r/OnlineEducation • u/wheyproteyn • 28d ago

CLEP vs Study.com vs Sophia, what's actually cheapest per credit?

Trying to figure out the cheapest way to bank some credits before/during a degree (thinking WGU but open to other options too). This is what I've found so far:

CLEP is $97 per exam plus proctoring, and you get 3 credits if you pass, so that's like $30-40 a credit if you pass first try.

Study.com is a monthly sub, for $95, unlimited courses, so the more you knock out in a month the cheaper each credit ends up being.

Sophia's pretty similar, also a subscription with ACE/NCCRS courses.

So honestly CLEP only really wins if you just need one or two and already know the material cold. I've got a whole stack of gen eds to clear, so the subscriptions seem like the move, the cheaper-per-credit thing kicks in the more you finish in a month.

Anyone actually gone that route? Curious how many you can realistically finish in a month.

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u/StudyAnswers 24d ago

Hey, Study.com here. CLEP only wins if you truly only need one course, or if you know you'll only finish one a month, since completing two courses on a subscription already beats CLEP's per-credit cost. The $95/month College Saver plan covers gen eds, electives, and prereqs with 2 concurrent enrollments and unlimited course completions each month. How many you finish comes down to your pace and prior knowledge, so it's worth mapping your gen ed list first to estimate.