Decision guide · Updated September 2026
Which certification should I get?
41 professional certifications, compared honestly — cost, level, study time, and who each one is actually for. Every card links to a full, fact-checked page (format, eligibility, fees) and free practice questions.
⚡ The short answers
- New to business analysis: ECBA (no experience required) → CCBA → CBAP as you grow.
- Scrum Master path: PSM I if you self-study ($200, lifetime); CSM if you want a guided course (course fee includes the exam, renews every 2 years).
- Project management: CAPM to start with no experience; PMP once you have 3+ years of project work — it carries far more market weight.
- Requirements engineering: CPRE Foundation (IREB). Testing: ISTQB CTFL. Process modeling: OCEB 2 (BPMN).
- Working in a SAFe organisation: pick the role course you actually hold — Leading SAFe, POPM, SSM or RTE.
Business Analysis 11 certifications
CBAP®
Certified Business Analysis Professional · IIBA
senior
253 questions
💰 Application fee (one-time, non-refundable): $145
⏱ 150–200 hours over 2–3 months (roughly 5–8 hours a week)
ECBA®
Entry Certificate in Business Analysis · IIBA
entry
281 questions
💰 Exam fee (includes 1st-year IIBA membership): $395
⏱ around 30–60 hours (IIBA publishes no official figure)
CCBA®
Certification of Capability in Business Analysis · IIBA
intermediate
252 questions
💰 Application fee (one-time): $145
⏱ 100–150 hours over roughly 2 months
IIBA-AAC
Agile Analysis Certification · IIBA
specialty
301 questions
💰 Application fee: Not required
⏱ around 25–50 hours (no official IIBA figure)
IIBA-CBDA
Certification in Business Data Analytics · IIBA
specialty
250 questions
💰 Application fee: Not required
⏱ around 30–50 hours (no official IIBA figure)
IIBA-CCA
Cybersecurity Analysis Certification · IIBA
specialty
303 questions
💰 Application fee: Not required
⏱ around 25–45 hours (no official IIBA figure)
IIBA-CPOA
Certificate in Product Ownership Analysis · IIBA
specialty
299 questions
💰 Application fee: Not required
⏱ around 20–40 hours (no official IIBA figure)
PMI-PBA®
PMI Professional in Business Analysis · PMI
senior
297 questions
💰 Exam fee — PMI member: ~$405 (verify on pmi.org)
⏱ commonly reported 80–120 hours depending on BA experience
CPRE FL
IREB Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering — Foundation · IREB
foundation
145 questions
💰 Exam fee: ~$120–315 / €110–290 — set per provider (verify at iSQI/Certible/GASQ)
⏱ IREB's syllabus allocates ~18 hours of training (typically a 2–3 day course) plus self-study
BCS BA Found.
BCS Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis · BCS
foundation
146 questions
💰 Exam fee (UK): £200 incl. remote proctoring, + VAT
⏱ official total qualification time is ~30 hours (18 guided + 11 independent + the exam)
AgileBA Found.
AgileBA Foundation (APMG) · APMG
foundation
150 questions
💰 Exam fee: ~£150–300 / $200–350 — set by ATO/APMG portal (verify)
⏱ a 3-day course (~18–24 contact hours) or roughly 10–16 hours of self-study with the handbook
Agile & Scrum 10 certifications
PSM I
Professional Scrum Master I · Scrum.org
entry
298 questions
💰 Exam attempt: $200 (verified 5 Oct 2026)
⏱ commonly reported 20–40 hours for practitioners (the 85% pass mark punishes casual prep)
PSPO I
Professional Scrum Product Owner I · Scrum.org
entry
282 questions
💰 Exam attempt: $200 (verified 5 Oct 2026)
⏱ commonly reported 20–40 hours (more if you're new to product ownership)
PMI-ACP®
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner · PMI
senior
150 questions
💰 Exam fee — PMI member: ~$435 (verify on pmi.org)
⏱ commonly reported 80–120 hours plus the mandatory 28 contact hours of training
PSM II
Professional Scrum Master II · Scrum.org
advanced
109 questions
💰 Exam attempt: $250 (verified 5 Oct 2026)
⏱ commonly reported 20–40 hours for practitioners already experienced as Scrum Masters
SAFe POPM
SAFe Product Owner / Product Manager · Scaled Agile
intermediate
148 questions
