CFA Course Fees in India 2027: Level 1, 2, 3 in Rupees | BootcampGuide

By Deepak Sharma, Marketing Manager at BootcampGuide and Content Lead at TestMu AI. B2B SaaS content strategist, certified in Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, Appium, Automation Testing and KaneAI. Published 2026-11-07. 14 min read. Human edited.

Topics: CFA, Course Fees, Finance and Accounting, India, Original Research

By Deepak Sharma, BootcampGuide. CFA Institute's fees, deadlines and pass rates were read from its own website, exam data feed and press releases on 7 November 2026, and every coaching fee from the institute's own course page the same day. Rupee amounts use the RBI reference rate of ₹95.2492 to the US dollar for 6 November 2026. We list CFA courses from several of these institutes; none of them paid to appear in this article or saw it before it was published. See sources.

CFA course fees in India come to about ₹3.96 lakh to ₹5.14 lakh paid to CFA Institute for all three levels, including GST, plus ₹87,000 to ₹2.27 lakh for coaching. CFA Institute charges in US dollars: USD 1,140 (₹1,08,584) for Level 1 or Level 2 if you register by the early deadline and USD 1,490 (₹1,41,921) after it, and USD 1,240 or USD 1,590 for Level 3. GST is added at checkout for candidates living in India, which puts the CFA Level 1 fee at about ₹1,28,129 early or ₹1,67,467 standard. There is no longer a one-time enrollment fee.

Two changes make most fee guides out of date this season. The USD 350 enrollment fee was abolished for exams from February 2026, so a total that still includes it overstates the cost by about ₹33,000. And from February 2027 CFA Institute no longer sells deferrals: if you register and do not sit, you lose the whole fee.

Key takeaway: The deadline you register by matters more than the coaching you choose. Registering early saves USD 350 per level, ₹1,18,014 across all three with GST, which is more than a full live coaching programme for Levels 1 to 3 costs at QuintEdge (₹1,02,000).

CFA fee structure in India at a glance

Every fee CFA Institute charges an Indian candidate, from its dates and fees page and exam data. The rupee columns are our conversion; CFA Institute bills in US dollars, so the amount you pay moves with the exchange rate and your card's foreign currency markup.

The registration fee includes the curriculum, CFA Institute's practice questions, two official mock exams, a study planner and the Practical Skills Modules, so books are not a separate compulsory cost. The same prices apply to every exam window CFA Institute has published, from November 2026 to November 2027.

GST on CFA fees, and how to get it back

CFA Institute's tax policy says candidates residing in India are subject to GST on its fees as an online service, and it adds the tax during payment. It does not print the rate on that page; the 18% used above is the rate J.K. Shah Classes shows on its CFA page for the same checkout, where USD 1,140 becomes USD 1,345.20. If you, or the employer paying for you, are GST-registered on the payment date, CFA Institute refunds the GST collected. It asks for your GST number, the name on the GST certificate (it must match your CFA account), your CFA Institute ID and the receipt number.

CFA exam dates and fee deadlines for 2027

CFA exams run four times a year, but not every level runs in every window. Level 1 is offered in February, May, August and November; Level 2 in May, August and November; Level 3 only in February and August. This is the calendar from CFA Institute's exam data, read on 7 November 2026:

What that means if you are paying now: August 2027 is the only window you can still register for at the early price, until 20 January 2027. May 2027 is open at the standard price only. Deadlines are at 11:59 pm US Eastern time, which is 10:29 am the next morning in India while the US is on standard time. You can sit at most twice a calendar year, and not in consecutive windows or windows six months or less apart.

CFA Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 fees in Indian rupees

CFA Level 1 fees

The CFA Level 1 fee is USD 1,140 (₹1,08,584) early and USD 1,490 (₹1,41,921) standard, or about ₹1,28,129 and ₹1,67,467 with GST. Level 1 is the exam most Indian candidates start with while still at college: 180 multiple-choice questions in two 135-minute sessions, sat at a Prometric centre. From February 2027 the Level 1 curriculum shifts weight away from Ethics (down to 10 to 15%) and towards Quantitative Methods (up to 11 to 14%), so second-hand 2026 books are a poor saving.

CFA Level 2 fees

Level 2 costs the same as Level 1: USD 1,140 (₹1,08,584) early, USD 1,490 (₹1,41,921) standard. It runs in May, August and November. An undergraduate can sit it only within 11 months of graduating.

CFA Level 3 fees

Level 3 is USD 100 dearer: USD 1,240 (₹1,18,109) early and USD 1,590 (₹1,51,446) standard, about ₹1,39,369 and ₹1,78,707 with GST. It runs only in February and August, so missing a Level 3 window costs six months, not three. You need a completed bachelor's degree, or 4,000 hours of work experience, to sit it.

How the fees changed from 2025

For a candidate taking all three levels at the early price, the net change was a rise of USD 100: USD 450 more in exam fees, less the USD 350 enrollment fee that was dropped. CFA Institute has not announced any fee change for 2027.

