Buyer's Guide · Updated July 2026
Best Exam P & FM Study Tools
Actuarial prelim prep changed in 2026: The Infinite Actuary made its P and FM lecture courses free, which resets the value math for everyone else. What free lectures don’t provide is drilling volume, readiness metrics, or mobile practice. The honest ranking by role:
#1 · Best practice volume & value
C3RT Actuary Exam Prep
13,485 questions across P, FM, and FAM in one bundled subscription, roughly ten times any rival’s bank, with 348 searchable formulas accessible mid-quiz, 627 spaced-repetition flashcards, mocks, and weak-area drills, fully offline on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Strengths
- +13,485 questions spanning three exams, one price
- +Formula sheets, flashcards, and concept cards included
- +Fully offline native apps; no access clock
Trade-offs
- −No video lessons
- −No community readiness metric like Earned Level
Pricing: $19.99/month, $49.99/3 months, $69.99/6 months, or $99.99/year, free to download and evaluate.
#2 · Best lectures, and free
The Infinite Actuary (free tier)
TIA’s complete P and FM video seminars, credentialed instructors, sample exams with video solutions, instructor forums, now permanently free. Take it; it costs nothing.
Strengths
- +Free, genuinely and permanently
- +Excellent instructor-led teaching
- +Mobile app with offline video
Trade-offs
- −850–1,200 problems per exam, a tenth of C3RT’s bank
- −Free tier stops at P and FM; no FAM
Pricing: Free (formerly $495/exam), as of July 2026.
#3 · Best readiness metric
Coaching Actuaries (Adapt)
Adapt’s Earned Level is the community’s shared readiness standard, with adaptive exams and published pass-rate data (93–96% at EL 5.5+).
Strengths
- +Earned Level, the readiness metric everyone quotes
- +Published efficacy data
- +Video solutions on most problems
Trade-offs
- −$195–$618 per exam on 180-day clocks
- −Web only; unpublished bank size
Pricing: $195 (practice) or $618 (with lessons) per exam / 180 days, as of July 2026.
#4 · Best written manual
ACTEX (manual + GOAL)
The definitive 740–796-page written manuals with the GOAL question platform, GOAL Score readiness metric, and a renewal-based pass guarantee.
Strengths
- +Most comprehensive written coverage
- +Pass guarantee renewals
- +Print option
Trade-offs
- −$199–$295 per exam, time-boxed
- −Mobile presence is a PDF reader
Pricing: $199–$295 per exam (180/365-day licenses), as of July 2026.
#5 · Best lifetime-access option
AnalystPrep
A competent web package (video, notes, 800 questions per exam) whose hook is lifetime access on the $549 P+FM bundle.
Strengths
- +Lifetime access on the bundle
- +Course-style notes and videos
- +Large-user-base benchmarking
Trade-offs
- −800 questions per exam is thin
- −Web only; no guarantee
Pricing: $549 P+FM lifetime bundle; $229–$349 per exam, as of July 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best way to study for Exam P and FM in 2026?
The efficient stack: watch TIA’s free lectures for theory, then put your solving hours into a high-volume bank. C3RT provides ten times any rival’s practice volume across P, FM, and FAM with formula tools, offline. Add an Adapt pass in the final weeks if you want the community’s Earned Level readiness signal.
Is The Infinite Actuary really free?
Yes, TIA made its full P and FM seminars permanently free in a move it calls a perpetual gift to the profession. It covers those two exams only; upper exams including FAM remain paid, and its problem sets total 850–1,200 per exam versus C3RT’s 13,485 across the prelims.
How many practice problems should I do for P or FM?
Successful candidates commonly report solving 1,500–3,000+ timed problems per exam. TIA’s free tier has 850–1,200 per exam, ACTEX/GOAL 1,050–1,500, AnalystPrep 800, C3RT’s 13,485 across three exams is the only bank you realistically cannot exhaust.
C3RT publishes this guide and makes the C3RT apps, we rank ourselves where our published numbers earn it, and we link full side-by-side comparisons so you can check the work. Competitor details are from publicly available information as of July 2026 and may change; verify with each provider. All product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners; certification bodies do not endorse any product listed. Read how we compare →