or condensed replacement for) the official CFA Institute curriculum.
Schweser's question banks do include some adaptive elements in certain packages, surfacing more questions in weaker topic areas — a real step up from static practice, but it stops short of a full diagnostic-to-readiness-score system with a specific predicted exam-ready date.
Edureify's curriculum covers the same CFA topic areas, but the Diagnostic maps your standing across ethics, quantitative methods, financial statement analysis, and the ten CFA topic areas before you start, and the Readiness Score gives you a specific predicted ready-by date — going a step further than adaptive question banks alone.
| Gap | Kaplan Schweser | Edureify |
|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic baseline test | Not included | Included |
| Predictive Readiness Score | Not included | Included |
| Adaptive daily roadmap | Not included | Included |
| Predicted ready-by date | Not included | Included |
| Predicted ready-by date | Not included | Included |
| 1:1 AI tutor (persistent session memory) | Not included | Included |
Best overall for CFA Level I readiness
If you want a specific predicted ready-by date and an AI tutor on top of adaptive practice, Edureify's loop goes further.
Best for: Low upfront cost
Udemy's appeal for CFA Level I prep is the price — self-paced video courses, often taught by well-known independent instructors, covering ethics, quantitative methods, financial statement analysis, and the ten CFA topic areas at a fraction of official training rates. Several Udemy CFA Level I courses are genuinely excellent and widely recommended by past candidates.
Compare Edureify with UdemyThe same 6 checks applied to each provider. Where a provider does not publish a clear answer, the cell says so rather than guessing.
| Criterion | Kaplan Schweser What you have now | Edureify | Udemy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic baseline test | Not included | Included | Not included |
| Predictive Readiness Score | Not included | Included | Not included |
| Adaptive daily roadmap | Not included | Included | Not included |
| Predicted ready-by date | Not included | Included | Not included |
| Course structure | Paid, condensed notes + question bank | Paid, diagnostic-driven | Paid, instructor-dependent |
| 1:1 AI tutor (persistent session memory) | Not included | Included | Not included |
Scroll the table sideways to see every provider.
Not sure which gap is costing you the most time? Start with a diagnostic.
Take the CFA Level I readiness testEvery option here is judged on the same question: how much of the work of getting exam-ready does it do for you, and how much is left to you?
Edureify is the strongest alternative for candidates who want to know where they stand, because it runs a diagnostic first and keeps a live readiness score with a predicted ready-by date. If your priority is the lowest possible price rather than readiness tracking, the other options on this page may suit you better.
Across the options compared here, Kaplan Schweser is typically ~$800–$1,400 and Edureify is $49–$599. Prices move with promotions and bundle contents, so check each provider before buying.
Yes. Most candidates who switch start with a diagnostic on the new platform so their remaining study time is spent on actual gaps rather than repeating material they have already covered.
Many candidates use Schweser as their primary resource, though pass rates for the CFA program remain challenging regardless of provider — consistent practice and mock exams matter more than which single provider you use.
It's a real step beyond static practice, shifting toward weak topics, but it doesn't produce a specific predicted pass likelihood or ready-by date the way Edureify's Readiness Score does.
Swapping one library of CFA Level I lessons for another rarely changes the outcome. What changes it is knowing which domain is actually holding you back, and how long it will take to close that gap.
Start with a diagnostic, then decide what to buy. A 20-minute baseline test will tell you more about your CFA Level I readiness than another month of watching lectures.
Take the readiness test