4th Class power engineering practice exams compared
Disclosure. We make SteamTicket. This comparison uses the providers’ own public pages, checked 6 November 2026. We have not purchased every paid plan. Prices and features can change. Question counts are publisher claims, not a quality score.
There is no single best pick. A practice bank does not establish exam eligibility and does not replace a qualifying course. Where another option fits you better, the notes below say so.
The short answer
There’s no single best pick. It depends on what you’re missing.
- Just want to see the question style? Start free. The SOPEEC sample questions are the official style guide. Then try a free 20-question set on our free practice test. BoilerIQ’s catalog lists 50 free questions on 4A and on 4B, while its homepage and 4A page also say try 20. Those pages do not agree, so this row does not treat either number as the tested free set.
- Lowest price for a single paper bought on its own: BoilerIQ, $49.99 with lifetime access.
- Free Part A bank: Pass 4 gives Part A free after an email sign-in.
- You want lessons and a tutor, not only questions: Power Engineering 101’s tutorial courses.
- You’re in a 4th Class program and want chapter quizzes that follow it: Full Steam Ahead, $99 per paper for a year.
- You need an ABSA-accepted course to qualify in Alberta: a practice bank won’t do that. Look at an accepted program, such as Power Engineering 101’s accepted 4th Class courses or a college program.
- You want both papers, one payment, a native iPhone app, and study that keeps working if your signal drops mid-session: that’s where SteamTicket fits. $99 for 4A and 4B together on web checkout. The Canadian App Store listing checked the same day shows that bundle at $99.99. You need a connection to open a course.
What the 4th Class exam actually is
You write two papers, 4A and 4B. Each is 100 multiple-choice questions in 3 hours. You need 65% on each, and you pass them separately. A 70 on A and a 62 on B means you rewrite B.
Passing the papers is not the certificate on its own. You still need the qualifying time or program your province asks for. In Alberta, read who can write the 4th Class exam before you book.
See the exam format and sources for the details we track.
What to compare before you pay
These are the five things that matter most. They’re also the columns in the table below.
- Price model. One payment you keep, a fixed term, or a subscription that renews. A subscription can be cheaper for a short sprint. It costs more if your study runs long.
- What’s free. Can you judge the questions before paying? Is an email or account needed?
- Format. Is there a timed 100-question mock on a 3-hour clock? That’s the closest thing to exam day.
- Where you can study. Browser only, a home-screen web app, or a store app. Does it keep working if the signal drops in the plant?
- Refunds. How many days, and what happens if you fail.
One more: teaching. Some tools only test you. Others teach the material. If you haven’t read the books yet, that matters more than any question count.
Comparison table
| Option | Price (CAD, before tax) | Free to try | 4A / 4B | Format | Platform | Refund / if you fail | Source, checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SteamTicket (ours) | Web checkout: $79 per paper, or $99 for both (discount codes don’t apply to the bundle). One-time, lifetime access. Canadian App Store listing shows Part A and Part B at $89.99 and the bundle at $99.99 | 20 questions per paper, no signup. That is the sample the site serves. It is not a 50-question 4th Class sample | Both. 596 questions (4A), 852 (4B) | Unit drills, adaptive SMART Quiz, timed 100-question / 3-hour mocks, a worked explanation on every question (the correct answer explained, not a walkthrough of every option) | Web, iOS app, Android on Google Play in Canada (for courses you own). Keeps working if your signal drops mid-session (needs a connection to open a course) | 30-day money-back guarantee on web purchases. Web purchases through Paddle: email support@steamticket.ca within 30 days. iOS purchases: refunds go through Apple. Google Play is not a purchase channel. Lifetime access, so a fail doesn’t end it | Pricing, free hub, App Store listing. 6 Nov 2026. 3rd Class, 1st Class, and All-Access iPhone amounts were not in the visible in-app list (UNVERIFIED) |
| BoilerIQ | $49.99 per part, plus applicable tax. Homepage says lifetime access | The catalog says 50 free on 4A (1,300+ questions) and 50 free on 4B (1,400+ questions). The homepage says try 20, and at least 20 per exam. The 4A page has a try-20 button and a heading that says 50 free Class 4A practice questions. Do not treat one of those as the tested free set. Free study planner | Both. Publisher states 1,300+ (4A) and 1,400+ (4B) | Timed, SOPEEC-aligned practice exams. Catalog describes a full mock as 100 questions in 3 hours, using a paper-specific mock credit (credit price not confirmed). A PowerPrep monthly price was not on the pages checked this pass, so it is not listed | Web catalog. Homepage and the 4A page say “Get the BoilerIQ app.” A store listing was not opened on this pass, so app details are not stated | Mock-exam credits are non-refundable and expire six months after purchase (their exam catalog). No refund policy for exam purchases found on their public pages | Catalog, 4A page, homepage. 6 Nov 2026 |
