Maxwell CPA Review vs Surgent: Adaptive Software or Instructor (2026)
Kyle Ashcraft, CPA · 2019 CPA Exam Scores · 95 FAR · 98 BEC · 91 REG · 90 AUD
I run one of these two courses, so read the judgments here as mine. The facts about Surgent I have checked against Surgent's own product pages, and where Surgent is better I will say so, because a comparison written by a competitor is only useful if it does that.
Of every course I compare Maxwell against, Surgent is the one where I would most often tell a candidate to buy the other thing. It is well built, it is priced sensibly, and its entry tier includes more than most competitors put in their top tier.
In this comparison
Surgent prices and features are taken from Surgent's published product pages and were last checked on 8 September 2026. Note that Surgent now operates as part of UWorld, so if you are comparing the two separately, they are related companies.
What does Surgent actually offer?
Three tiers, and the important thing is how much sits in the cheapest one.
| Tier | Price | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $799 | Predictive AI technology, ReadySCORE, 9,000+ MCQs and 500+ simulations, 700+ short videos, e-books and lecture notes, unlimited practice exams, all six sections with free Discipline switching, unlimited access until you pass, money-back pass guarantee |
| Premier | $1,299 | Everything above, plus printed reference guides and flashcards, one-to-one coaching sessions with a CPA study strategist, audio lectures and priority support |
| Ultimate | $1,699 | Everything above, with additional extras |
Surgent's adaptive engine builds a personalized study plan and directs your time toward weak areas, and ReadySCORE estimates the score you would achieve if you sat today. Surgent publishes an 88% pass rate, with the stated condition that it applies to students who reach a ReadySCORE of 75 or more across all content groups, topics and question types.
That condition is doing a lot of work, and it is worth reading carefully. The figure describes candidates who studied until the software said they were ready, not everyone who bought the course. That is not a criticism of Surgent, which discloses the condition plainly. It is a reminder that provider pass rates use different eligibility criteria and cannot be compared between companies.
Where Surgent beats Maxwell
Four things, and three of them are in the $799 tier.
| Surgent advantage | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Adaptive software and readiness scoring | Nothing I offer competes with this. If you want a system that decides what you study next and tells you when to book the exam, Surgent is the answer and I am not. |
| Unlimited access until you pass, on every tier | One payment, no clock. A monthly subscription cannot match that if your campaign stretches or stalls. |
| Money-back pass guarantee from the entry tier | Included from Essentials up, not held back for a premium package. |
| All six sections and free Discipline switching, from $799 | Unlike Gleim, Surgent does not put Discipline access behind a top tier. Maxwell includes all six too, so this is a tie rather than an advantage for me. |
If your problem is that you do not know what to study next, buy Surgent. Everything below assumes that is not your problem.
The real disagreement
It is not humans against machines. Surgent employs CPA study strategists and includes coaching in two of its three tiers. The difference is what sits at the centre of the design.
Surgent puts adaptive technology at the centre. The software measures what you get wrong and routes your hours accordingly, with the explicit goal of passing in the fewest study hours possible. Surgent says its students save up to 400 hours of study time.
Maxwell puts instructor-led explanation at the centre. Every other option in this category answers a shortage. More questions, longer explanations, better visuals, a smarter allocation of your time. Maxwell answers a surplus. On a high-yield topic like leases we work the journal entries from commencement to the end of the lease life. On a low-yield topic we cover the rule quickly in case it appears and move on. That is the Max Yield Method, built on the approach I used to score 90 or above on every section.
The question that separates them. An algorithm can see that you keep missing lease questions. It routes more lease questions to you. If the reason you are missing them is that you never understood how the right-of-use asset and the liability come apart after commencement, more lease questions will not fix it, and the dashboard will keep reporting a weakness it cannot diagnose. If instead you understood the topic and simply need repetitions, the algorithm is doing precisely the right thing and doing it better than I could.
So the honest test is whether your weak areas are weak from lack of practice or lack of understanding. Those need different products.
Support and coaching
Surgent includes one-to-one coaching sessions with a CPA study strategist in its Premier package at $1,299 and in Ultimate at $1,699. The $799 Essentials package does not include them.
At Maxwell, direct access to me is included with the standard $49 per month course. There is no tier above it to buy.
| Surgent | Maxwell | |
|---|---|---|
| Human help | Coaching sessions from Premier upward | Direct instructor access as standard |
| Lowest price with it | $1,299 | $49/month |
| Who you speak to | A CPA study strategist | The person who wrote the course |
That last row is the difference I would actually argue for. A study strategist can help you plan and can talk through material. What they did not do is write the lesson you are stuck on, so they cannot tell you why it was built that way or what the explanation was trying to do.
What each actually costs
Surgent is the closest of the major providers to Maxwell on price, so this comparison is genuinely close rather than lopsided.
| Time to finish | Maxwell at $49/mo | Essentials | Premier | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 months | $588 | $799 | $1,299 | $1,699 |
| 18 months | $882 | $799 | $1,299 | $1,699 |
| 24 months | $1,176 | $799 | $1,299 | $1,699 |
| 36 months | $1,764 | $799 | $1,299 | $1,699 |
The crossovers are worth knowing rather than glossing over. Maxwell costs less than Surgent Essentials for the first sixteen months, and more after that. It stays below Premier for about twenty-six months and below Ultimate for about thirty-four.
