PMP vs CAPM vs PMI-ACP: Which One Fits You? (2026 Comparison)

For nine posts, this series has been about one thing: getting the PMP. But spend any time on PMI's site and two other names keep showing up, the CAPM and the PMI-ACP. Here are all three side by side, and who each one is really for.

In three lines — If you've led projects for three years or more (with a bachelor's degree), go for the PMP; if you're just starting out or switching careers, start with the CAPM; if you're a product owner or scrum master on an agile team, look at the PMI-ACP. From Korea, the PMP costs $405 for PMI members and $655 for everyone else, and keeping it takes 60 PDUs every three years. An active CAPM waives the PMP's 35 training hours, and an active PMP covers the PMI-ACP's experience requirement.

The comparison table (2026)

	PMP	CAPM	PMI-ACP
Who it's for	Experienced project leads	Entry level, no experience needed	Agile practitioners
Eligibility	24–60 months of experience (depending on education) + 35 hours of training	Secondary school diploma + 23 hours of PM education; age 18+	Secondary school diploma + 21 hours of agile training + 2 years of agile work in the last 5 (alternatives exist)
Exam	180 questions (170 scored + 10 unscored), 240 minutes, 2 breaks	150 questions (135 scored + 15 unscored), 3 hours, 1 break	120 questions (100 scored + 20 unscored), 3 hours, 1 break
Fee (member / non-member)	Korea $405 / $655; US $425 / $675	$225 / $300	$435 / $495
Retake (member / non-member)	$275 / $375	$150 / $200	$335 / $395
To keep it (every 3 years)	60 PDUs	15 PDUs	30 PDUs
Latest update	New exam since 9 July 2026	Exam content outline from 2023	New exam since 8 November 2024

On paper the numbers look similar, but the three are aimed at quite different people. The PMP is for people who have led projects, the CAPM for people just getting started, and the PMI-ACP for people who work in agile teams. Let's take them one at a time.

PMP: for people who have led projects

This is the one I hold, so it's the one I can say the most about. As I wrote in Part 1, it isn't tied to a single industry or methodology. It tests whether you can lead a project while juggling people, process and business priorities.

Eligibility depends on your education

Highest education	Project leadership experience needed
Secondary school	60 months
Associate degree or vocational qualification (EQF level 5, new in 2026)	48 months
Bachelor's degree	36 months
PMI GAC-accredited degree	24 months

The experience has to fall within the last 10 years, and you also need 35 hours of project management training. An active CAPM waives those 35 hours.

The training rules get a little stricter soon. From 1 December 2026, live classes only count if they come from a PMI Authorized Training Partner (ATP), a China REP or an accredited higher-education program. Self-paced courses from any provider still count. Books and practice exams on their own never do.

How to write up your experience, and what happens if you're audited, is covered in Part 4.

The exam: new since 9 July 2026

The new PMP exam is 180 questions (170 scored, 10 unscored) in 240 minutes, with two 10-minute breaks. The domains are People 33%, Process 41% and Business Environment 26%. Roughly 40% of the questions are predictive and 60% are agile or hybrid. Part 5 goes through everything that changed.

For the record, I took the old version (180 questions, 230 minutes) on 3 July, just before the switch.

Fees: $405 / $655 from Korea

PMI's PMP page as seen from Korea: member price $405, full price $655.

PMI's store prices vary by region. The same exam costs $425 for members and $675 for non-members in the US store. I paid the $405 member price on 12 June 2026, plus $40.50 tax, so $445.50 in total. The whole process from payment to booking at Pearson VUE is in Part 3.

A retake costs $275 for members and $375 for non-members. And once you pass, you need 60 PDUs every three years. I'll show you my actual plan for that in the next post.

CAPM: the entry-level option

The CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management) is the one you can take with no experience at all. You need a secondary school diploma, 23 hours of project management education, and to be at least 18.

The exam is 150 questions (135 scored, 15 unscored) in three hours, with one break, and it's based on a 2023 exam content outline. It costs $225 for members and $300 for non-members, retakes are $150 and $200, and you keep it with 15 PDUs every three years.

To me, the CAPM's real value is as a bridge to the PMP. An active CAPM waives the PMP's 35 hours of training. If you don't have the experience yet but want the PMP someday, getting the CAPM first and building experience along the way is a perfectly good route.

