How does ISTQB software tester certification compare to other tester certifications? If you are looking for the comparison of software testers, please see the Testing Tiers™ software tester ranking information at AT*SQA. Based on comments from software testers and their managers, we know: Why companies choose ISTQB Why managers choose ISTQB Why software testers choose ISTQB But what are the fundamental differences between the first levels of each of these software tester certifications? Which software testing certification should you choose? This table details some of the differences between CTFL, CSTE and CSTP: Company / Organization Providing Certification Certified Tester, Foundation Level (CTFL) International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) Certified in Testing Essentials (AT*Essentials) Association for Testing & Software Quality Assurance (AT*SQA) Certified Software Tester (CSTE) Software Certifications (a division of the Quality Assurance Institute) Certified Software Test Professional (CSTP) International Institute for Software Testing (a division of Software Dimensions Consulting and Training, Inc.) U.S. Volunteer Board Certified Tester, Foundation Level (CTFL) American Software Testing Qualifications Board (ASTQB) Certified in Testing Essentials (AT*Essentials) Association for Testing & Software Quality Assurance (AT*SQA) Certified Software Tester (CSTE) N/A Certified Software Test Professional (CSTP) N/A Type of Organization Certified Tester, Foundation Level (CTFL) Not for Profit Certified Tester, Testing Essentials (AT*Essentials) Not for Profit Certified Software Tester (CSTE) Private – For-Profit Certified Software Test Professional (CSTP) Private – For-Profit Number of certified individuals for all levels of certification Certified Tester, Foundation Level (CTFL) Approximately 700,000 (CTFL and CTAL; as of October 2019) Certified in Testing Essentials (AT*Essentials) Numbers are not announced publicly Certified Software Tester (CSTE) Approximately 52,000 (CSTE and CSQA; as of October 2019 from their About page) Certified Software Test Professional (CSTP) Approximately 3,000 (CSTP and CTM; as of August 2011 – numbers are not typically announced publicly) Education required to be taken from company/organization providing certification? Certified Tester, Foundation Level (CTFL) No Certified Tester, Testing Essentials (AT*Essentials) No Certified Software Tester (CSTE) No Certified Software Test Professional (CSTP) Yes Sells training courses for their certification? Certified Tester, Foundation Level (CTFL) No Certified Tester, Testing Essentials (AT*Essentials) No Certified Software Tester (CSTE) Yes Certified Software Test Professional (CSTP) Yes Provides free syllabus/body of knowledge and glossary? Certified Tester, Foundation Level (CTFL) Free 76 page syllabus and free 43 page glossary Certified Tester, Testing Essentials (AT*Essentials) Yes Certified Software Tester (CSTE) Free 10 page body of knowledge Certified Software Test Professional (CSTP) Free 1 page body of knowledge Required Fees Certified Tester, Foundation Level (CTFL) $199 to $229 Certified Tester, Testing Essentials (AT*Essentials) $199 to $229 Certified Software Tester (CSTE) $350 to $420 Certified Software Test Professional (CSTP) Cost of training + $120 graduation fee. The cost of training is approximately $5,500 for all 10 days of training if courses are attended in a public setting and it goes down to approximately $2,400 if courses are held at your company site. Recertification Required for First Level? Certified Tester, Foundation Level (CTFL) No Certified in Testing Essentials (AT*Essentials) Yes – continuing education such as software testing micro-credentials every 3 years Certified Software Tester (CSTE) Yes – every 3 years Certified Software Test Professional (CSTP) Yes – every 3 years Additional Levels of Certification Available Certified Tester, Foundation Level (CTFL) Many – See Testing Career Path Certified in Testing Essentials (AT*Essentials) DevOps Testing & IoT and Mobile Device Testing plus many software testing micro-credentials. Certified Software Tester (CSTE) Advanced (ASTE) Master (MSTE) Certified Software Test Professional (CSTP) Certified Test Manager (CTM) Note: The information used to create this table came from the public websites and press releases for CTFL, AT*Essentials, CSTE and CSTP as of April 2010 and later. We cannot guarantee the completeness or accuracy of this information. Please contact ASTQB with any updated information. If you would like more information about ISTQB software tester certification, register for the free newsletter or contact us right now.
