If you are looking into personal training or other health and fitness certifications, ISSA and ACSM are two well-known options. So how do they compare?
Topic Contents
ISSA vs ACSM at a Glance
ISSA
The International Sports Sciences Association is one of the leaders in fitness and nutrition education, offering a wide array of certifications in health and exercise. It also provides ongoing support for job placement. Founded in 1988, the company has found its niche in online certification courses.
ACSM
The American College of Sports Medicine was founded in 1954. Since then, it has become the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization worldwide, with international conferences, memberships, certifications, and publications.
Bottom line: ACSM is the place to look for international certifications and high-end specialty certs like clinical exercise physiologist, but ISSA offers a much wider array of certifications in other health and exercise fields.
Let’s see how they compare.
ISSA vs ACSM Certification Options
ISSA offers a much wider range of certifications, making it a better fit for those who want overlapping credentials or more options to choose from. ACSM is more specialized, with just four main offerings.
ISSA
ISSA offers several levels of personal training certifications, not just one. It also has group training certifications, specialty options like glutes specialist and corrective exercise specialist, and a wide array of health and nutrition-based credentials, including nutrition coach, yoga, and Pilates.
Their core categories are:
- Certified Personal Trainer
- Certified Nutrition Coach
- Strength and Conditioning Coach
- Group Fitness Instructor
Within those categories are the specializations for different career paths, like:
- Glute Specialist
- Tactical Conditioning Coach for military or law enforcement
- DNA-Based Fitness Coach
- Corrective Exercise Specialist
- Senior Fitness Instructor
- GLP-1 Weight Loss Support Training
The list is long, with more than 20 options in total, and ISSA also offers bundle packages that let you combine certifications like Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach, then add specialties based on where you want to take your career.
ACSM
ACSM is a large and well-established organization, but its certification lineup is fairly limited. You can earn certifications for:
- Group exercise instructor
- Personal trainer
- Exercise physiologist
- Clinical exercise physiologist
International candidates may also find certification opportunities through programs like the Beijing Institute of Sports Medicine, the Exercise Science Academy in India, or the Wellness Academy in Korea.
So, if you are an international student, especially in Asia, ACSM may offer more region-specific credential opportunities depending on the location.
However, whether domestic or international, your options for certifications pale in comparison to what is provided by ISSA.
Prerequisites
Before choosing a certification, it helps to know what is required ahead of time.
ISSA
ISSA requires a CPR/AED for all of its programs. You can get that through a third party or directly through ISSA by simply adding it to your cart when you check out. You also need a high school diploma or equivalent, and you must be 18 years old. These are all pretty standard requirements.
ACSM
ACSM also has fairly standard prerequisites. You have to be at least 18 years old, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and hold a CPR/AED certification. Starting in 2027, candidates will also be required to complete first aid training.
Cost
The cost can vary quite a bit for both options, especially once you factor in things like study materials, exam fees, and membership pricing.
ISSA
ISSA, for example, has pricing between an average of $600 and $1,000, depending on whether you purchase one certification or a bundle that typically has three certifications. They also have payment plans, and once you complete a single certification, you typically get a discount on subsequent certifications.
There are no hidden fees for study materials or exams, since those are all included. You don’t even have an additional fee if you fail the test the first time, though you will if you need a second, third, or, God forbid, fourth attempt.
ACSM
ACSM’s pricing is a little more complicated because it depends on whether you are a member. For example, the personal trainer certification costs $279 for members and $349 for non-members.
That price does not include study materials or retake fees, which can run $175 if you do not pass. Once you factor in study materials, the total cost can climb well over $1,000.
As the personal trainer and group trainer certifications are some of the lowest tiers they offer, things only get more expensive from there with things like the exercise physiologist exam costing almost $500 for members and almost $700 for non-members, excluding the cost of the study materials and the prerequisites.
Study Materials
Each organization handles study materials differently, especially when it comes to what is included in the upfront cost.
ISSA
With ISSA, all of your study materials, access to study groups, and similar resources are included. Everything is one lump sum, with no hidden fees.