It's a good fit if you are:

• A student or a new graduate starting out
• Moving into project management from another role
• Already working on projects, but not yet at the PMP's experience bar (36 months with a bachelor's degree, for example)

PMI-ACP: for people on agile teams

The PMI-ACP (PMI Agile Certified Practitioner) is for agile practitioners. Think scrum masters, product owners and agile team members.

To apply, you need a secondary school diploma, 21 hours of agile training, and two years of agile work experience within the last five years. The experience part can be replaced by one of these:

• One year of agile experience plus a PMI GAC-accredited degree
• One year of agile experience plus an agile certification from another body
• An active PMP

The exam changed on 8 November 2024. It's 120 questions (100 scored, 20 unscored) in three hours, with one break. The domains are Mindset 28%, Leadership 25%, Product 19% and Delivery 28%, so mindset and leadership together make up more than half. It costs $435 for members and $495 for non-members, retakes are $335 and $395, and it takes 30 PDUs every three years to keep.

The detail worth noticing is the last line of that list. An active PMP covers the PMI-ACP's experience requirement. If you want to go deeper into agile after the PMP, it's a natural next step.

Which one should you pick?

No need to overthink it. Start from where you are right now.

Where you are now	Pick	Why
You've led projects for 3+ years (with a bachelor's degree)	PMP	Covers predictive, agile and hybrid work, and it's widely recognized
You're a student, a new graduate or changing careers	CAPM	No experience needed; waives the PMP's 35 training hours later
You have some experience, but not enough for the PMP	CAPM	Build the basics while your experience catches up
You're a product owner, scrum master or agile team member	PMI-ACP	Focused on agile mindset, leadership, product and delivery
You already hold the PMP and want to go deeper into agile	PMI-ACP	An active PMP covers the experience requirement

One thing to remember: the three-year figure assumes a bachelor's degree. With a secondary school diploma, the PMP asks for 60 months, or five years.

If you're in between

If you work on an agile team and have also led projects for more than three years, either one works. Choose the PMP if you want the broad, widely recognized credential, or the PMI-ACP if you want to show agile expertise specifically. And since the PMP takes care of the PMI-ACP's experience requirement, doing the PMP first isn't a bad order.

The three can also line up like this:

CAPM (while you build experience) → PMP (35 training hours waived) → PMI-ACP (experience requirement covered)

Why I chose the PMP

My reasons were simple. I had been leading projects in e-commerce and global software delivery for more than five years, so the experience requirement wasn't an issue. And I wanted something broad, not tied to one methodology, that people recognize anywhere in the world. That was the PMP.

If you lead projects without a "project manager" title, I'll cover why the PMP can matter even more for you in Part 13.

Up next: the three years after you pass

It took me seven weeks to get the PMP, but keeping it runs in three-year cycles. The PMP needs 60 PDUs every three years, the PMI-ACP 30 and the CAPM 15. In the next post, I'll share my first PDU approval email and my plan for earning 60 PDUs over three years.

Next: My 3-Year, 60-PDU Plan to Keep the PMP

Frequently asked questions

Do I need the CAPM before I can take the PMP?+

No. The CAPM is not a prerequisite for the PMP. If you meet the experience requirement for your education level (36 months with a bachelor's degree, for example) and have 35 hours of training, you can apply for the PMP directly. An active CAPM does waive those 35 hours, though.

Does an active PMP count toward the PMI-ACP?+

Yes. An active PMP satisfies the PMI-ACP agile experience requirement (two years within the last five). You still need a secondary school diploma and 21 hours of agile training.

How much does the PMP exam cost?+

As of 2026, it is $405 for PMI members and $655 for non-members from Korea, and $425 and $675 in the US store. In June 2026 I paid the $405 member price plus $40.50 tax, $445.50 in total.

What does it take to keep each certification?+

PDUs every three years: 60 for the PMP, 30 for the PMI-ACP and 15 for the CAPM. The PMP renewal fee is $60 for members and $150 for non-members.

Is PMI membership worth it?+

For the PMP, yes. From Korea, the member discount on the exam is $250 and membership costs $139, so the discount alone covers it. For the CAPM and PMI-ACP the discounts are $75 and $60, so the other member benefits need to make up the difference.

Sources

• PMI: Project Management Professional (PMP)
• PMI: Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
• PMI: PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)
• PMI: 2026 PMP Examination Content Outline (PDF)
• PMI: Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) Handbook (PDF)