CPA review courses in the United States:Which are most popular?

Name: CPA review courses in the United States: Which are searched most?
Creator: Brandwave
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In September 2026, Becker was the most searched CPA review course brand in the United States, accounting for 66% of all searches among the eight brands we track. When we checked with ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews, Becker, NINJA CPA Review and Gleim showed up in every answer. Becker was recommended most often, coming first in four out of five responses.

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Top CPA review courses in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In Brandwave's three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Becker, NINJA CPA Review and Gleim appeared every time. Becker was recommended most often, coming first in four out of five answers. UWorld was second, and Gleim was third. Wiley CPAexcel, which ranked seventh in searches, was not mentioned at all.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

How many AI answers named each brand
Brand	ChatGPT	Google	Answers that named it
Becker	Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 2 of 2 Google AI Overviews	5 of 5
NINJA CPA Review	Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 2 of 2 Google AI Overviews	5 of 5
Gleim	Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 2 of 2 Google AI Overviews	5 of 5
UWorld	Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 2 of 2 Google AI Overviews	4 of 5
Surgent	Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 2 of 2 Google AI Overviews	2 of 5
Universal CPA Review	Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 2 of 2 Google AI Overviews	2 of 5
Wiley CPAexcel	Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 0 of 2 Google AI Overviews	0 of 5
Maxwell CPA Review	Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 0 of 2 Google AI Overviews	0 of 5

Becker5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
NINJA CPA Review5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
Gleim5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
UWorld4 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
Surgent2 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
Universal CPA Review2 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
Wiley CPAexcel0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
Maxwell CPA Review0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers

See every answer about CPA review courses

5 answers

Asked ChatGPT
“What's the best CPA review course?”
1. 1Becker
2. 2UWorld
3. 3Gleim
4. 4NINJA CPA Review
Asked ChatGPT
“Which CPA review course is best for working full time?”
1. 1Becker
2. 2UWorld
3. 3Gleim
4. 4NINJA CPA Review
Asked ChatGPT
“What's the cheapest way to study for the CPA exam?”
1. 1NINJA CPA Review
2. 2Gleim
3. 3Becker
Searched Google, AI Overview
“cpa review course”
1. 1Becker
2. 2UWorld
3. 3Gleim
4. 4Surgent
5. 5Universal CPA Review
6. 6NINJA CPA Review
Searched Google, AI Overview
“cpa exam prep”
1. 1Becker
2. 2UWorld
3. 3Gleim
4. 4Surgent
5. 5Universal CPA Review
6. 6NINJA CPA Review

Not named in any answer:

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in United States on October 28, 2026.

Which CPA review courses do people search for most?

This chart shows how often people search Google for each CPA review course brand by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all eight CPA review course brands we track, month by month, from searches in United States.

Share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States, by month

Month	Becker	NINJA CPA Review	UWorld	Gleim	Surgent	Universal CPA Review	Wiley CPAexcel	Maxwell CPA Review
Oct 2025	60%	17.9%	6.6%	5.3%	4.3%	2.9%	2.4%	0.56%
Nov 2025	59.1%	17.6%	7.5%	5.2%	5.2%	2.9%	1.9%	0.46%
Dec 2025	61.3%	14.9%	7.4%	5.4%	5.4%	3%	2%	0.58%
Jan 2026	64.1%	15.6%	6.6%	4.6%	3.8%	2.5%	2.1%	0.75%
Feb 2026	61.5%	15%	7.8%	5.4%	3.7%	3.7%	2.5%	0.58%
Mar 2026	64.5%	15.7%	6.7%	4.6%	3.1%	2.6%	2.1%	0.75%
Apr 2026	60.6%	18.1%	7.3%	4.4%	4.4%	2.9%	1.6%	0.7%
May 2026	64.8%	15.8%	6.4%	4.7%	3.8%	2.6%	1.4%	0.61%
Jun 2026	65.6%	15.9%	6.4%	3.8%	3.8%	2.6%	1.2%	0.62%
Jul 2026	66.6%	16.2%	6.5%	3%	3%	2.6%	1.2%	0.78%
Aug 2026	65.3%	15.9%	7.3%	3.8%	3.8%	2.1%	1.1%	0.62%
Sep 2026	66%	16.1%	6.5%	4.8%	3%	2.1%	0.95%	0.62%

Rank	Brand	Share of searches	Estimated monthly branded searches	vs prior month	Share change
1, held 1st	Becker	66%	22.2K	0%	+0.7 points
2, held 2nd	NINJA CPA Review	16.1%	5.4K	0%	+0.2 points
3, held 3rd	UWorld	6.5%	2.2K	-12.1%	-0.8 points
4, held 4th	Gleim	4.8%	1.6K	+23.1%	+0.9 points
5, held 5th	Surgent	3%	1K	-23.1%	-0.8 points
6, held 6th	Universal CPA Review	2.1%	720	0%	0 points
7, held 7th	Wiley CPAexcel	0.95%	320	-17.9%	-0.2 points
8, held 8th	Maxwell CPA Review	0.62%	210	0%	0 points

