OpenExamPrep

OpenExamPrep is a free test preparation website for learners facing a licensing, certification or admissions exam. Its headline promises free study guides, practice questions, flashcards and AI help for every exam in every field. The home page counts 2,604,210+ practice questions and 22,270+ exam pages, and says the site was last updated in Sep 2026. Study materials are free, and an AI tutor gives 10 free interactions a day, with optional paid AI credits for more. It is a one-person project in origin: the founder, Ran Chen, an engineer who lists the EA and CFP credentials, tells the story of the site on its home page. There is also a Spanish version.

Why it exists

The founder's story frames the product. He writes that he has 20+ years of writing code, started in primary school, and that in 2022, on paternity leave after his first child was born, he passed his Life Insurance license. That led him through the EA exam, the SIE, Series 6, 63 and 65, and finally the CFP exam in November 2025. His conclusion was that "exam prep is expensive and not truly personalized", and that recent advances in AI make it possible to change both. The site says traditional exam prep courses charge $99 to $500+ for study materials, and describes itself as "funded by passion, not profit."

What a learner gets

A catalog organized by domain. Exams are grouped into domains, then into "families" (one credential, vendor path or state licensing exam), each with practice pages, guides and flashcard sets. The home page gives the size of each domain. The largest are Academic and Admissions (SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT and others) with 6,929 exams, Healthcare (nursing, pharmacy and other healthcare certifications) with 2,656, Skilled Trades (electrician, plumber, HVAC, welding) with 2,056, Technology (CompTIA, AWS, Azure and other IT certifications), and Government and Public Safety with 1,077. Others include Driving and DMV tests (929), Finance and Accounting covering CFP, EA and CPA, Education and Teaching including Praxis (779), Legal including bar exams and paralegal certifications (579), Aviation including FAA pilot certifications and drone licenses (561), Insurance covering life and health, property and casualty, and adjuster licensing (504), Engineering including FE and PE (496), Business and Management including PMP, CAPM and Scrum (483), Language Proficiency including JLPT, HSK, TOEFL and IELTS (318), Cosmetology and Beauty (313), Safety and Compliance (253), Securities and FINRA (221), Real Estate (215), Food Service and Safety (214), Maritime and Boating (183), Military including the ASVAB (144), Security (121), Automotive (119), Fitness and Wellness (110), Architecture and Design (94), Mortgage and MLO (73), Citizenship and Naturalization (47) and Human Resources (46). Coverage varies a great deal: Securities and FINRA, for example, lists 221 exams in 34 families with 11 guides and 9 flashcard sets, while Mortgage and MLO has 73 exams with 3 guides and 1 flashcard set.

Practice questions and study material. Each exam has a practice page with questions and detailed explanations, and many have study guides and flashcard sets. For the securities exams, the site advertises practice, a study guide and a cheat sheet for the SIE and Series 7, alongside Life and Health insurance and Real Estate Salesperson resources. The home page labels this "Independent prep for FINRA & NASAA exams" and says that content was updated in January 2026.

The AI tutor. The site says its AI agents, built using Claude Code, mentor learners as they study. The tutor, called "your AI study companion", offers four actions on any topic: Quiz Me on This (AI-generated questions), Create Study Plan (a personalized plan for the topic), Explain Simply (a simpler explanation of a complex concept) and Practice Scenarios (real-world scenarios). Ten interactions a day are free; more require the optional AI credits listed in the footer. An "Ask AI" box also sits in the site search, and a "Help Me Choose" tool answers questions about which prep to pick.

Audio and video. The site runs 11 exam prep podcast shows on Spotify, among them general, nursing and healthcare, insurance, real estate, finance, business, tech, trades, government, engineering and food service shows, and points to Apple Podcasts and YouTube as well. It also offers CFP course videos and a study music playlist; the site's line is that it has "exam content in every format".

Free courses and other tools. The footer lists four free courses, Life Insurance Sales, Client Conversations, Day Trading Orientation and The Layoff Handbook, plus a glossary, an exam comparison tool, a books section, a blog and newsletter, and a live study activity page that shows popular practice exams and the countries visiting during the last 24 hours. The home page also mentions a community where candidates share tips.

Cost and terms

The core offer is free: "All study guides, practice questions, and explanations are free forever. Plus 10 free AI interactions daily." The footnote under the home page price comparison repeats it: all study materials free, AI interactions 10 free a day, upgrade for more. No price for the AI upgrade appears on the home page. Because nothing is sold for the core material, there is no pass guarantee or refund promise, and the site's own comparison page lists "No pass guarantee (it's free!)" and "Newer platform" as its two drawbacks. The footer links an affiliate disclosure, and the comparison pages carry outbound links to paid prep providers, which is worth knowing when reading the site's recommendations.

Who it suits and who it does not

OpenExamPrep suits a self-directed learner who wants to start practicing today without paying, particularly for the US securities and insurance licensing exams the founder took himself, where the material is most developed and dated. It is also a sensible first stop for someone in a niche field, such as a trade license, a maritime certificate or a citizenship test, who wants to see question styles before buying anything. Learners who study by ear get a choice of podcasts.

It suits less well a candidate who needs depth and accountability: coverage is uneven between domains, there are no live classes or instructors, and no pass guarantee. Anyone relying on the AI tutor heavily should expect to run past the 10 free daily interactions.