Almost every CFA Level 1 candidate asks me the same thing: should I buy Kaplan Schweser? My answer starts with a correction. The question is not whether Kaplan Schweser is good. It is. The real question is whether it is good enough to justify what you pay on top of an exam fee that already crosses USD 1,100.
In this Kaplan Schweser CFA Level 1 review, I break down the packages, what they cost, what CFA Institute already gives you with your registration, and how much weight the famous pass-rate numbers can carry. I end with a clear view on who should buy it and who should not.
A fair disclosure before we start: I run MentorMe Careers, where we coach CFA candidates. So judge my view the way you should judge any provider, Kaplan included: on evidence. Every number in this article comes from pages that CFA Institute or Kaplan has published, and I tell you where to look.
| Quick verdict Kaplan Schweser is a solid, well-organised product. The notes and the question bank are its strongest parts.It suits working finance professionals, repeat candidates and anyone short on time.It is a weak first resource for freshers and candidates from a non-finance background, because condensed notes skip the why.Your CFA registration already includes the full curriculum, 1,000+ practice questions and two official mock exams.The pass-rate numbers in the marketing come from small, self-reported surveys. Treat them as signals, not proof. |
What is Kaplan Schweser for CFA Level 1?
Kaplan Schweser is one of the oldest names in CFA exam prep. It is a CFA Institute Prep Provider, which means it follows CFA Institute guidelines and updates its material every year. That status is not an endorsement. CFA Institute does not endorse any provider or verify the claims a provider makes. I come back to this point below.
For Level 1, Kaplan sells four study packages built from the same set of tools:
- SchweserNotes: condensed study notes that cover every Learning Outcome Statement (LOS).
- SchweserPro QBank: 2,600+ practice questions with custom quizzes.
- Mock exams: two, four or six full-length mocks, depending on the package.
- OnDemand Masterclass: 80+ hours of recorded lectures.
- Review Workshop: a final revision course before the exam.
- Secret Sauce and QuickSheet: a very short revision book and a formula sheet.
If you are still getting familiar with the exam itself, read my guides on the CFA exam pattern and the CFA Level 1 syllabus first.
Kaplan Schweser CFA Level 1 cost: packages and prices
Here is what Kaplan lists on its website for the 2027 exam windows, as of October 2026.
| Package | Price (USD) | Approx. in INR | Mock exams | What you get |
| Basic | 429 | ₹41,000 | 2 | Question bank and recorded Masterclass. Digital only. |
| Essential | 799 | ₹77,000 | 4 | Adds SchweserNotes eBooks and the PassProtection guarantee. |
| Premium | 1,099 | ₹1.06 lakh | 6 | Adds printed books, the OnDemand Review Workshop and Secret Sauce. |
| Ultimate | 1,499 | ₹1.44 lakh | 6 | Adds a live online class option, audio notes, flashcards and an in-person mock. |
Rupee figures use ₹96 to the dollar and are rounded. Your card’s forex mark-up comes on top. Kaplan’s site also states that the buyer pays any customs duty on printed books shipped outside the US.
One detail many candidates miss: going by Kaplan’s own package comparison, SchweserNotes start from the Essential package. The Basic package gives you the question bank and recorded classes, not the notes that made Schweser famous. Check the comparison table before you pay.
The real total: exam fee plus prep
CFA Institute charges USD 1,140 for early registration and USD 1,490 for standard registration at Level 1. The old one-time enrolment fee of USD 350 no longer applies. You can confirm the current numbers on the CFA Institute dates and fees page.
Add a Kaplan package and the bill looks like this:
- Early registration + Essential: USD 1,939, or about ₹1.86 lakh
- Standard registration + Premium: USD 2,589, or about ₹2.49 lakh
In other words, a Premium package costs almost as much as the exam itself. That is why the decision deserves ten minutes of honest thought. For the full rupee breakdown, see my article on CFA fees in India, and check whether you qualify for a CFA scholarship before you pay full price.
What CFA Institute already gives you with registration
Before you pay for anything, look at what your registration fee already buys. Every registered candidate gets access to the Learning Ecosystem, the official CFA Institute study platform.
| What you need | Included with CFA registration | What Kaplan Schweser adds |
| Study text | The full official curriculum | Condensed SchweserNotes (Essential and above) |
| Practice questions | 1,000+ questions | 2,600+ questions of its own |
| Mock exams | Two official mocks, released about 60 days before your exam window | Two to six mocks of its own |
| Study planner | Yes, along with flashcards | Activity Feed and performance tracker |
| Video lectures | No | 80+ hours of recorded Masterclass |
| Final revision tools | No | Secret Sauce, QuickSheet and Review Workshop (Premium and above) |
CFA Institute also sells an optional Practice Pack with 1,000 more questions and five more mock exams at Level 1. One of those mocks runs on the same Prometric software you will see on exam day, and the people who write the real exam write these questions.
