United States
Hong KongHarder than the ExCPT?
Comparative difficulty between the two is not something we can establish from published data.
- What can be said is what PTCB publishes about its own examination.
On this page6 sections
A question asked constantly and answered confidently by people who cannot know.
Why nobody can tell you reliably
- PTCB reports a 69% CPhT pass rate for 2025, but that figure alone does not establish relative difficulty
- Different awarding bodies scale and score differently, so a comparison of standards is not straightforward
- The PTCE outline changed on 6 January 2026, so any older comparison describes a different paper
PTCB reports a 2025 CPhT pass rate, but comparing it with another credential would require comparable candidate groups, years and scoring methods. Those figures alone cannot tell one candidate which exam will be harder.
What PTCB does publish
Ninety questions administered with 80 scored, 110 minutes, a scaled pass of 1,400 on 1,000 to 1,600, USD 129, at a Pearson VUE center, across four domains with published weights.
Compare that against the other body's own current published figures directly.
What is genuinely demanding about the PTCE
- Pace - about 73 seconds a question, the tightest of the exams we build for
- Breadth across four unrelated kinds of knowledge
- Calculations within Order Entry and Processing, alongside several other tested tasks
- A recent blueprint change that leaves much available material mis-weighted
The better question
Not which is harder but which your state board and employer recognize. If either names one, difficulty is irrelevant.
What difficulty even means here
Two exams can be equally demanding and fail different people. One that rewards recall suits a candidate with a good memory; one that rewards pace suits a fluent one. Asking which is harder in the abstract is asking which is harder for an average candidate who does not exist.
The comparison that would actually help
Sit a full-length timed practice paper for whichever one your state and employer recognize. Your own score against that specific paper tells you more than any comparison of the two examinations could.
Common questions
Is the PTCB exam harder than the ExCPT?
Not answerable reliably from pass rates alone. PTCB reports a 69% CPhT pass rate for 2025, but the exams have different populations and scoring.
Why can nobody compare them?
Different candidate groups and scoring, plus a 2026 PTCE outline change, make a simple comparison unsound.
What is demanding about the PTCE?
Pace at about 73 seconds a question, breadth, arithmetic, and stale material after the blueprint change.
What should I ask instead?
Which one your state board and employer recognize.
Where do I get reliable figures?
Each awarding body's own current page.