MasterCPE
Pro
Con
Verdict
Master CPE Review offers over 200 on-demand courses on their basic yet affordable platform. The biggest downside for CPE users is that all courses are text based — there are no video options to be found, and no webinars at all. The low annual fee gives you access to most courses, but no ethics at all. The platform also lacks course ratings or reviews and instructor bios, though you can test out the platform for free with one free course.
Intro
MasterCPE offers a variety of on-demand courses for an affordable annual fee, but with no webinars, no video-based courses, and limited CPE types available, the platform leaves a bit to be desired.
Courses/CPE – Acceptable
The platform currently has more than 240 on-demand courses available, including more than 30 ethics courses (some of which do meet state-specific requirements). Courses are only available in one format: text-based. You can download the materials to read on your device or print. The review quiz and final exam are available online, though there is no actual online platform — you simply download a PDF and take an interactive quiz. Quizzes are graded immediately, so you get access to your certificates right away after completing a course. They do not offer any webinars, and courses don’t seem to be added regularly. They offer CPE only CPA and EA certifications.
Platform/Features – Decent
Master CPE doesn’t offer a standalone course platform. Courses must be downloaded on the website itself. The website is mobile-friendly, and it’s relatively easy to download and read the materials, as well actually take the exams from your mobile device. There appear to be no ratings and reviews, so you can’t see what others have thought about a course before you decide to take it. We also couldn’t find any firm/corporate user reviews on vetted 3rd party platforms like Capterra. There is no dashboard or way to easily track your CPE certificates, though you can find your completed courses in the “My Courses” area of the website and download your certificates there. They don’t offer any micro-certifications, though they do offer custom webinars and live events for firms/companies.
UX - Adequate
Master CPE Review’s user experience is simple enough and easy to use. Finding courses is easy with multiple sorting options, though it would be nice to see a count of how many courses are available. Finding your courses isn’t difficult, though we can see that if you completed a lot of courses it might be difficult to sort through them to pull the right CPE certificates. The website is one of the more mobile-friendly ones we’ve seen, likely because the set-up itself is so simple. There isn’t a cohesive dashboard to access orders and courses at once — they are broken up into “My Courses” and “Account”.
Cost - Affordable
MasterCPE offers an annual subscription for only $149, which is a steal when some courses cost as much as $120 each. However, it’s not clear how many of the courses are actually included in the subscription — except they make it very clear that no ethics courses are included. Unlike some other platforms, there isn’t an option to add ethics to your subscription. You’re left buying a la carte if ethics is on your CPE list for this year. MasterCPE does offer 15% loyalty discount when you renew your subscription before your year is up.
Team/Firm Capability – None
The platform appears to offer nothing in terms of team/firm capability, not even a bulk discount. There isn’t any sort of CPE tracking or compliance monitoring, either. It’s unclear if they offer additional features like custom company courses, custom user groups, LMS integration, SSO (single sign-on), or creation and calendaring of internal CPE, but given the limited options available to individuals, we’re not betting on it.
Summary
Master CPE is a decent choice for individuals looking for basic CPE offerings. With more than 200 on-demand courses, including more than 30 ethics options, it offers a solid variety if you’re only looking for text-based courses. While the annual subscription fee is very affordable, buying ethics courses a la carte could add up. Overall, Master CPE might work for an individual with basic CPE needs.