So the price argument only works if you finish reasonably quickly. If you expect to take two or three years, Surgent Essentials at $799 with unlimited access until you pass is straightforwardly the cheaper purchase, and I would rather tell you that than have you work it out afterwards.
Maxwell section by section
Exact figures, not ranges.
| Section | Video | MCQs | TBS | Textbook | Outlines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FAR | 7 hrs | 800 | 36 | 233 pgs | 74 pgs |
| AUD | 6 hrs | 750 | 32 | 190 pgs | 60 pgs |
| REG | 8 hrs | 750 | 35 | 120 pgs | 80 pgs |
| BAR | 5 hrs | 700 | 15 | 150 pgs | 45 pgs |
| ISC | 4.5 hrs | 602 | 8 | 140 pgs | 40 pgs |
| TCP | 5 hrs | 700 | 15 | 160 pgs | 50 pgs |
FAR also includes a baseline assessment, final review, mock exam and ten interactive apps. AUD includes a final review and a full simulated exam. REG includes a final review and six mini exams. Every section includes the textbook, study outlines and answer explanations built around worked examples.
This is hands down the best CPA studying course out there. I have tried studying with Becker and Ninja, but Maxwell review course for FAR was awesome. Went from a 63 studying with Becker to a 78 with just studying with Maxwell. It's simple, straight to the point, and really nails down those topics exactly as shown on the exam.
Tajinder, Maxwell student
Individual results. Score improvements vary by candidate, preparation time and starting point.
Start free with CPA 101
Before you decide, try the teaching. Practice all 25 of the 2026 AICPA released MCQs, plus a free study outline. FAR, AUD and REG tracks available. No credit card required.
Which should you choose?
| Choose Surgent if | Choose Maxwell if |
|---|---|
| You want software to decide what you study next | You want a person to explain why the concept works |
| Your weak areas are weak from lack of practice | Your weak areas are weak from lack of understanding |
| Your timeline is long or uncertain and the open-ended access is worth paying for | You expect to finish inside a year or so and want to stop paying |
| A readiness score would genuinely reduce your anxiety about booking | You would rather understand the material than be told you are ready |
| You want a money-back pass guarantee | You want to talk to the person who built the course, at the entry price |
Best for candidates whose problem is the explanation rather than the schedule: Maxwell CPA Review, with bite-sized lessons focused on the concepts that matter most, at $49 per month, billed monthly, cancel anytime.
Use it as your primary course. Use it to retake a section you failed. Use it alongside what you already bought.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Surgent CPA Review cost?
$799 for Essentials, $1,299 for Premier and $1,699 for Ultimate. All three include access to all six exam sections, free Discipline switching, unlimited access until you pass and a money-back pass guarantee.
Does Surgent include one-to-one coaching?
Yes, in Premier at $1,299 and Ultimate at $1,699, delivered by a CPA study strategist. The $799 Essentials package does not include coaching sessions. At Maxwell, direct instructor access is included with the standard $49 per month course.
Does Surgent include all three Discipline sections?
Yes, from the entry tier. Every Surgent package includes all six exam sections with the ability to switch Disciplines at any time free of charge. Maxwell also includes all six, so neither has an advantage here.
What does Surgent's 88% pass rate mean?
Surgent states that it applies to students who achieve a ReadySCORE of 75 or more across all content groups, topics and question types. It describes candidates who studied until the software indicated readiness rather than everyone who bought the course. Provider pass rates use different eligibility criteria and are not comparable between companies.
Is Surgent or Maxwell cheaper?
It depends on how long you take. At $49 per month, Maxwell costs less than Surgent Essentials for roughly the first sixteen months and more after that. It stays below Premier for about twenty-six months. If you expect a campaign of two years or more, Surgent Essentials with unlimited access is the cheaper purchase.
Can I use Maxwell alongside Surgent?
Yes. The usual pattern is using Maxwell's videos and outlines to understand a concept the adaptive engine keeps flagging, then returning to Surgent's practice for the repetitions. At $49 per month it adds to a course you already own without a second major purchase.
Try the teaching before you decide
Start with the 2026 AICPA released questions and the free study outline. No credit card, and you will know within an evening whether the explanations work for you.
Kyle Ashcraft, CPA scored 90 or above on every section of the CPA exam in 2019, including a 95 on FAR. He is the founder and sole instructor of Maxwell CPA Review, where he creates every lecture, textbook and study outline himself.
See also the full comparison of every major CPA review course.
Explore More 2026 CPA Course Comparisons
The High-Scorer's Framework vs. The Industry Giant.
Logical Mastery vs. Brute-Force MCQ Drilling.
Teacher-Led Frameworks vs. Classroom Lectures.
Boutique Clarity vs. Education Conglomerate.
Human Coaching vs. AI-Driven Algorithms.
Strategic Logic vs. Animated Visuals.
Targeted Mastery vs. Massive Academic Volume.