💰 2-day course (usual route): includes first two exam attempts within 60 days
⏱ commonly reported 15–20 hours beyond the 2-day course, including the official practice test
SAFe Agilist
SAFe Agilist (Leading SAFe) · Scaled Agile
intermediate
105 questions
💰 2-day Leading SAFe course (usual route): includes first two exam attempts within 60 days
⏱ the 16-hour course plus commonly reported 5–10 hours of review and the included practice test
PSPO II
Professional Scrum Product Owner II · Scrum.org
advanced
106 questions
💰 Exam attempt: $250 (verify on scrum.org)
⏱ commonly reported 1–2 months of part-time prep for experienced Product Owners
SAFe SSM
SAFe Scrum Master · Scaled Agile
intermediate
109 questions
💰 2-day SSM course (optional since Sep 2026): includes first two exam attempts within 60 days
⏱ the 16-hour course plus commonly reported 5–10 hours of self-study
SAFe RTE
SAFe Release Train Engineer · Scaled Agile
advanced
109 questions
💰 RTE course (required, advanced level): includes ONE exam attempt within 60 days
⏱ commonly reported 20–30 hours (course plus self-study), heavily dependent on real ART experience
CSM®
Certified ScrumMaster (Scrum Alliance) · Scrum Alliance
foundation
149 questions
💰 CSM course (required): ~$250–1,500+ — set by trainer; incl. exam + 2 attempts
⏱ the 14–16-hour course itself; attentive participants typically pass right after it
Project Management 6 certifications
CAPM®
Certified Associate in Project Management · PMI
entry
150 questions
💰 Exam fee — PMI member: ~$225 (verify on pmi.org)
⏱ commonly reported 60–150 hours beyond the mandatory 23 contact hours
PRINCE2 7 Found.
PRINCE2 7 Foundation · PeopleCert
foundation
141 questions
💰 Exam Bundle (PeopleCert, EU): €645 incl. VAT - official eBook + voucher + Learning Resource Kit (verified 12 Sep 2026)
⏱ commonly reported 30–45 hours depending on prior project-management experience
PMP®
Project Management Professional · PMI
senior
150 questions
💰 Exam fee — PMI member: $445 (raised Aug 6, 2026)
⏱ commonly reported 35–120+ hours depending on PM background and prep course
PRINCE2 7 Pract.
PRINCE2 7 Practitioner · PeopleCert
practitioner
149 questions
💰 Exam Bundle (PeopleCert, EU): €701 incl. VAT - voucher + Learning Resource Kit, NO official eBook (verified 12 Sep 2026)
⏱ commonly reported 60–80 hours on top of Foundation (a 2-day course or ~20h eLearning plus self-study)
PMI-RMP®
PMI Risk Management Professional · PMI
professional
150 questions
💰 Exam fee — PMI member: ~$520 (verify on pmi.org)
⏱ commonly reported 35–60+ hours on top of the mandatory 30–40 contact hours
PRINCE2 Agile Found.
PRINCE2 Agile Foundation · PeopleCert
foundation
150 questions
💰 Exam Bundle (PeopleCert, EU): €645 incl. VAT - official eBook + voucher + Learning Resource Kit (Version 2, verified 14 Sep 2026)
⏱ commonly reported 2–3 days of training plus light self-study, or ~25–40 hours self-paced
Modeling — BPMN & UML 1 certification
OCUP 2 Found.
OMG Certified UML Professional 2 — Foundation · OMG
intermediate
292 questions
💰 Exam fee: $350 (verify on omg.org)
⏱ commonly reported 40–80 hours depending on prior UML exposure
Software Testing 2 certifications
CTFL v4.0
ISTQB Certified Tester — Foundation Level · ISTQB
foundation
145 questions
💰 Exam fee - US (AT*SQA): $229 (verified 14 Sep 2026)
⏱ accredited courses run ~19 hours of instruction; 20–40 hours of self-study is commonly reported
CTAL-AT v2.0
ISTQB Advanced Level Agile Tester · ISTQB
advanced
141 questions
💰 Exam fee: ~$200–300 per member board (verify locally)
⏱ ISTQB mandates ≥13 hours of accredited instruction; total prep commonly lands at 30–60 hours
IT Service Management 1 certification
ITIL 4 Found.
ITIL 4 Foundation · PeopleCert
foundation
150 questions
💰 Exam Bundle (PeopleCert, EU): €644 incl. VAT - official eBook + voucher + Learning Resource Kit (verified 10 Sep 2026)
⏱ commonly reported ~16–21 hours (a 2–3 day course plus revision)
Process & Quality 4 certifications
OCEB 2 Fund.