CFA coaching fees in India: 8 institutes compared

Coaching is optional, since CFA Institute's registration includes the curriculum and practice questions, but most Indian candidates buy it for at least Level 1. These are the published fees on each institute's own CFA page on 7 November 2026. You can browse the CFA courses we list with mode, city and batch dates.

What the table shows:

• Live Level 1 coaching costs ₹32,000 to ₹39,000 at Fintelligents, QuintEdge and The WallStreet School, roughly a quarter of the CFA Institute fee for the same level. Recorded and self-paced versions cost ₹22,000 to ₹29,500.
• FinTree prices by exam attempt. The same Level 1 classroom plan costs ₹64,900 for February 2027 and ₹79,900 for November 2027, so the earlier you commit the less you pay. No other institute here does this.
• "Plus GST" adds 18%. The WallStreet School's ₹39,000 is ₹46,020 with GST, while QuintEdge's ₹33,000 already includes it. Compare fees on the same basis.
• Pass guarantees are re-enrolment offers, not refunds. IMS Proschool's Pass Commitment re-enrols you in the next cohort free if you attended, finished the question bank and sat every mock. You still pay CFA Institute again for the retake.

CFA course fees in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune and other cities

CFA Institute's fees are the same in every city. Coaching fees mostly are too: QuintEdge charges the same for live online as for its Delhi and Mumbai campuses, and The WallStreet School's live online batches cost the same as its classrooms. The city decides who you can attend in person. Mumbai has The WallStreet School, QuintEdge, J.K. Shah Classes, FPA Edutech and IMS Proschool; Delhi has The WallStreet School, QuintEdge and IMS Proschool; Pune has FinTree's classroom and IMS Proschool. IMS Proschool also runs classrooms in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Ahmedabad and Surat.

Total cost of CFA in India: three budgets

These add up everything for all three levels, with one attempt at each and GST at 18% on CFA Institute's fees. Coaching uses published fees from the table: QuintEdge self-paced at the low end, QuintEdge live in the middle, and FinTree's classroom or live plans for its latest listed attempts at the high end.

Three things push the real figure up:

• Retakes. In 2026 between 39% and 50% of candidates passed each level, so many candidates pay for at least one level twice. A retake costs the full registration fee again, ₹1,28,129 to ₹1,78,707 with GST.
• Missed exams. From February 2027 there is no paid deferral. If you do not sit, the fee is forfeited and you register again. Rescheduling within the same window still costs USD 250 (₹28,099 with GST).
• Bank charges. CFA Institute accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Alipay in US dollars. Your card's foreign currency markup is added to every payment.

What the CFA charter costs every year after you pass

Passing Level 3 is not the last bill. To use the CFA charter you join CFA Institute and a local society, which needs 4,000 hours of relevant work experience over at least 36 months and three references. CFA Institute's standard charterholder dues are USD 299 a year, but CFA Society India lists a discounted rate of USD 159 (₹15,145) for members residing in India, plus its own society dues of ₹5,000 + 18% GST (₹5,900). That is about ₹21,045 a year, on a July to June membership year, prorated in the year you join. Competitor guides quote only the USD 299 figure.

CFA scholarships: paying USD 400 instead of USD 1,490

CFA Institute runs three scholarships, and all of them replace the registration fee with a flat, lower one. The Women's scholarship some older guides mention is no longer offered.

Apply before you register: you cannot apply while registered for an exam or waiting for results. Tax is added to the scholarship fee too. An unused award ends your eligibility for future ones.

When you can start, and how long CFA takes

A bachelor's degree, or a final-year place in one, is the usual route in. CFA Institute's rule is that the Level 1 window you choose must be 23 months or less before your graduation month, Level 2 within 11 months, and Level 3 after you have the degree. On a three-year B.Com or BBA, that means Level 1 in your second year at the earliest, which is when J.K. Shah Classes and FinTree say students start. Graduates of any discipline can register straight away. Everyone needs a valid passport to sit the exam.

CFA Institute says the three levels take about three to four years and recommends 300 hours of study per level. Each level can be attempted at most six times, and no more than twice a calendar year. Because Level 3 runs only in February and August, one failed attempt there delays you by at least six months. The charter also needs 36 months of work experience, which can be gained before, during or after the exams.

CFA pass rates, and what a failed level costs

CFA Institute's 2026 results releases also split pass rates by whether a candidate had deferred. First-time candidates passed at 45% to 59%; candidates testing after at least one deferral passed at 25% to 34%. Now that deferrals are gone, the cheapest choice is to register only for a window you are ready for, and to register for it early.

Is CFA more costly than CA or ACCA?