So strip the packaging away and you pay Kaplan for four things: shorter notes, video teaching, extra practice and revision tools. Each one has value. None of them replaces what you already have.
How SchweserNotes shorten the curriculum, and what you lose
Kaplan itself describes the official Level 1 curriculum as more than 3,000 pages. SchweserNotes cover the same Learning Outcome Statements in far fewer. How? They skip most of the build-up and go straight to the result you need for the exam.
An example: time-weighted vs money-weighted return
Take a simple case. You invest ₹1,000 in a fund. In year one, the fund earns 20%, so you hold ₹1,200. Pleased with the result, you add another ₹1,000. In year two, the fund loses 10%, and your ₹2,200 falls to ₹1,980.
- Time-weighted return: (1.20 × 0.90)1/2 − 1 = +3.9% a year
- Money-weighted return (the IRR of your cash flows): −0.7% a year
The fund manager earned a positive return. You lost money. Both statements are true, because you added cash just before the bad year.
A condensed note gives you the rule: use the time-weighted return to judge the manager, because it ignores the timing of cash flows, and use the money-weighted return to see the investor’s own experience. That is enough to answer a direct question.
The official curriculum takes longer. It defines each measure, works through the calculation, builds the intuition and then connects it to how you evaluate a manager. That extra length is not waste. It is what helps you when the exam twists the question.
The problem of condensing the condensed
Notice the chain. Kaplan condenses the curriculum into SchweserNotes. It condenses SchweserNotes into Secret Sauce. It condenses Secret Sauce into the QuickSheet. Every step removes more of the why. That works well for revision. It is risky as your first and only read.
Kaplan’s own guidance points the same way. It positions its lighter packages for candidates who already understand the material, and it tells candidates to work through the official CFA Institute readings for Ethics.
Kaplan Schweser’s pass-rate claims, checked
Kaplan’s Level 1 pages carry several impressive numbers. Each one has a footnote, and the footnotes matter more than the headlines.
| The claim | What the footnote says | How I read it |
| 85% of those who passed Level 1 used a prep provider | Kaplan surveyed 728 candidates across all three levels in May 2024. All were Kaplan customers or had shown interest in Kaplan products. 150 of them had last passed Level 1. | 85% of 150 is about 128 people, drawn from Kaplan’s own audience. “Prep provider” covers any coaching class, video course or set of notes, not Schweser alone. |
| 96% of candidates who scored 70%+ on Schweser mocks passed | Kaplan surveyed 474 Level 1 candidates over 2021 and 2022. 201 scored 70% or more on a mock. 192 of those reported that they passed. | The results are self-reported. Fewer than half the group reached 70%, and the claim is silent on the other 273. A candidate who scores 70% on any good mock is already well prepared. |
| Kaplan candidates are more likely to pass than those who use other providers | Kaplan surveyed 687 candidates across all three levels in February 2026. 501 had prepared with Kaplan and 186 with other providers. | This is an online survey that Kaplan ran, not CFA Institute data. Nobody audits it, and it does not compare like with like. |
The mock-exam number deserves one more comment. A high mock score does not cause a pass. It reflects preparation that was already strong. CFA Institute says something very similar about its own mocks: candidates who score 70% on at least one official mock are nearly twice as likely to pass. So the useful lesson is “get to 70% on a full mock”, not “buy a particular brand of mock”.
What CFA Institute says about provider pass rates
CFA Institute publishes ten questions to ask any prep provider. Three points stand out:
- Listed prep providers may not quote an average pass rate for their customers, because a provider could pick only its best candidates.
- CFA Institute does not verify or endorse any pass rate or performance claim.
- You should be wary of anyone who promises a pass in fewer than 300 hours of study.
Now hold those against the real numbers. In August 2026, 43% of Level 1 candidates passed, and first-time candidates did better at 49%, according to the official results announcement. No set of notes changes that arithmetic for you. Your hours and your practice do. I track every exam window in my CFA pass percentage guide.
Can you trust Kaplan Schweser reviews on Reddit?
Reddit is where most candidates go next. Read it, but read it with care.
- You cannot verify who is writing. You do not know if the reviewer passed, which package they used or which year’s material they had.
- Candidates who pass have more reason to post than candidates who fail, so threads lean positive.
- Many “best CFA prep” rankings earn commission. Kaplan’s own footnotes disclose that some review sites which rank it first are its affiliates.
One piece of Reddit advice does come up again and again, and I agree with it: learn from whichever text suits you, but practise on the questions that CFA Institute provides. The exam writers wrote them, and nothing else matches their style as closely.