The main textbook is digital, though physical textbooks cost extra. ISSA uses an online portal where you can access your study materials, quizzes, and office hours. You also get access to things like a Facebook study group, scheduled study groups, and recordings of office hours. Part of that access includes exercise videos and recordings from live study sessions that you can watch later.
ACSM
When it comes to study materials, ACSM offers a wide range of resources, but many of them come at an additional cost. For example, the personal trainer certification includes a 20-hour course with 19 modules, 453 lessons, and 200 interactive knowledge checks.
You can also participate in the online Facebook study groups or use the prepU quiz platform ahead of time. However, things like the practice exam and flashcards cost extra. ACSM also offers physical books that you can purchase or download. There is one main book that is the official preparation book for the exam, but they also recommend two other books that come at another cost.
Learning Format
Each organization also differs a bit in how the material is taught.
ISSA
ISSA uses the same teaching methods that many other organizations do. You get a combination of a textbook, though it is digital rather than physical, which is not my favorite, but it still works. You also get video content, and those videos can be used as audio-only if you are unable to stream them.
The chapters break down the material relevant to your certification, and each course is structured a little differently. Still, the content is generally chunked into a study path with chapters and quizzes you can work through on a weekly basis to finish within the recommended time frame.
That said, there is nothing holding you to that time frame. You can choose to use the teaching material all at once, or you can spread it out, but most certifications have a 6-month or one-year expiration window from the time you sign up.
ACSM
At first glance, ACSM’s teaching methods look especially intriguing. When I was comparing different certifications, I liked that they offered what they called a “create your own” prep process.
Upon further investigation, that doesn’t really mean as much as you would think. Rather, it’s kind of the same setup as ISSA, where you download the online exam content and then you determine what type of prep you need.
Assessments
In terms of assessments, one of the biggest differences is that ISSA builds knowledge checks into the course with chapter quizzes and a final exam, while ACSM also offers exam-only options depending on the certification path.
ISSA
ISSA assesses your knowledge through quizzes and a final exam. There are quizzes at the end of each chapter, and a lot of chapters. The final exam doesn’t have a timing aspect and can be done online.
These assessments are really good opportunities to test not just your knowledge and absorption of the material, but your ability to apply that material to use cases. So you get a good chance to test real-world examples and apply what you learned.
ACSM
When you look at the exam content for the certified personal trainer certification, ACSM breaks the performance domain into four key areas. You also get a sense of what some of the questions look like and which cognitive skills they are designed to test.
That gives you a good picture of how comprehensive the exam platform is, and to be fair, it is very comprehensive. At the same time, a lot of the content seems closely tied to the study materials.
Because of that, while you don’t have to pay extra for the study materials and you can just take the exam, even with a background in this field you might not do as well as you think, given that the questions are derived from a lot of the study materials.
In general, most of their tests are shorter, 50 multiple-choice exams, and you can take the practice test just to see if your current knowledge or experience can be applied to the structure of the exam without having to purchase the study materials.
Recertification
Once you earn your certification, both ISSA and ACSM require you to recertify after a set period of time.
ISSA
All ISSA certs are valid for 2 years. After that, you have to recertify, which usually means completing 20 continuing education units and paying a recertification fee. A lot of those credits can also come from other ISSA certifications.
ACSM
ACSM also requires recertification. This applies to all credential programs but varies based on the credential, with most requirements being a 3-year cycle, at which point you have to pay an administrative recertification fee and make sure that you have completed all of your recertification continuing education credits.
The ACSM accepts continuing education credits relevant to your certification, and they might accept credit equivalents from other reputable fitness organizations like ACE, NSCA, or NASM.
Summing Up
ACSM is really great if you are in India, China, or Korea and need internationally recognized certifications.It is also a good fit if you are aiming for more advanced credentials, like Clinical Exercise Physiologist. And if you already have a strong background and want to earn a personal training certification without paying for study materials, you may be able to get by with purchasing the test alone.
However, if you want a wider range of certifications, especially ones you can stack to build your own career path, ISSA is the better choice. It simply offers more variety, and they have the job placement guarantee for things like personal trainer certifications, where you are guaranteed a job through their network within one year or your money back.