Yes. CFA's fees are charged in US dollars, so they dwarf what ICAI charges. ICAI's registration fees for CA Foundation, Intermediate and Final come to ₹49,000, with exam fees per attempt on top; our CA course fee guide adds up every level. ACCA's own fees come to about ₹2.7 lakh to ₹3.5 lakh, as our ACCA fees breakdown shows. CFA costs ₹3.96 lakh to ₹5.14 lakh to CFA Institute alone.

They are not substitutes. CA and ACCA are accounting qualifications; CFA is an investment qualification for equity research, portfolio management, investment banking and risk roles. Many Indian candidates add CFA after CA or an MBA rather than instead of one.

Is CFA worth the cost? What CFA holders earn in India

PayScale's self-reported data for people in India listing the CFA as a certification shows a median base salary of ₹10.2 lakh a year, from 394 profiles updated 31 March 2026. Pay rises steeply with experience: the median is ₹6.1 lakh with under a year of experience, ₹8 lakh at 1 to 4 years, ₹18.3 lakh at 5 to 9 years and ₹30.3 lakh at 10 to 19 years. By city, Bengaluru's median is ₹16 lakh and Mumbai's ₹11.1 lakh. These profiles include candidates who have passed only some levels, so they are a guide to the market, not to charterholders alone.

On those numbers, the ₹4.8 lakh to ₹7.4 lakh total is roughly a year of a mid-career analyst's salary. It pays back if it moves you into investment roles you could not get otherwise, and much less so if you stop after Level 1.

How to pay less for CFA

1. Register by the early deadline. For August 2027 that is 20 January 2027. It saves USD 350 a level, ₹39,338 with GST.
2. Apply for the Access scholarship first. The August 2027 window closes on 23 November 2026, and it brings the fee down to USD 400 with the Practice Pack included.
3. Claim back the GST if you can. If your employer is GST-registered and pays, CFA Institute refunds the GST.
4. Do not buy coaching for all three levels upfront. Most candidates fail at least one level, and per-level pricing lets you change institute or switch to self-study.
5. Buy coaching for an earlier attempt where the price rises over time. FinTree's plans for February 2027 cost ₹15,000 less than the same plans for November 2027.
6. Skip what the registration already includes. The curriculum, practice questions and two mock exams come with the fee; the USD 299 Practice Pack is optional.

CFA fee figures you will see elsewhere that are out of date

Checking the pages that rank for CFA course fees against CFA Institute's own data on 7 November 2026 turned up these errors:

• A USD 350 enrollment fee. Abolished from 29 April 2025, for exams from February 2026 onwards.
• Exam fees of USD 1,290 / 1,290 / 1,390, or USD 940 to 1,250. Those are 2025 or older prices.
• "Early registration saves about USD 300 or 310." The gap is USD 350 at every level.
• Exchange rates of ₹85 to ₹92 a dollar. The RBI reference rate was ₹95.25 on 6 November 2026; at ₹85, every rupee figure is about 11% too low.
• Charter dues of USD 299 for Indian members. Members residing in India pay USD 159 to CFA Institute, plus CFA Society India's dues.
• "4 years of work experience" to register. The work route to Level 1 is 4,000 hours of work and/or education over three years; the 36-month experience rule applies to the charter, not to the exam.

Sources and how we checked

CFA Institute's fees and deadlines come from its dates and fees page and the exam data feed behind it, read on 7 November 2026; changes come from its press releases and policy pages. Rupee figures are our conversions at the RBI reference rate of ₹95.2492 per US dollar for 6 November 2026, rounded to the nearest rupee, with GST at 18% where shown; your bank's rate will differ. Coaching fees were read on 7 November 2026 from each institute's own CFA page and quoted as shown, including whether GST is included. Totals are our arithmetic and assume one attempt per level. Fees change, so confirm the amount before paying.

1. CFA Institute: Exam dates and fees (registration fees, deadlines, rescheduling fee, payment methods)
2. CFA Institute: Pricing changes for the CFA Program (enrollment fee removed, 2026 prices)
3. CFA Institute: Deferral policies update and deferral policy
4. CFA Institute: Refund policy and tax policy (GST for India residents)
5. CFA Institute: Program policies (eligibility, attempt limits)
6. CFA Institute: Scholarships, including Access and Student
7. CFA Institute: Level I exam (format and 2027 topic weights)
8. CFA Institute: Exam results 1963 to 2026 (pass rates) and its August 2026 Level III results release
9. CFA Institute: Charterholder membership and CFA Society India: Membership (India dues)
10. RBI reference rate archive at MSEI (USD/INR 95.2492 on 6 November 2026)
11. Fintelligents: CFA online course
12. QuintEdge: CFA coaching (fee table, GST included)
13. The WallStreet School: CFA Level 1 and Level 2
14. IMS Proschool: CFA Level 1
15. FinTree: CFA prep program
16. J.K. Shah Classes: CFA course (GST shown on the CFA Institute fee)
17. FPA Edutech: CFA course
18. VG Learning Destination: CFA course details
19. PayScale: CFA salary in India