StreetCred comparison
Corporate Finance Institute (FMVA) vs StreetCred
How Corporate Finance Institute's FMVA and StreetCred differ: an online certification program sold as an annual membership, and scored Excel case practice.
Prices and features checked by StreetCred and reviewed by Lewis Grafton
The short answer
Corporate Finance Institute (CFI) runs the FMVA, a self-paced online certification program with an exam in each course, sold through an annual membership. StreetCred is practice rather than a certification: you build case workbooks in desktop Excel and get each upload scored cell by cell. Choose CFI for a broad certified curriculum and StreetCred for scored modelling practice.
| Feature | Corporate Finance Institute (FMVA) | StreetCred |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA) certification program: 44 courses covering three-statement modelling, DCF valuation and scenario analysis. CFI calls it its most popular program.Source 1: Corporate Finance Institute: FMVA certification program | Scored financial modelling practice: 300+ real-world cases, each with a free quiz. On the Desk subscription, you choose deals by model type and each deal assigns you a case to build and get scored. An AI voice interviewer covers mock interviews and case interviews.Source 5: StreetCred: practice case library |
| Format | Self-paced and 100% online; CFI says most learners finish in 100–120 hours. Case study challenges, guided simulations and downloadable Excel templates.Source 1: Corporate Finance Institute: FMVA certification program | Case uploads: download the case workbook, build the model in desktop Excel, recalculate, save and upload the .xlsx.Source 5: StreetCred: practice case library |
| What is assessed, and how | An online exam in each course, with multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank and Excel-based questions, which you can retake.Source 1: Corporate Finance Institute: FMVA certification program | Your own workbook, scored cell by cell against an answer key: outcomes, live formulas (a hardcoded output is flagged) and number-format and model hygiene. |
| Feedback on your own workbook | The Full-Immersion plan includes personalised financial model review and feedback, an AI Tutor and up to 5 one-on-one expert questions a week.Source 2: Corporate Finance Institute: pricing | An exact scored report on every upload: total score, readiness by module, top deductions and per-cell feedback. Retry as often as you like, subject to rate limits. |
| Interview practice | Getting Hired in Finance: a 2-hour self-paced course with interview preparation and a virtual interview exercise. The page offers free enrolment.Source 3: Corporate Finance Institute: Getting Hired in Finance | A spoken AI mock interview tailored to your target role, and Present to the MD, a case interview on your own model once your best model score on that case is 80 or more. 3 AI interviews a month on a free account; unlimited AI interviews on the Desk. Feedback is AI judgement and never changes a model score. |
| List price and pricing model | Annual membership with the FMVA included. List prices as at 5 Nov 2026: Self-Study US$497 per year and Full-Immersion US$847 per year, billed annually and renewing each year unless you turn auto-renewal off. The pricing page also showed a discount when checked; see it for the current price.Source 2: Corporate Finance Institute: pricing | The Desk: US$35 per month, cancel anytime. Every two weeks, choose three deals by model type (fewer only if eligible cases run short). Each deal assigns you one random case of that type, and you get its Excel model scored. A free account includes a quiz on every case and the 30-minute diagnostic. The Intro Pack is a separate one-off US$25.Source 6: StreetCred: pricing |
| Certification | Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA), awarded as a digital certificate.Source 1: Corporate Finance Institute: FMVA certification program | None. StreetCred is practice and feedback, not a certification. |
| Best for | Students, career changers and working professionals, with no formal prerequisites. CFI links the credential to FP&A, investment banking, private equity, corporate development and equity research roles.Source 1: Corporate Finance Institute: FMVA certification program | Candidates who know the method and want to practise building models, and see exactly where a workbook breaks, before a modelling test. |
These prices are not like for like. A CFI membership buys a year of access to a course library and its certification exams. StreetCred's US$35 per month buys scored practice, and you can cancel anytime. Compare what you would actually use, not the two numbers.
When is Corporate Finance Institute the better choice?
- You want a certification across a broad finance curriculum: the FMVA spans three-statement modelling, DCF valuation and scenario analysis.
- You want a large course library: the Self-Study plan includes on-demand access to 250+ courses and 15 specialisation programs, among them the Investment Banking & Private Equity Modeling Specialization.
- You want feedback on your models: the Full-Immersion plan includes personalised financial model review and feedback, plus an AI Tutor.
- You need continuing-education credits: the Self-Study plan lists 575+ CPE/CPD credits.
When does StreetCred fit?
- You have the theory and want to build: complete a realistic case from a brief in desktop Excel and upload the workbook.
- You would rather pay monthly: the Desk is US$35 per month, cancel anytime.
- You want to know exactly what broke: the report names the deductions and the cells, not just a final number.
- You want process marked as well as answers: a correct value hardcoded into an output cell is flagged, and number formats count towards model hygiene.
- You want to start free: every case in the library has a quiz, free with an account and no card needed, and the diagnostic is a real 30-minute three-statement model with 48 scored checks.
- You want to rehearse the interview out loud: StreetCred's AI voice interviewer runs a mock interview tailored to your target role, and Present to the MD, where you defend a model you built, once your best model score on that case is 80 or more. You get 3 AI interviews a month on a free account and unlimited AI interviews on the Desk.
How do you use CFI and StreetCred together?
The FMVA covers three-statement modelling and DCF valuation. Once you have worked through those courses, build a DCF on StreetCred from a blank forecast and see whether it ties out.
StreetCred's Cedarbrook Beverages DCF, one of the three cases in the one-off US$25 Intro Pack, scores the whole chain, from operating drivers to unlevered free cash flow, a WACC you calculate, terminal value by both perpetuity growth and exit multiple, and discounted outputs, across 57 checks.
Frequently asked questions
Is StreetCred an alternative to the FMVA?
Not a like-for-like one. The FMVA is a certification program built from courses and course exams; StreetCred scores models you build yourself and gives no certification. You can learn from a course and practise on StreetCred before a modelling test.
How much does the FMVA cost?
The FMVA is included in CFI's annual memberships. As at 5 Nov 2026 the list prices were US$497 per year (Self-Study) and US$847 per year (Full-Immersion), and the pricing page also showed a discount. Check its pricing page for the current price.
Is StreetCred a certification like the FMVA?
No. StreetCred is practice and feedback: an exact scored report on every workbook you upload. It is not a certification and does not promise interviews or offers.
Can StreetCred score the models I built in CFI courses?
No. StreetCred scores its own case workbooks, each against that case's answer key. Bring the method you learnt, then build the StreetCred case from its template and upload it.
Sources
- Corporate Finance Institute: FMVA certification program, checked 5 Nov 2026
- Corporate Finance Institute: pricing, checked 5 Nov 2026
- Corporate Finance Institute: Getting Hired in Finance, checked 5 Nov 2026
- Corporate Finance Institute: Investment Banking & Private Equity Modeling Specialization, checked 5 Nov 2026
- StreetCred: practice case library, checked 5 Nov 2026
- StreetCred: pricing, checked 5 Nov 2026
StreetCred wrote this page and is one of the products compared. Every fact about another provider comes from that provider's own public pages, linked under Sources with the date they were checked. Prices are list prices and leave out any offer running at the time. Wall Street Prep, Breaking Into Wall Street, BIWS, Corporate Finance Institute, CFI and FMVA are trademarks of their respective owners. StreetCred is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of them.
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