CSLB Exam Prep Price Comparison
Quick answer: A Peerless online practice exam is $150 for a single trade, against $295 for the CSLS Home Study program and $300–$495 for a Contractor License Guru trade kit. Peerless is the cheapest way to buy practice questions for one exam, and it is the only one of the three that publishes how many questions you actually get. If you need both exams, read the note under the table — the gap narrows.
Prices last verified August 4, 2026. Peerless prices are read directly from our store. Competitor prices come from their own public pages, linked below.
The three options at a glance
| Option | Price | What you get | Question count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peerless online practice exam | $150 | Online practice exam for one trade, auto-graded, answer explanations | Published per trade (13,901 total) |
| Peerless Silver bundle | $250 | Printed study guide book plus the online practice exam | Published per trade |
| Peerless Gold bundle | $375 | Book and practice exam, plus Law & Business | Published per trade |
| CSLS Home Study | $295 | Law & Business binder, trade binder, online audio/video, practice exams | Not disclosed |
| Contractor License Guru trade kit | $300–$495 | Printed manual, optional audio/video, online or paper practice exams | Not disclosed |
Price and question count by trade
Peerless publishes a verified question count for every trade. Neither competitor publishes one, so those cells say what is actually knowable rather than guessing.
| Trade | Peerless practice exam | Peerless questions | CSLS | Contractor License Guru |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A — General Engineering | $150 | 756 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| B — General Building | $150 | 661 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-5 — Framing & Rough Carpentry | $150 | 602 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-6 — Cabinet, Millwork & Finish Carpentry | $150 | 812 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-7 — Low Voltage Systems | $150 | 782 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-8 — Concrete | $150 | 446 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-9 — Drywall | $150 | 549 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-10 — Electrical | $150 | 592 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-12 — Earthwork & Paving | $150 | 419 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-15 — Flooring & Floor Covering | $150 | 847 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-16 — Fire Protection | $150 | 440 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-17 — Glazing | $150 | 402 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-20 — HVAC | $150 | 653 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-21 — Building Moving & Demolition | $150 | 313 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-27 — Landscaping | $150 | 667 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-29 — Masonry | $150 | 549 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-33 — Painting & Decorating | $150 | 640 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-36 — Plumbing | $150 | 663 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-39 — Roofing | $150 | 658 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-46 — Solar | $150 | 341 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-51 — Structural Steel | $150 | 388 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-53 — Swimming Pool | $150 | 422 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| C-54 — Ceramic & Mosaic Tile | $150 | 670 | $295† | $300–$495 |
| LAW — Law & Business | $150 | 629 | $295† | $300–$355 |
† CSLS sells one program price that covers the trade exam and Law & Business together, rather than a separate price per trade. The same $295 figure therefore appears on every row.
The honest comparison for two exams
Most applicants must pass Law & Business as well as a trade exam. That is where the simple per-trade comparison stops being the whole story.
- Two Peerless practice exams — your trade plus Law & Business — come to $300.
- CSLS Home Study is $295 and covers both exams in that one price.
So for the two-exam stack the prices are close, and CSLS includes printed binders and audio/video that a Peerless practice exam does not. Peerless is clearly cheaper when you need one exam, when you already passed the other, or when you want practice volume rather than lectures. The Peerless Silver bundle at $250 adds the printed study guide book to the practice exam.
Where the competitors are stronger
A comparison table that only flatters the seller is not worth reading. Three things these competitors do that Peerless does not:
- Contractor License Guru lists more classifications. Its catalogue covers specialty classes Peerless does not sell at all, including C-2, C-4, C-11, C-13, C-22, C-23, C-28, C-31, C-32, C-34, C-35, C-38, C-42, C-43, C-45, C-47, C-49, C-50, C-55, C-57 and C-60. If your class is not in the table above, Peerless does not cover it and they may.
- CSLS bundles both exams and adds instruction. Its $295 program includes binders and audio/video for the trade and Law & Business, and it sells live and crash-course formats above that price for applicants who want an instructor.
- Both include formats Peerless does not sell. Peerless does not run live classes, does not publish a video course, and does not review CSLB applications. If you want any of those, buy them from someone who sells them.
How to read any exam prep price
- Check whether the price covers one exam or both — this is the single biggest cause of a misleading comparison.
- Check how long online practice access lasts. CSLS lists 30 days and Contractor License Guru lists 12 months on their own pages.
- Check whether the seller will tell you how many practice questions you get before you pay.
- Check whether the material is California-specific rather than a national product with a California cover.
- Be sceptical of any provider claiming to supply real CSLB exam questions. CSLB exam content is confidential.
Frequently asked questions
Which CSLB exam prep is cheapest?
For a single trade exam, Peerless at $150 is the cheapest of the three. For the trade and Law & Business together, Peerless and CSLS land close to each other, and Contractor License Guru is the most expensive of the three in every configuration shown above.
Why does Peerless publish question counts when the others do not?
Because it is the number that tells you what you are buying. Every count in the table is taken from the actual question bank behind that trade's exam, not rounded up for marketing. Peerless corrected these figures downward on several trades in August 2026 when the published claims did not match the banks.
Are these practice questions the real CSLB exam questions?
No, and no legitimate provider supplies those. CSLB keeps exam content confidential. These are original questions written to match the published topic areas.
Is a more expensive program better?
Not automatically. Price buys format — binders, lectures, class time, application help. It does not buy passing. If your obstacle is follow-through, paying for structure can be worth it. If your obstacle is practice volume, it usually is not.
How current are these prices?
Peerless prices on this page are read from our own store, so they are always current. Competitor prices were last verified on August 4, 2026 against the pages linked below. Prices can change without notice, so confirm on the seller's own site before buying.
Sources
Compare the material itself, not just the price — the free Peerless practice tests let you judge the question style in a few minutes. When you are ready, browse Peerless combo packages or read the full study materials comparison.
Peerless Institute is an independent exam prep provider and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Contractors State License Board (CSLB). Competitor names and prices are shown for comparison only; each is the property of its owner. Always verify current pricing with the seller and current licensing requirements with CSLB.