1.Becker
66%
Held 1st. 22.2K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share +0.7 points.
2.NINJA CPA Review
16.1%
Held 2nd. 5.4K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share +0.2 points.
3.UWorld
6.5%
Held 3rd. 2.2K estimated branded searches, -12.1% vs prior month. Share -0.8 points.
4.Gleim
4.8%
Held 4th. 1.6K estimated branded searches, +23.1% vs prior month. Share +0.9 points.
5.Surgent
3%
Held 5th. 1K estimated branded searches, -23.1% vs prior month. Share -0.8 points.
6.Universal CPA Review
2.1%
Held 6th. 720 estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.
7.Wiley CPAexcel
0.95%
Held 7th. 320 estimated branded searches, -17.9% vs prior month. Share -0.2 points.
8.Maxwell CPA Review
0.62%
Held 8th. 210 estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

Which brand is most popular in search among CPA review courses in the United States?

8 brands

In September 2026, Becker was the most searched among CPA review course brands in the United States, with an estimated 22.2K branded searches, 66% of all searches for the eight we track. NINJA CPA Review is in 2nd place, 50 percentage points behind at 16.1%.

United States CPA review courses, last 12 months ending September 2026
Brand	Share of searches	Peak	Low	Rank
Becker	60% → 66%	66.6%Jul 2026	59.1%Nov 2025	1st
NINJA CPA Review	17.9% → 16.1%	18.1%Apr 2026	14.9%Dec 2025	2nd
UWorld	6.6% → 6.5%	7.8%Feb 2026	6.4%May 2026	3rd
Gleim	5.3% → 4.8%	5.4%Dec 2025	3%Jul 2026	4th
Surgent	4.3% → 3%	5.4%Dec 2025	3%Sep 2026	5th
Universal CPA Review	2.9% → 2.1%	3.7%Feb 2026	2.1%Aug 2026	6th
Wiley CPAexcel	2.4% → 0.95%	2.5%Feb 2026	0.95%Sep 2026	7th
Maxwell CPA Review	0.56% → 0.62%	0.78%Jul 2026	0.46%Nov 2025	8th

Each finding as a sentence

Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Becker’s share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States increased from 60% to 66%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, NINJA CPA Review’s share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States decreased from 17.9% to 16.1%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Gleim’s share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States decreased from 5.3% to 4.8%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Surgent’s share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States decreased from 4.3% to 3%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Universal CPA Review’s share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States decreased from 2.9% to 2.1%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Wiley CPAexcel’s share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States decreased from 2.4% to 0.95%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Becker’s share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States peaked at 66.6% in July 2026 and was lowest at 59.1% in November 2025.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, NINJA CPA Review’s share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States peaked at 18.1% in April 2026 and was lowest at 14.9% in December 2025.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, UWorld’s share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States peaked at 7.8% in February 2026 and was lowest at 6.4% in May 2026.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Gleim’s share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States peaked at 5.4% in December 2025 and was lowest at 3% in July 2026.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Surgent’s share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States peaked at 5.4% in December 2025 and was lowest at 3% in September 2026.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Universal CPA Review’s share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States peaked at 3.7% in February 2026 and was lowest at 2.1% in August 2026.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Wiley CPAexcel’s share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States peaked at 2.5% in February 2026 and was lowest at 0.95% in September 2026.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, UWorld and Maxwell CPA Review held steady: their share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

How did search popularity change for United States CPA review courses in September 2026?

7 changes

In September 2026, Gleim gained share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States, from 3.8% to 4.8%.
In September 2026, Becker gained share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States, from 65.3% to 66%.
In September 2026, Surgent lost share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States, from 3.8% to 3%.
In September 2026, UWorld lost share of searches among CPA review courses in the United States, from 7.3% to 6.5%.
Estimated monthly branded searches for Maxwell CPA Review in the United States rose 23.5% over 12 measured months, from 170 to 210 in September 2026.
Estimated monthly branded searches for Wiley CPAexcel in the United States fell 55.6% over 12 measured months, from 720 to 320 in September 2026.
Estimated monthly branded searches for Universal CPA Review in the United States fell 18.2% over 12 measured months, from 880 to 720 in September 2026.

How are branded searches counted for CPA review courses?

9 search terms

Each brand's share of searches among CPA review courses comes from the terms listed under its name. When people mostly search for a brand because of something else it sells, only the searches that name this product count here.