PMP vs CPP: A New Approach to Certification

With project management now a core skill across nearly every industry, choosing the right certification can be a career-defining decision. Two standout options are the globally recognised Project Management Professional (PMP) and the increasingly adopted Certified Project Professional (CPP).

While both credentials validate project management expertise, they differ in purpose, structure, and audience. In this post, we break down the key differences between PMP and CPP to help you decide which path best aligns with your professional goals.

At a glance

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Eligibility requirements

PMP

• High school Diploma and 60 months/5 years of experience leading and managing projects within the past 8 years, OR
• Bachelor's degree and 36 months/3 years of experience leading and managing projects within the past 8 years, OR
• Bachelor's degree from a PMI-approved program and 24 months/2 years of experience leading and managing projects within the past 8 years, AND
• 35 hours of project management education/training. 

CPP

• 3 years of experience contributing to or leading projects, AND
• 30 hours of project management education/training. 

Why this matters

Let’s be honest. Academic requirements shouldn’t decide who gets certified as a project professional.

Some of the most accomplished leaders in history—Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg—never finished university. Under the PMP system, they’d have to do 2.5 times more project hours than someone with a degree just to qualify.

That’s not a merit-based system—that’s gatekeeping dressed up as standards.

And it gets worse.

If you didn’t finish high school (like Richard Branson or Quentin Tarantino)—even if you served 20 honourable years in the military, led teams, delivered complex operations, and rose to senior rank—you can never get your PMP. It doesn’t matter what you’ve actually achieved.

No diploma? No deal.

CPP changes that. It recognises real-world experience, leadership under pressure, and practical results—not a piece of paper from decades ago. You need to know project management, but we really don’t care about your grades in calculus, history, or 16th-century literature.

If you’ve done the work, you qualify.

Hidden exclusions

Let’s take a deeper look at the PMP's small print. According to their rules, not all projects are “real” projects. Here's what doesn’t count—no matter how complex, high-stakes, or successful it was:

• Your own wedding. Even if it cost $50 million and involved yachts, helicopters, and world media coverage. Sorry, Lauren Sánchez — your marriage to Jeff Bezos isn’t a project.
• Academic research. Even if it laid the groundwork for modern nuclear science. Sorry, Marie Curie — your PhD, which led to a Nobel Prize, doesn’t qualify.
• Home renovation. Even if it involved world-class design and 40 years of meticulous planning. Sorry, Thomas Jefferson — Monticello was apparently just a hobby.

This isn’t a joke. These are real exclusions. PMP only recognises formal, professional projects in organisational settings—usually with rigid documentation and hierarchies. If you led groundbreaking initiatives in less conventional contexts, too bad.

CPP takes a more modern, realistic view. It acknowledges that project management isn’t limited to boardrooms and spreadsheets. If you’ve led, delivered, and learned—even in non-traditional settings—it counts.

Examination

PMP

• 230 minutes. 180 questions. You’re locked into a rigid testing format with just two 10-minute breaks—one after each block of 60 questions.

That means nearly four hours of tightly controlled exam time, limited movement, no flexibility, and intense pressure. For people with health conditions, disabilities, anxiety, or caregiving responsibilities, this setup is not just uncomfortable—it’s exclusionary.

• Only 175 of the 180 questions count—the other 5 are unscored “pretest” items that might’ve been the difference between you passing and failing.
• No skills assessment. No way to show how you handle real-world project challenges, just your ability to recall definitions and processes.
• Available in 16 languages, but if yours isn’t one of them, you're out of luck.

This is a system that rewards rote memorization under artificial conditions, rather than actual project competence.

CPP

• CPP recognises your learning via the training provider you have already completed your hours with—whether that’s a university, college, or private education body.
• Assessed in any language. You don’t need to sit a high-pressure English-language exam to prove you know how to lead a project.
• Includes a 60-minute live skills interview where real humans ask real questions about your experience, judgment, and decision-making.

Yes, the interview is higher stakes, but it’s far less stressful.

You won’t face obscure trick questions or be punished for needing a bathroom break. We draw out your actual project experience through thoughtful questions, not memorised theory.

In short?

• PMP tests if you can memorise and endure.
• CPP tests if you can actually manage a project.

After the exam

PMP

The Project Management Institute does not publish PMP exam pass rates. It hasn’t for nearly two decades. You won’t know what score you need to pass, and you won’t be told how well you actually did.

