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Personal Training Certification School Comparison

Personal Training
School Search
Select a Program
Zip Code (Postal Code)
personal training certification school personal trainer schools

The Full Results

We have compiled all the data from our
personal training certification school
review into one monster table. It is huge,
and hard to read. But I have also created
three filtered versions of this table listed below

You should also look at our full list of
Personal Training Schools.

 

 

Each of the links in our personal training certification school table will take
you to our information page for each program.

 

Personal Training Certification School ACE ACT NPTI NASM ACSM NSCA NCSF NFPT NESTA IFPA ISSA AFAA
Certification Personal Trainer Certified Personal Trainer (CPT)
Diploma in Personal Training,
CPR/AED Certification 		Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) Certified Personal Trainer (cPT) NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer (NSCA-CPT) Certified Personal Trainer (cPT) CPT - Certified Personal Trainer Personal Fitness Trainer (PFT) CPT - Certified Personal Trainer Certified Fitness Trainer (CFT) Personal Trainer
Established 1985 2010 2000 1987 1954 1993   1988 1994 1988 1983

  ace personal trainer  
Workshop length 2 days Online Classes (about 20 hours) 500 hours 2 days 1 or 3 days 2 days 2 days or extended school option 2 days 2 days 2 days 2 days 3 days
Workshop Availability US major cities Online Locations in 30 U.S. cities Select US cities US major cities Limited cities US major cities Major U.S. Cities very limited Major U.S. Cities US major cities
Program Cost $399 $65 or Free Option $5900 - $6300 $599-$799 $129 or $375 N/A $309 $425 $489 or $389 without Polar watch $399-$459 $754 $469
Materials cost Included Included Included Included $125 up to $468 Included Included Included Included Included $59
Industry recognition High Too Early to Tell Med-High High High High High Med - High Med Med - High Med-High Med
Accreditations NCCA   State Certified Training NCCA NCCA NCCA NCCA NCCA NCCA NCCA, ACET DETC NBFE, NOCA, CHEA
Prerequisites 18 years old, Adult CPR/AED Certificate None 18 years old, U.S. Citizen or Green Card (not required for online program), High School diploma or equivalent 18 years old, Adult CPR/AED Certificate High School Diploma, Adult CPR Certificate 18 years old, Adult CPR and AED Certificate, high school diploma or equivalent None High School Diploma, 18 years old, 2+ years fitness experience 18 years old, high school diploma or equivalent High School Diploma, 18 years old, CPR High School Diploma, 18 years old, Adult CPR/AED Certificate Unavailable
Find Accredited Personal Training Schools
  Zip Code   -or- Browse all Schools
Exam Questions 150 100   120 125-150 140 150 120 100 100 168
Exam Time 3 hours 1.5 hours   2 hours 2.5 hours 3 hours 3 hours 2 hours 2 hours 2.5 hours
Exam Cost $219 (pencil/paper), $249 (computer) Included Included Included $279 $235-270 (members)/ $355-390 (non-members) (Pencil/paper exam) $285(members) /$405(non-members) (Computer-based exam) $199 $44 $199 included Included Included or $199 (without program)
Retest Cost $135 (pencil/paper) $184 (computer) $35   $99 $150 $185-220 (members) $305-340 (non-members) (Pencil/paper exam) $235 (members) $355 (non-members) (Computer-based exam) $135 $60 $95 $79 one free online, $149 at seminar, ($50 charge for each additional attempt)
Exam deadline     120 days 1 year   1 year 90 days 6 months 2 years
Exam locations Major cities worldwide Online Major U.S. Cities Major U.S. Cities Major cities worldwide Major cities worldwide (pencil/paper) United States only (computer-based) 400 testing locations in North America 300 testing centers worldwide Major US Cities Major Cities worldwide Online plus Major U.S. cities
Time to Complete (Approx.) 3-6 months 2-3 months 6 months (4 month and 12 month options available) 4-9 months 4-9 months 4-6 months 2 to 6 months 4-6 weeks 2 to 6 months 13-16 weeks
Recertification every 2 years every 2 years N/A every 2 years every 3 years every 3 years every 2 years every year every 4 years every 2 years every 2 years yes
Recertification Cost including CEU (Approx.) $400 $65 N/A $700 $800 $500 $400-800 $85 $600 $20 + $319 CEU costs $600 (20 CEU and $75 fee) $600

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Discuss our Certification Comparison Chart

So how do the major personal trainer certifications compare? Tell us what you think in the form below. You can ask a question or submit comments about the various certifications.

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Personal Training Certification Comparison Comments

Click below to see contributions from other visitors about our personal training certification school comparison table.

Looking for CPT course  starstarstarstarstar
I think this comparison chart is great. Why is the NPTI requirement so much greater than all of the others? 500 hours comes out to several months whereas ...

GI Bill Approved Certifications  starstarstarstarstar
There are a lot of us guys in the service who are looking at getting these certifications, would you be able to tell me which ones are GI BILL friendly?...

Importance of NCCA Accreditation  starstarstarstarstar
Why is NCCA considered so "respected". What makes NCCA such an important accreditation to have. Many of the Personal Trainer Certification Programs on ...

apex certification  starstarstarstarstar
I just started working for a gym that requires all trainers, regardless of prior certification, to get "APEX" certified. I still don't know much about ...

Personal Trainer would like to be NSCA-CPT certified I have all the materials and am a member  starstarstarstarstar
I am 32 years old and have previously spent the last 9 years working as a professional wrestler with the World Wrestling Entertainment. You name him ...

How to Choose a Personal Trainer school with the correct certifications  starstarstarstarstar
I am looking for a personal training school that offers a certification that is recognized in the industry as professional. Can you tell me which certification ...

Personal Trainers are Teachers  starstarstarstarstar
I am concerned about this list in that many of these only determine the candidate's ability to take a test. How many require teaching skills? I believe ...

What about IFPA Certification?  starstarstarstar
I noticed you did not include the personal trainer certification by IFPA. There web site says they are accreditted by NCAA. Waht do you think of this certification ...

Ace Certified Personal Trainer  starstarstarstar
I think you should change the exam time to 4 hours for Ace. I was allowed 3 hours to take the first part of the exam, then there was the second part of ...

ACE certification doesn't deserve a high rating  starstarstarstar
ACE certification isn't rated as "high" ...every club I worked at - ACE was frowned on and the people who held an ACE cert got bagged on a lot. Everyone ...

NCCA accreditation  starstarstar
I find it sad that you are promoting only NCCA accredited certifications when the NCCA / NOCA is not recognized by the United States Dept. of Education,...

National Federation of Personal Trainers  starstarstar
I am considering enrolling my 3 LMT's at our re-hab clinic in the NFPT program which is NCCA certified but did not see it on your chart. Is there any ...

Costs of Recertification  starstarstar
I am finding the price for recertification different from the prices on this page. Is there something i don't know or something these people aren't telling ...

Recertification fees listed dont tell the whole story  Not rated yet
The recert fees show doing cecs all at top prices.
CEC's can be shopped around.
This chart might be more helpful if you just listed the actual recertification ...

Very helpful:)  Not rated yet
I thought this chart was probably one of the most helpful tools for me to help me decide which program I wanted to enroll in. Although it would be even ...

great info  Not rated yet
Thanks for the info. I am considering a career change, and am intrigued with the idea of becoming a personal trainer. My background is in education, and ...

Your Table is Tops  Not rated yet
I have been compiling similar info into a spreadsheet, to figure out what to do when Uncle Sam lets me take off the camo...

Your certification comparison ...

 

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