CISA cost in 65 seconds
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What does the CISA actually cost in 2026? The exam fee is only where it starts.
The exam is $575 if you're an ISACA member, and $760 if you're not. Same price online or at a test center. And a retake costs it all again.
Then come the fees after the exam. A $50 application fee, once you pass. $45 to $85 of maintenance. The official review manual. And the question database. Self-studying, year one lands between $900 and $1,450.
Add a bootcamp or a live course, and year one runs $2,500 to $4,000.
And it never stops. $45 to $85 every year, plus 120 CPE hours every three years.
Building GRC engineering skills instead? The GRC Engineering Club is $70 a year, with three certifications included. No exam fee. No maintenance fee.
Every fee, with sources, is at grcengclub.com.
What does CISA cost, line by line?
USD, from ISACA's own fee schedule as of September 2026. Check the current numbers on ISACA's CISA exam and application fees, CISA maintenance requirements, and membership dues pages. Study material prices are ISACA's list prices; third-party books and courses vary.
| Line item | ISACA member | Non-member | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exam registration | $575 | $760 | One attempt. Retakes cost the same again. |
| ISACA membership | $145 + chapter dues | $0 | Optional. Unlocks the member exam price and member study material prices. |
| Application processing | $50 | $50 | Paid once, after you pass and submit your experience. |
| First-year maintenance | $45 | $85 | Due every year the credential is active. |
| Official review manual | $105 to $135 | $135 to $175 | Print or ebook. Most candidates buy it. |
| Official question database | $299 | $399 | 12 months of access. The single most useful prep purchase. |
| Bootcamp or live course | $1,500 to $3,500 | $1,500 to $3,500 | Optional. Employers sometimes pay for this. |
| First-year total, self-study | about $1,200 | about $1,450 | Exam, application, first-year maintenance, manual, and question database. |
Do you need experience to get CISA? Yes, five years
Passing the exam does not make you a CISA. ISACA requires five years of professional experience in IS audit, control, assurance, or security, earned within the ten years before you apply. Up to three years can be waived for degrees and other certifications, but you still need at least two years of real audit work. The full rules are on ISACA's CISA certification requirements page.
If you are early in your career, that changes the math. You can pass CISA today and hold a score for five years while you earn the experience, but you cannot put the letters after your name. For a beginner, the better first purchase is usually a credential you can actually hold this year. See the best GRC certifications for beginners.
How can you pay less for CISA?
Join ISACA only if you will use it
The member discount is $185 on the exam and roughly $150 across the manual and question database. Membership is $145 plus chapter dues. Net savings are real, but only if you buy the materials and attend chapter meetings for free CPE.
Ask your employer before you register
Most audit and compliance employers reimburse the exam voucher after a pass, and many pay ISACA dues. Fewer pay for bootcamps. Get the policy in writing before you spend.
Skip the bootcamp
CISA is a knowledge exam. The official manual and 12 months of the question database, about $450, is what most successful self-studiers used. Bootcamps add $1,500 to $3,500 for the same content, compressed.
Register at the right time
ISACA runs early-registration and student discounts a few times a year. If you are not in a hurry, watch the ISACA store before you buy.
Cover your CPE for free
Maintenance is cheap. The 120 CPE hours every three years are not, if you pay for them. Free webinars, chapter meetings, and self-reported learning hours from communities like the GRC Engineering Club keep the renewal cost at the $45 to $85 fee alone. Club members get 4 CPE hours a month on their transcript, 48 a year, for reading, live Q&As, recordings, and labs.
What $70 a year buys if audit is your goal
CISA proves you know how to audit. It does not teach you to audit a cloud-native company where the controls live in Terraform and the evidence lives in a pipeline. The CGE-AUD auditor specialty was built for exactly that gap, and it is included in Club membership along with the CGE-P and CGE-AZ. Many members hold CISA and CGE-AUD together. If you cannot yet hold CISA, CGE-AUD is the audit credential you can earn this year.
What $70 a year gets you, CISA candidate or not
Club membership is $70 per year, or $9.99 a month. Every certification in the Training Academy is included. Bought one at a time, the three current certifications are $350 each, so $1,050 of credentials come with a membership that costs less than most single exam vouchers.
Students and transitioning veterans pay $35 for their first year with a verified school email or .mil email.
- CGE-P, CGE-AUD, CGE-AZ: training, labs, exam, and certificate, no exam fee
- Hands-on AWS and Azure compliance labs you build in your own account
- Weekly private podcast and live Q&A with working GRC engineers
- Mock interviews, playbooks, and live builder sessions
- Local chapters and a Slack of 1,600+ GRC professionals
- 4 CPE hours a month (48 a year) logged to your transcript, earned through articles, live Q&As, recordings, labs, and courses, to self-report to ISC2, ISACA, IAPP, or GIAC
For the fair, side-by-side comparison read CGE-AUD vs CISA. For every other certification's price, see how much cybersecurity certifications cost.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the CISA exam cost?
The CISA exam costs $575 for ISACA members and $760 for non-members in 2026. The price is the same whether you test at a center or online with remote proctoring. A retake costs the full exam fee again.
What is the total cost of CISA certification?
A realistic first-year total is $900 to $1,450 if you self-study and $2,500 to $4,000 with a bootcamp. That includes the exam ($575 to $760), the $50 application fee, first-year maintenance ($45 to $85), and study materials. ISACA members also pay $145 in dues plus local chapter dues, which the $185 member discount roughly cancels out.
How much is ISACA membership?
ISACA membership is $145 a year in global dues plus your local chapter dues, which vary by chapter. Membership is optional for CISA: it lowers the exam from $760 to $575, cuts annual CISA maintenance from $85 to $45, and discounts ISACA study materials. If you want a professional community rather than the exam discount, the GRC Engineering Club is $70 a year and includes three certifications with no exam or maintenance fees.
Is ISACA membership worth it for CISA?
Only if you use it for more than the exam discount. Membership is $145 a year plus chapter dues, and the member exam price is $185 lower, so on the exam alone you net about $40. The savings become real when you also buy the official review manual and question database at member prices and attend chapter events for free CPE.
How much does it cost to maintain CISA?
CISA maintenance costs $45 a year for ISACA members and $85 a year for non-members, plus 120 CPE hours every three years with at least 20 hours each year. Paid CPE from ISACA or training vendors can add several hundred dollars a year if you do not have a free source. GRC Engineering Club members get 4 CPE hours a month logged to their transcript, 48 a year, for their Club learning, and self-report them; ISACA sets its own rules on what counts.
Can I get CISA for free?
ISACA does not offer free CISA exams. Some employers reimburse the voucher after you pass, some universities and workforce programs cover ISACA exams, and ISACA sometimes discounts the exam for students. If cost is the barrier, the GRC Engineering Club CGE-AUD auditor certification is included in a $70 a year membership and covers the audit skills the CISA exam does not, like reading pipelines and code-defined controls.