Is the SQE cheaper than the old LPC route?

Search "is the SQE cheaper than the LPC" and you'll mostly get a flat yes. That's true if you're only counting the exam fee. It gets less clear once you add a prep course, which is where most of the actual spending happens.

Here's the honest version: the SRA's assessment fees for the SQE are lower than what most people paid for the LPC. But SQE prep-course prices swing wildly, from a few hundred pounds to well over £15,000, and that range decides whether your total bill ends up cheaper or not.

The headline numbers

The SQE's assessment fees are set by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and are the same for everyone, regardless of which prep course you use. From September 2026, SQE1 and SQE2 together cost £5,092. That's the exam only, nothing else included.

The LPC worked differently. It was a taught course run by a university or private provider, with the fee covering both tuition and assessment bundled together over roughly one academic year. LPC course fees commonly ran into five figures, often somewhere in the £10,000 to £17,000 range depending on the provider and whether you studied full-time or part-time. Exact historical pricing varied by institution and year, so treat any single figure as a rough guide rather than a rule.

On that comparison alone, the SQE looks like a clear win. But it's an unfair comparison, because the LPC fee included your preparation and the SQE fee does not.

Why "assessment only" isn't the real comparison

The SQE splits into two separate things: a centrally set exam (SQE1 and SQE2), and however you choose to prepare for it. In theory, you can sit SQE1 and SQE2 having prepared entirely on your own with free or cheap materials, paying only the £5,092 SRA fee. Some candidates do exactly that, particularly on a resit or if they already have strong subject knowledge.

Most people don't, because SQE1 alone covers a huge volume of material, and prep providers commonly cite 300 to 400 hours of study as a rough benchmark for preparing properly (the SRA itself doesn't publish a fixed hours figure). That's a lot of structure to build from nothing, so most candidates pay for some kind of prep course, whether that's a full-service provider package or a cheaper self-study option.

This is where the real cost of the SQE route lives. Prep-course prices in 2026 span an enormous range:

• Budget or short-course options can start from around £500
• Mid-range providers like BARBRI sit in roughly the £5,500 to £5,900 bracket
• Full-service campus providers like BPP run from around £12,200 up to about £14,300
• The University of Law's LLM SQE1&2 range stretches from around £15,150 up to £18,850 depending on location, with shorter standalone SQE1 or SQE2 courses priced lower

So the honest range for SQE prep alone is roughly £500 to £18,850. Add the £5,092 assessment fee, and a self-funded SQE candidate could spend anywhere from about £5,600 to nearly £24,000, before travel, accommodation for exam days, or lost income while studying.

That's a genuinely wide spread, and it's why a single "SQE is cheaper" headline doesn't hold up well under scrutiny. Against that £24,000 upper end, an LPC fee of £10,000 to £17,000 doesn't look obviously worse. Against the £5,600 lower end, the SQE route is dramatically cheaper. Both are true, depending on which prep option you pick.

What the LPC total actually included

To compare fairly, it helps to remember what the LPC route paid for across its full length, not just the headline course fee.

1. A qualifying law degree, or a non-law degree plus a conversion course (the GDL, later PGDL), if you weren't a law graduate.
2. The LPC itself: one year of taught, provider-run study, assessed by the provider rather than a central regulator.
3. A training contract: two years at a firm, which for many candidates was salaried, so this stage wasn't a direct cost and could even bring in income.

The SQE route has a similar shape, just restructured. You still typically need a degree (any subject), often still do a conversion course in practice even though the SRA no longer requires one, sit SQE1 and SQE2, and complete two years of qualifying work experience (QWE), which like a training contract is usually paid work rather than a cost.

So the fairest comparison is: LPC course fee (tuition and assessment bundled) versus SQE assessment fee plus SQE prep-course fee. Everything else, the degree, the conversion course, the paid work stage, is broadly comparable across both routes and doesn't tip the scale much either way.

A rough side-by-side

• Course/assessment fee. LPC: roughly £10,000 to £17,000, bundled. SQE: £5,092 assessment fee, unbundled.
• Prep/tuition cost. LPC: included in the course fee above. SQE: £500 to £18,850, chosen separately.
• Work placement. LPC: training contract, usually salaried. SQE: QWE, usually salaried.

Treat the LPC figures as a general historical guide, not a precise number. Course fees moved year to year, much like SQE prep prices do now.

So is the SQE actually cheaper?

For the assessment itself, yes, clearly. £5,092 is less than what most LPC providers charged for their combined course and assessment fee.

For the total cost of qualifying, it depends almost entirely on which prep course you choose. A lean, self-directed or short-course option makes the SQE route meaningfully cheaper than the LPC ever was. A full-service campus provider at the top of the range can land your total close to, or even above, typical LPC-era pricing.

The nuance worth remembering: the SQE didn't so much make qualifying cheaper as unbundle the cost. You now choose separately how much to spend on preparation, rather than paying one course fee that bundled tuition and assessment together. That gives budget-conscious candidates real control they didn't have under the LPC. It also means "the SQE is cheaper" isn't a fact you can rely on without checking your own numbers.

If you want the fee side confirmed directly, the SRA's cost page has the current figures, and it's worth reading alongside what the SQE actually costs for a fuller breakdown of where the money goes. If you're weighing timing as well as cost, the September 2026 fee change is worth checking too, since booking before the rise saves a small but real amount.

Building your own comparison

The only comparison that actually matters is the one built around your situation: whether you need a conversion course, which prep provider fits your budget and learning style, and how long you can study around work or other commitments.

A free SQE study planner can help you map SQE1 prep, SQE2 prep and QWE on one timeline, so you can see how your study length affects which prep options are realistic. It's also worth checking current SQE sitting dates early, since your target sitting affects how much prep time you actually have, and therefore what kind of course makes sense for your budget.

Frequently asked questions

Is the SQE cheaper than the LPC? The SQE's assessment fee (£5,092 from September 2026) is lower than most LPC course fees, which commonly ran into five figures. But the SQE fee doesn't include preparation, and SQE prep courses range from around £500 to nearly £19,000. Total cost depends heavily on which prep option you choose.

What's the total cost of the SQE route? Assessment fees alone total £5,092 from September 2026. Add a prep course from roughly £500 to £18,850, and total self-funded cost typically lands between about £5,600 and £24,000, before travel or lost income while studying.

Why did the LPC cost more than the SQE assessment fee? The LPC bundled tuition and assessment into one provider-set course fee, typically £10,000 to £17,000. The SQE unbundles these: a fixed, lower assessment fee, plus a prep spend you choose separately, which can be much lower or, at the top end, similar to LPC pricing.

Do I need a prep course for the SQE, or can I self-study? You can sit SQE1 and SQE2 having self-studied, and some candidates do, particularly on a resit. But prep providers commonly cite 300 to 400 hours of study as a rough benchmark for SQE1 alone, and most candidates find some structured prep helpful for covering that much material.

Is the LPC still an option if it works out cheaper for me? Not for new starters. The SQE has been the default route since September 2021, and the LPC is only available to people already on that route under transitional arrangements. Cost isn't a reason the SRA will let you start the LPC now.