OMG Certified Expert in BPM 2 — Fundamental · OMG
intermediate
297 questions
💰 Exam fee: $350 + taxes (verify on omg.org)
⏱ commonly reported 40–80 hours depending on prior BPMN/BPM exposure
LSS Green Belt
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (IASSC) · PeopleCert
intermediate
154 questions
💰 Exam voucher - IASSC store: $402 (the IASSC certification page still says $350; verified 22 Sep 2026)
⏱ commonly reported 40–80 hours depending on prior statistics background
LSS Black Belt
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (IASSC) · PeopleCert
advanced
158 questions
💰 Exam voucher - IASSC store: $516 (the IASSC certification page still says $450; verified 22 Sep 2026)
⏱ commonly reported 40–140 hours over 4–12 weeks, depending on statistics background
CBPA®
ABPMP Certified Business Process Associate · ABPMP
entry
150 questions
💰 Application fee: $40
⏱ commonly estimated 20–40 hours — most questions come straight from the BPM CBOK v4 text
Enterprise Architecture 1 certification
TOGAF EA Found.
TOGAF Enterprise Architecture Foundation (Part 1) · The Open Group
foundation
107 questions
💰 Exam fee (Pearson VUE direct): $405
⏱ commonly reported 20–40 hours of self-study, or a 2–3 day instructor-led course
Popular head-to-head comparisons
How to choose (an honest heuristic)
- Start from the job ads, not the certificate list. Search 10 postings for your target role and count which certifications actually appear. That beats any ranking.
- Match the level to your experience. Entry certs (ECBA, CAPM, CTFL, foundations) are achievable now; senior certs (CBAP, PMP) have hard eligibility gates — check them before you fall in love.
- Mind the renewal model. Some credentials are lifetime (Scrum.org, ECBA, TOGAF); others cost money and hours every year or three (PMI, IIBA core, SAFe). The cheap exam with an annual fee can cost more over 5 years.
- Budget the real total: exam fee + possible mandatory course + study materials + retake risk. The facts pages here list each cert's full cost breakdown.
Practise for any of them
6 free questions per exam · explanation for every option · one-time $15 per exam, no subscription.
Start free →In-depth guides
Longer write-ups where the decision is genuinely close - price, difficulty and what employers actually ask for, with every number checked against the vendor's own materials.
Read next
IREB CPRE Foundation Level: Format, Cost and a Study Plan
CPRE FL: 45 questions, 75 minutes, 70% to pass, no prerequisites, valid for life. Who sets the price, how retakes work, and a four-week study plan.
AWS Cloud Practitioner vs AZ-900: Which Cloud Fundamentals Exam First
CLF-C02 or AZ-900 first? Pick the cloud your employer runs on. Format, cost, renewal and difficulty compared from AWS and Microsoft sources.
AZ-900 Study Plan: How Long It Really Takes, With and Without an IT Background
AZ-900 takes about 15 hours with an IT background and 30 without. Week-by-week plans for both, built on Microsoft's July 2026 skills outline.
Frequently asked
Which business analysis certification should I get first?
If you have no formal BA experience, start with IIBA's ECBA — it has no experience requirements. With ~2-3 years of BA work, CCBA is the natural step; CBAP is for senior analysts with 7,500+ hours. All three are based on BABOK v3, so the study investment compounds.
PSM or CSM — which Scrum Master certification is better?
PSM I (Scrum.org) is a $200 self-study exam with a lifetime credential and a demanding 85% pass mark. CSM (Scrum Alliance) requires a paid 14-16 hour course that includes the exam, and needs renewal every 2 years. Employers accept both; choose by budget and learning style.
Is CAPM enough, or do I need the PMP?
CAPM is an entry credential with no experience requirement — good for career starters. PMP requires 36-60 months of project experience and carries far more market weight. If you qualify for PMP, employers rarely ask for CAPM.
Do these certifications expire?
It varies by vendor: Scrum.org and ECBA credentials never expire; PMI certifications need PDUs every 3 years; IIBA's CBAP/CCBA need CDUs every 3 years; SAFe renews yearly. Each card above links to the full facts page including renewal.
ExamDeck is an independent study tool, not affiliated with any certification body. Costs and requirements verified against official vendor materials as of September 2026 — always confirm current details with the vendor before booking.