Who should buy Kaplan Schweser, and who should not
| It makes sense if you… | Think twice if you… |
| already work in finance, or have a CA, MBA Finance or similar baseare retaking Level 1 and want a second explanation plus fresh questionshave a full-time job and fewer than four months to preparelearn faster from video than from reading | are a fresher, or come from engineering, science or another non-finance fieldare meeting topics such as fixed income or derivatives for the first timehave a tight budget and have not yet used the free CFA Institute materialhope that shorter notes will cut the 300 hours of study |
If you do buy, my view on packages is simple. Essential is the sensible choice for a self-study candidate: it has the notes, the question bank and four mocks. Pay for Premium only if you want printed books and the review workshop. Skip Basic if the notes are the reason you came to Schweser.
Coming to the CFA Program from a technical degree? My guide to CFA after engineering covers how to close the finance gap.
How I would use Schweser alongside the official material
- Read the official curriculum first for Ethics and for any topic that is new to you. Depth matters most where you have no base.
- Use SchweserNotes as your second pass. Make them your first pass only in topics you already know from work or college.
- Finish every CFA Institute practice question before you touch another question bank. Then use the Schweser QBank for volume.
- Sit both official mock exams under timed conditions. Add Schweser mocks for more practice, and aim for 70% or more.
- Keep Secret Sauce and the QuickSheet for the last two weeks. They are for recall, not for learning.
- Plan for 300 hours or more. CFA Institute uses that figure in its own guidance, whichever notes you choose.
For help with the schedule, use my guides on CFA Level 1 preparation time and the two-month CFA Level 1 study plan. If money is tight, start with these free CFA Level 1 resources and my review of CFA Level 1 study material.
Also check the edition. The Level 1 curriculum changes for the 2027 exams, so second-hand or older notes may miss topics. My article on CFA Level 1 curriculum updates explains what changed.
Where coaching fits
Notes condense. Question banks test. Neither one stops to explain a concept a second time when you are stuck. If that is what you are missing, a teacher will help you more than another book will. I teach Level 1 Financial Statement Analysis myself in our CFA Level 1 coaching programme, and you will find the full details on our CFA course online page.
Final verdict
Kaplan Schweser is a good product sold with louder numbers than the evidence supports. If you already know finance and you are short on time, it will serve you well, and the Essential package is enough. If you are new to finance, start with the official curriculum you have already paid for, practise on the official questions and add Schweser later for revision if you still need it. Either way, the result depends on your 300 hours, not on the logo on your notes.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kaplan Schweser enough to pass CFA Level 1?
It can be, if you already have a finance base and you also practise on the official CFA Institute questions and mocks. Candidates who are new to finance should lean on the fuller explanations in the official curriculum, at least for the topics they find hard.
How much does Kaplan Schweser CFA Level 1 cost in India?
Kaplan lists four packages for the 2027 exams: Basic at USD 429, Essential at USD 799, Premium at USD 1,099 and Ultimate at USD 1,499. At ₹96 to the dollar, that is roughly ₹41,000 to ₹1.44 lakh, before forex charges and any customs duty on printed books.
Is Kaplan Schweser CFA Level 1 harder than the exam?
Nobody can say for certain, because no audited comparison exists. Kaplan says its mocks replicate the difficulty of the Level 1 exam, and candidates report mixed experiences: many find the question bank easier than the real exam and the mocks closer to it. The safest check is the official one. Your registration includes two official mock exams, written by CFA Institute itself, so use those to judge your true level. If you score 70% or more on both a Schweser mock and an official mock, you are in good shape.
Is Kaplan Schweser approved by CFA Institute?
Kaplan Schweser is a CFA Institute Prep Provider, so it follows CFA Institute guidelines and updates its material each year. CFA Institute does not endorse, promote or verify the quality or pass rates of any prep provider.
Which Kaplan Schweser package is best for CFA Level 1?
For most self-study candidates, Essential gives the best balance: SchweserNotes, the question bank and four mock exams. Choose Premium if you want printed books and the review workshop.
Kaplan Schweser or the CFA Institute curriculum: which is better for beginners?
Beginners should start with the CFA Institute curriculum, because it explains the reasoning behind each concept. SchweserNotes work better as a second pass or a revision tool.
What score should I target in Schweser mock exams?
Aim for 70% or more on a full-length, timed mock. Both Kaplan and CFA Institute link that level with a much higher chance of passing. Treat it as a readiness check, not a guarantee.
Can I download Kaplan Schweser CFA Level 1 notes as a free PDF?
Not legally. Kaplan provides official eBooks only with its paid packages. Pirated files may come from an older curriculum, and using them is copyright infringement, which sits badly with the ethics you will be tested on. Use the official material and these free CFA Level 1 resources instead.
| About the author Allen Aravindan, CFA is a CFA charterholder and the founder of MentorMe Careers, a finance training and placement institute with centres in Pune and Mumbai. He teaches CFA Level 1 Financial Statement Analysis. |
A CFA charterholder with hands-on experience across investment analysis and finance education. At MentorMeCareers, he writes and reviews content on CFA, financial modeling, and investment banking careers — grounded in real market data rather than generic advice, and shaped by what actually helps candidates and professionals succeed.
