Although the actual costs involved in preparing for and obtaining a certification can vary widely, by recognizing that only a small set of tools applies to each exam and unitizing the costs involved, it is pretty easy to get a handle on certification costs and budgets. The basic items involved can be categorized quickly as follows:

Exams: The vendors and organizations that offer IT certification usually publish exam costs on their web sites. Such exams seldom cost less than $100, and I am unaware of any such exams that cost more than $1,250. By adding up costs for individual exams required, it is easy to calculate this cost.

Practice tests: Most practice tests cost somewhere between $50 and $100, although such prices do go up for more expensive exams. Based on my own experience and common wisdom among certification candidates, I recommend that prospective candidates obtain at least one set of practice tests as part of their arsenal of preparation materials for any certification exam. An average practice test costs $70, so thats what I recommend you use for budgeting purposes (unless you go shopping and find that this average is too low or too high for your exam of choice).

Study materials: An average study guide costs between $50 and $70; an average Exam Cram costs about $30. On a per-exam basis, it is not unreasonable to budget $80 for printed materials for each such exam. Those who prefer CBTs should add $150 $200 per exam, but I still recommend purchasing at least one book for every exam you take.

Training options: For online training, candidates can spend anywhere from $150 to as much as $1,500 per exam topic. Classroom training generally starts at about $1,500 per topic and goes up from there. Boot camps cost upward of $5,000 to as much as $15,000, but also offer very high pass rates, which means you can expect to come home certified if you meet the providers preclass experience and preparation requirements.

Miscellany: Flash cards, audiotapes, and the software and hardware necessary to build an in-house test lab are not uncommon among certification candidates. Take care of the primary elements first; then let the availability of funds help you select any miscellany you might choose.

In more concrete terms, the preceding information makes it easy to calculate that preparing for a "typical" certification exam is unlikely to cost less than $275 per exam. This figure is based on the most common exam fee ($125), the cost of a study guide and an Exam Cram ($80), and the costs of a typical practice test ($70). Thus, for a four-exam certification such as the Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA), for example, costs are unlikely to be lower than $1,100 when all these items are included. Of this expenditure, $500 goes for exams and the other $600 goes for books and practice tests.

If you plan to include online training, CBT, or classroom training in your personal preparation program, simply add those costs to the other costs already mentioned above. Again, this makes it relatively easy to create a budget for your program of choice after you identify all the individual costs involved.
Given the particular elements you choose to include in your preparation materials and the costs of the exams your program requires, you can establish the costs that will be required. Lest these numbers seem too forbidding, let me hasten to add two more pieces of information:

Numerous sources of loans for IT certification support are available, as are more limited government-backed grants and loans. By pacing your exams and controlling costs as much as possible, most entry- and intermediate-level certifications are not terribly expensive.