| TicketPrep | $69 per paper, or $119 for both (All-Access, which also covers their other trades). One-time, 120 days of access | Paper pages: five free questions, no account. An optional email unlocks the written explanations. Separate unit pages publish short samples. Those unit samples are not added here into one free-bank number | Both. Publisher states 550 per paper | Practice by paper and unit, timed 100-question / 3-hour mocks, written explanations that cover every option | Pricing and paper pages describe web checkout. A store app was not part of this check | 7-day money-back guarantee on a first purchase. If you don’t pass, 120 more days of access (refund.html. /refunds/ returned 404) | 4A, 4B, pricing. 6 Nov 2026 |
| Pass 4 | Part A free. Part B C$193.50 for 6 months (paid once), or C$43 a month | All of Part A, after an email sign-in link | Both. Publisher states 1,928 (A) and 1,718 (B) | Chapter quizzes, explanation on every choice, diagrams, chapter podcasts. Homepage states timed practice exams are 100 questions, 3 hours, and 65% | Web, with an email sign-in link. A Podcasts section is linked from the site. A store app was not part of this check | 6-month plan: full refund if you ask within 14 days of paying. Monthly plan: no refunds, cancel any time (their terms page) | Homepage, terms. 6 Nov 2026 |
| Full Steam Ahead | $99 per paper for one year. Charged once, no auto-renew | One free timed exam on one paper (25, 50 or 100 questions), email verification required | Both | Adaptive practice exams, chapter quizzes that follow a 4th Class program, explanation on every miss. | Web, any device (browser-based) | 7 days on any charge. Fail and they extend access at no charge (their terms) | 4th Class, free exam, terms. 6 Nov 2026 |
| Power Engineering 101, practice exams | $75 a month per exam, renews until cancelled | Free resources section on their site | Both | A random 100-question exam each attempt, unlimited retakes. Their FAQ says the time limit has been removed | Web | Cancel any time. Access runs to the end of the paid month | Practice price, FAQ. 6 Nov 2026 |
| Power Engineering 101, courses | 4A or 4B tutorial: $675 + GST each. ABSA-accepted 4A or 4B: $850 + GST each | n/a | Both | Study guides, chapter practice exams, tutor support | Web | Pass guarantee (money back) on tutorial courses, not on the ABSA-accepted ones (their FAQ) | FAQ price sheet. 6 Nov 2026 |
| PE Practice | Subscription. Their refund policy says the term is currently bi-weekly. Current price not confirmed on a public page we could read | Free 2-question-per-unit sample for each class, free account needed | Both | Custom unit tests, timed 100 / 3-hour simulation, weak-unit analytics | Web app you can install. Exam sets can be downloaded for offline practice | Refund policy: billing errors, and an unused renewal if you ask within 14 days. After a fail, extra access if you meet their usage rules. The 4th Class catalog page also says a full refund if you don’t pass. Those two public statements disagree, so confirm which applies before you pay | Homepage, refund policy, 4th Class catalog. 6 Nov 2026. Dollar amount UNVERIFIED |
| PE4 Exam Pro | $49.99 a month per paper (4A or 4B), per the App Store listing. The same listing also shows one-time flashcard and game packs | Free download. The listing describes some no-subscription game content. What else is free inside was not purchased on this pass | Both | Question bank, flashcards, AI explanations, timed mock exams, Hazardly game mode | iPhone and iPad | Apple’s refund process | App Store listing. 6 Nov 2026 |
| OpenExamPrep | Free | 100+ free 4A questions, no registration | 4A page checked | Questions with explanations | Web | n/a | 4A page. 6 Nov 2026 |
| SOPEEC sample questions | Free | Yes | Both | Short official samples of the question style. SOPEEC says they aren’t intended as study material | n/a | SOPEEC 4th Class samples. 6 Nov 2026 | |
| Free textbooks (NAIT / SAIT / BCIT) | Free | Yes | All 24 units | The full 4th Class textbook set | n/a | Our textbook page. The college release pages were not re-opened on this pass (UNVERIFIED) |
Question counts are each publisher’s own claim. A bigger number doesn’t mean better questions. Try a free set and judge for yourself.
Who each one fits
SteamTicket
Fits you if you want both papers for one payment ($99 on web checkout), an iPhone app, and study that keeps working if your signal drops mid-session at the plant (you need a connection to open a course). You get every unit of AB-054, a timed 100-question mock, and a worked explanation on each answer. The SMART Quiz puts your weak units first.