PMI uses a psychometric model to determine whether you’ve passed. Their top-secret algorithm appears to be based on a combination of question difficulty and your performance, but they never disclose the cutoff.

Here’s what that means in practice:

• No one knows the real pass rate. Estimates range from 50% to 60%, but even training providers are guessing.
• No official score is shared. You’ll get a vague performance breakdown across three categories (Above Target, Target, Below Target), but no raw score, no percentage, and no explanation of how the pass/fail decision was made.

This lack of transparency isn’t just frustrating—it’s unfair. Candidates deserve to know what they’re being measured against and how they performed.

CPP

With CPP, it’s different.

• You know exactly how your knowledge is assessed—through your completed coursework.
• You know exactly how your skills are assessed—in a 60-minute live interview with trained assessors.
• And most importantly: You’re told then and there whether you passed. No vague scoring bands. No anxious wait. No smoke and mirrors.

If you don’t pass the interview, you’ll receive detailed, in-person feedback on what was missing or where you need to improve—right there, from a real person.

You’ll also receive a free re-sit of the interview—no extra cost, no extra paperwork.

And here’s the best part: Even if you don’t pass the second attempt, your passing of the knowledge component means you will automatically be awarded the Certified Project Officer (CPO) designation.

• No extra exam.
• No additional fee.
• You still walk away with a globally recognised certification.

In short?

PMP leaves you in the dark. CPP gives you clarity and closure.

That’s how certification should work.

Renewing your certification

Renewing a PMP certification means navigating a time-consuming and often costly cycle. You must earn 60 Professional Development Units (PDUs) every three years, following a strict framework that emphasises formal training and structured content.

Even if you're actively leading projects, that alone doesn't count—you still need to log approved activities, attend specific types of learning, and often pay for courses just to stay compliant. On top of that, there's a renewal fee, adding to the long-term cost of maintaining your credential.

By contrast, CPP is free to renew, and its approach is built around real-world relevance, not administrative box-ticking. Renewal is based on demonstrating that you’ve remained professionally active and continued to grow as a project leader. You can provide evidence in flexible ways—whether through project work, mentoring, informal learning, or leadership roles.

And as you continue to grow professionally, CPP doesn’t just keep you certified—it grows with you. Unlike PMP, which treats renewal as a repetitive compliance task, CPP is part of a broader certification pathway designed to reflect your evolving experience.

When you're ready to step up, you’ll be encouraged to progress to a higher-level certification—such as Certified Project Master (CPM) or Certified Project Director (CPD)—without needing to redo coursework or sit another knowledge exam.

All you’ll need to do is complete a more advanced skills assessment, focused on the leadership responsibilities and strategic outcomes relevant to your new level. It’s a seamless, merit-based pathway that acknowledges where you’ve been and supports where you're going.

Unlike PMP, CPP acknowledges that professional practice is professional development. It values lived experience and contribution, not just attendance certificates.

Different purposes, different priorities

One of the biggest differences between PMP and CPP is who they’re actually built for. PMP is primarily designed for individuals—those looking to enter or advance in project roles by adding a well-known credential to their CV.

It’s academically oriented and structured like a traditional exam. The emphasis is on formal qualifications, standardised content, and theoretical knowledge.

CPP flips that model on its head. It was built in direct response to what employers and industry leaders actually want: project professionals who can lead teams, make decisions, and deliver results, not just pass a test. CPP isn't about helping individuals tick boxes—it’s about helping organisations identify real project leadership.

It prioritises practical capability, flexibility, and evidence of real-world performance. That’s why the assessment includes a live interview, accepts a broader range of experience, and provides useful feedback, because employers value judgment and communication just as much as planning and control.

Ultimately, PMP serves the individual. CPP serves the profession. And in a workforce where leadership and execution matter more than memorisation, CPP is built for the world we actually work in.

Conclusion

The choice between PMP and CPP isn’t just about content—it’s about fairness, accessibility, and relevance.

PMP has long been the industry default, but its rigid requirements, inaccessible exam structure, and lack of transparency belong to another era.

CPP, on the other hand, recognises the diversity of modern project professionals—valuing practical experience, real-world judgement, and lived expertise over academic privilege and standardised test performance.

If you're ready for a certification that sees the whole picture, supports your growth, and reflects how project work actually happens in the real world, choose CPP.

Don’t wait. Don’t settle. Get certified on your terms.