How Much Does Boson ExSim Cost? The 2026 Price Breakdown
The short answer: $99.00 for a one-year subscription, per certification - and it auto-renews. That is the number most comparisons quote. The part they leave out is the word subscription, and for a lot of candidates that turns out to be the number that matters.
What $99 actually buys
ExSim-Max is priced per certification, not per account. Buying for CCNA does not give you CISSP. What differs between products is how much you get for the same $99:
| ExSim-Max product | Price | What's included | Per exam / year |
|---|---|---|---|
| CCNA 200-301 | $99 / year | 5 practice exams, 370 questions | $19.80 |
| CISSP | $99 / year | 6 full-length exams, 900 questions | $16.50 |
| CCNP ENCOR 350-401 | $99 / year | Full-length exams for the core exam | — |
| Bundles (ExSim-Max + NetSim) | from $119 / year | Practice exams plus the network simulator | — |
Figures from Boson's product pages, 3 August 2026. The CISSP product is better value per exam than the CCNA one at the same headline price - worth knowing if you are buying both.
The renewal is the real cost
The licence runs twelve months and renews automatically unless you cancel. For a candidate who books, studies and passes inside a few months, $99 is $99. For everyone else it compounds:
| Scenario | Boson | A one-time purchase |
|---|---|---|
| Pass within the first year | $99 | one payment |
| Study slips past twelve months | $198 | one payment |
| Resit the following year | $198 | one payment |
| Second certification (e.g. CCNA then ENCOR) | $198 | one payment each |
| Come back in three years to recertify | $297 | still yours |
None of this is a criticism of the product - subscriptions are a normal way to sell software, and Boson lets you cancel. It is simply the question worth asking before you compare a subscription price against a one-time price as if they were the same kind of number.
Where Boson is genuinely the better buy
Three honest cases:
- You want the largest question bank. 900 CISSP questions is more than we offer, and if your study method is high-volume repetition that matters.
- You want the hardest possible rehearsal. ExSim-Max has a long-standing reputation for being harder than the real exam, which some candidates find is exactly the calibration they need.
- You are also buying NetSim. If you want the simulator anyway, the bundle at $119 is good value on both.
What we charge, and what that gets you
For comparison, stated plainly. A pack is $18 as a one-time purchase during the launch period and rises to $39 on 20 August 2026. There is no renewal - what you buy stays yours.
| Boson ExSim-Max | FigigExams | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $99 / year, per cert | $18 one-time (→ $39 from 20 Aug), per cert |
| Renews? | Yes, automatically | No - lifetime access |
| Cost over two years | $198 | $18 or $39, once |
| Try before you buy | Demo questions | A complete full-length exam, free |
| Explanations | Yes, detailed | Yes, on every item |
| Personalized coaching | No | Exam Coach names your weak concepts |
| Question volume | Larger | Smaller |
The difference that costs nothing to test is the free full exam. Boson asks you to commit $99 before you have seen a complete paper; you can sit a whole exam here first and decide afterwards.
Compare them with your own score, not a review
Take a complete practice exam free - all domains, an explanation on every item, and a coach that names your weak concepts. Then decide whether $99 a year is the right call for you. The code applies itself when you create the account.
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Free, no credit card. Studying something else? CISSP · CCNP ENCOR · Security+ each have their own free exam.
Per-certification comparisons
Side-by-side on question style, explanations and what you actually get, cert by cert:
- Boson ExSim CCNA alternative - 5 exams and 370 questions against ours
- Boson ExSim-Max for CISSP alternative - 6 exams and 900 questions against ours
- Boson ExSim CCNP ENCOR alternative
- Boson ExSim Security+ alternative
- Every CISSP practice exam ranked - including the ones we do not sell
Frequently asked questions
How much does Boson ExSim-Max cost?
$99.00 for a one-year subscription, per certification, and it auto-renews unless cancelled. Bundles with NetSim start around $119 per year. Checked 3 August 2026.
Is Boson ExSim a one-time purchase?
No - it is an annual subscription with auto-renewal. A second year is another $99 unless you cancel. That is the detail most price comparisons omit, and it is the one that decides the answer for anyone whose study runs long or who resits.
How many practice exams do you get?
It varies by product at the same $99. CCNA 200-301 includes five exams with 370 questions; CISSP includes six full-length exams with 900 questions. So the per-exam value differs quite a lot between products.
Is Boson ExSim worth it?
For question realism and explanation depth, it has earned its reputation, and if you want the hardest available rehearsal close to exam day it is a reasonable buy. Weigh two things: the annual renewal, and the fact that you commit before seeing a complete exam - Boson offers a demo rather than a full free test.
Is there a Boson ExSim discount or free version?
Boson runs periodic promotions and prices bundles lower than buying separately, but there is no standing discount and no free full exam - only demo questions. If a "free ExSim download" turns up in search results, it is pirated and usually out of date against the current blueprint.
Is Boson harder than the real exam?
Most candidates report yes, and Boson leans into that deliberately. It is a reasonable calibration strategy, but it does mean a middling ExSim score is not the same as a middling real-exam score - do not book or cancel a sitting on one practice result alone.