Where it falls short: it’s not the cheapest for a single paper (BoilerIQ is $49.99, and TicketPrep is $69 against our $79 on web checkout), and Pass 4 Part A is free. Our no-signup sample is 20 questions per paper. TicketPrep’s paper pages offer five with no account. Our 4A + 4B bundle is $99 on the web. It has fewer questions per paper than some publishers claim. It has no video lessons or live tutor. It isn’t an ABSA-accepted course. The Android app only opens courses you already bought. Try 20 questions free.
BoilerIQ
The lowest price we found for a single paper bought on its own: $49.99 plus tax, and the homepage says lifetime access. A good fit if you only need one paper and want to keep it. The free-question wording does not agree across their pages: the catalog says 50 free on 4A and on 4B, the homepage says try 20, and the 4A page uses both. Use the links in the table and judge the sample yourself. They also offer a free study planner. Their mock-exam credits are non-refundable and expire after six months, and we couldn’t find a refund policy for exam purchases on their public pages.
TicketPrep
Fits you if you want explanations that walk through every option, not only the right one, and a single paper at $69 for 120 days, $10 less than our $79 on web checkout. The paper pages offer five free questions with no account. An optional email unlocks those explanations. Separate unit pages add short samples, and this page does not add those into one free-bank number. Both papers are $119 for 120 days, $20 more than our $99 bundle on web checkout (checked 6 November 2026). Access runs out after 120 days unless you fail and claim their extra 120 days. Their pages describe web checkout. The refund page is a 7-day window on a first purchase. It also covers Red Seal and other trade exams under one plan, which helps if you’re writing more than one.
Pass 4
Hard to beat on price for Part A, which is free after an email sign-in. Explanations cover every answer choice, and there are diagrams and narrated chapter podcasts. Their homepage now states the timed practice exams are 100 questions, 3 hours, and 65%, which matches the paper length described above.
Full Steam Ahead
Fits you if you’re in a 4th Class program and want chapter quizzes that keep pace with it. Adaptive practice leans toward your weak topics, and every miss gets an explanation. Their site says it was built by a First Class Power Engineer who taught these papers and marked them as a provincial examiner. It’s $99 per paper for a year, charged once, with a 7-day refund on any charge. It’s browser-based.
Power Engineering 101
Fits you if you want a structured course with tutors, or if you need an ABSA-accepted 4th Class course for Alberta eligibility. It’s the most expensive route here. The practice exams alone are $75 a month.
PE Practice
Fits you if you like detailed analytics and a short, intense study window. Short subscriptions can cost less than a one-time bank if you’re done in a few weeks. They cost more if you study for months.
PE4 Exam Pro
Fits you if you study on an iPhone and like flashcards, audio and game-style review. Monthly pricing per paper adds up over a long study plan.
Free options
Fit everyone as a starting point. Read the free textbooks for the units. NAIT, SAIT and BCIT took over the former PanGlobal books and released them free under Creative Commons. Use the SOPEEC samples to see the style. Quizlet sets are popular on Reddit, but they’re made by users, quality varies, and none of them time you on a full 100.
How we’d use them together
Read the textbook unit first. Drill that unit’s questions. When most units are done, sit one full 100-question mock on a 3-hour clock. Then go back to the units you missed, and only those. Our guides for 4A and 4B walk through what each paper covers, and how long to study has rough timelines.
FAQ
What is the best 4th Class power engineering practice exam?
Is there a free 4th Class practice exam?
Are any of these the real exam questions?
Will a practice exam make me eligible to write in Alberta?
How many hours is the 4th Class exam?
Do I need both 4A and 4B?
Is a subscription or a one-time price better?
Are the web price and the iPhone price the same?
What is the refund if the practice bank is not a fit?
How to test a free sample
- Work one calculation yourself before you open the explanation.
- Read the explanation and see whether it shows the working, or only the letter of the right answer.
- Check the format against the paper you will write: 100 questions, 3 hours, 65% on each of 4A and 4B.
- Notice the workflow: account or not, timer or not, and whether you can get back to the units you missed.
What changed on 6 November 2026
TicketPrep’s free entry on this page had said 75 questions per paper. The current 4A and 4B pages say five free questions with no account, and an optional email unlocks the explanations. Pass 4’s timed exams had been described here as 2 hours. The homepage now says 100 questions, 3 hours, and 65%, and the publisher’s Part A count on that page is 1,928. BoilerIQ’s free count is left as a conflict between the catalog, the homepage, and the 4A page. SteamTicket’s 4th Class sample remains 20 questions per paper.
Try before you pick
Every option above with a free tier is worth a look. Ours is 20 questions per paper, no signup, with a score against 65% and a list of your weak units.
Start the free 4th Class sample
Try the class you’re studying
Free 20-question samples, no signup. These open the same sample the rest of the site uses: 4A · 4B
More comparisons: all comparisons · vs Power Engineering 101 · vs PE Practice · vs Full Steam Ahead · vs PE Exam Pro · how we write questions · our question counts by unit · refund policy