What is the Best Project Management Certification (2026)?

Knowledge Train | Writing Business Cases

Simon Buehring20 Mar 2026

3-day ITIL Strategist: Direct, Plan & Improve ( Copied!

DPI) course.Key takeaways

All major cards accepted.Specialist: DSV Choose a certification based on your experience level, your working environment, and where you want your career to go.
Invoice/PO option available in checkout.3-day ITIL Specialist: Drive Stakeholder Value (DSV) course.Beginner certifications suit first-time project roles and focus on core concepts and terminology.

Specialist: CDS Intermediate certifications test practical application in scenario-based projects and often require earlier certificates or experience. logo

3-day ITIL Specialist: Create, Deliver and Support (CDS) course.Agile-focused options are best when projects run in an agile environment rather than traditional delivery models. IT Learning Library (ITLL)™Some qualifications are regionally stronger, with PRINCE2 widely recognised in the UK and CAPM more common outside it.EnrolBUSINESS LEARNING LIBRARY (BLL)™Expert awards are rare and mainly validate long-term competence through evidence and assessment, not classroom learning. Agile Learning Library (ALL)™ Business Analysis Learning Library (BALL)™ Compliance Learning Library (CLL)™ OverviewIT Learning Library (ITLL)™Contents Business solutions _blank AboutContentsDelivery_blank BlogIntroduction EXPLORE SUBJECTSWhat is the best project management certification for me?CourseSelect your preferred subject. Beginner project management certifications PROJECT MANAGEMENT QUALIFICATIONS & WORKSHOPS Select your preferred qualification or workshop.Intermediate project management certificationsReviews PRINCE2 COURSESExpert project management certifications Select your preferred training course below: ConclusionContact usAPM COURSESIntroduction While any project management certification is good to have, some are more specialized than others. It pays to know which project manager certification can be applied to your work, and which are tailored to suit specific industries or work environments. A Select your preferred training course below:

PRINCE2 Agile certification

for example, is aimed at those who already have a AGILE PROJECT MANAGEMENT COURSESClick or scrollPRINCE2 certificationSelect your preferred training course below:

Enrol on this course and what to adapt what they know to suit an Agile environment.

Please use the Every certification has a different purpose, different prerequisites, and tests different criteria. So, what you really must ask is: “What project management certification is best for me?”PRINCE2 AGILE COURSESregion selectorWhat is the best project management certification for me?Select your preferred training course below: at the top of the website if you are purchasing from outside the UK.A project manager certification can be put into one of three categories: beginner certification, intermediate certification and expert certification.
Note: *All prices exclusive of VAT.A beginner certification is one that has no prerequisites (i.e. it requires no previous experience or knowledge). If you’re new to project management, or if you don’t have any other accreditation, you’ll want to start here.BETTER BUSINESS CASES COURSES

An intermediate certification is a bit of a mixed bag. Some are just extensions of beginner certifications, while others are aimed at working professionals with at least a few months of project management experience. For this article, we’ll consider intermediate certifications as those that have some entry requirements but don’t require you to be an expert in project management.Select your preferred training course below:

Expert certifications are still rare. There are only a handful, and those that do exist are less of a learning opportunity and more a badge of excellence rewarded to project managers who take a keen interest in project management theory. 11 Jun - 11 JunChoose from these project management certificationsP3O COURSES

Self-paced
APM PFQ blended online £799 AGILE QUALIFICATIONS

£749 +vatSelect your preferred qualification.Enrol now AGILE PROJECT MANAGEMENT COURSES Select your preferred training course below: Self-paced

PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner (with Foundation) self-paced onlinePRINCE2 AGILE COURSES Select your preferred training course below:

Self-pacedAGILE BUSINESS ANALYSIS COURSES28 Aug - 28 AugAgilePM Practitioner (with Foundation) self-paced onlineSelect your preferred training course below:

Writing Business Cases course (Online)£1,299 +vatBUSINESS ANALYSIS QUALIFICATIONS

Beginner project management certificationsSelect your preferred qualification. £499This category includes only those certifications that have no entry requirements and are suitable for new project managers or those who have some prior experience in project management and want to gain their first certification.
APM PFQBCS BUSINESS ANALYSIS COURSES£799The Association for Project Management offers the excellent Select your preferred training course below:

Project Fundamentals Qualification Enrol now. The APM PFQ certification is for newcomers to project management.AGILE BUSINESS ANALYSIS COURSES Candidates gain the APM PFQ certificate by learning basic project management concepts and terminology which will help you make a positive contribution towards any project.Select your preferred training course below: This certificate is becoming very popular in the UK because it comes from the APMCHANGE MANAGEMENT QUALIFICATIONS

, the Chartered Institute for Project Management.Select your preferred qualification. In the UK, a PRINCE2 certification is considered the industry standard in project management. The PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT QUALIFICATIONS

PRINCE2 FoundationSelect your preferred qualification.APM PMQ

PRINCE2 Practitioner

certification requires that you first hold the PRINCE2 Foundation certificate. The Practitioner certification tests you on your ability to apply PRINCE2 to life-like project scenarios. More particularly, it tests whether you can apply the PRINCE2 principles, practices, and processes to a fictional project scenario.
After PRINCE2 Foundation, the PRINCE2 Practitioner certification is probably the top project management certification in the UK.
To gain your PRINCE2 Practitioner certificate, the typical learning path is Select your self-paced training course topic.
Present your case with confidence in meetings or boardsPRINCE2 Practitioner training

Who this course is for which takes 2 days, or 15 hours if studying online. Training can also be combined with the Foundation certification. In this case, training takes 4 days, or 35 hours if studying online. APMG CHANGE MANAGEMENT COURSES

It should be noted that since the release of
PRINCE2 7
th
edition

, the prerequisites for the Practitioner certification have changed. You must now hold one of the following certificates:

PRINCE2 Foundation or PRINCE2 Practitioner (6

edition)

PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner training

which takes 2 days, or 21 hours if studying online. Training can also be combined with the PRINCE2 Agile Foundation. In this case, training takes 4 days, or 33 hours if studying online.

AgilePM Practitioner

AgilePM Practitioner certification requires that you hold an AgilePM Foundation certificate. It is suitable if you want to apply the agile project framework on projects. AgilePM Practitioner is a popular choice for project managers working in an agile context. To gain your AgilePM Practitioner certification, the typical learning path is

AgilePM Practitioner training which takes 1 day, or 15 hours if studying online. Training can also be combined with the AgilePM Foundation in which case, it takes 4 days, or 35 hours if studying online.

CompTIA Project+ CompTIA offers some of the leading IT qualifications in the world. CompTIA Project+

® focuses on managing smaller, less complex projects within the IT industry. This certification tests student’s knowledge of the specific industry tools used for documentation and requirements analysis.

This certification has no prerequisites, but without the recommended 135 hours of IT project development experience, you might find yourself a bit lost. PMI PMP

PMI’s Project Management Professional

(PMP)®

certification is the most challenging one on this list. To be eligible for this certification you must have 3 years of project management experience and a 4-year college/university degree. Without a degree you require 5 years of project management experience. In both cases you also need at least 35 hours of project management education completed before the exam.The PMI PMP

® exam covers every aspect of project management from your ability to plan projects to monitoring and controlling project tasks.

Maintaining your PMI PMP

qualification requires you continuously accumulate Professional Development Units (PDUs), which are one-hour blocks of time that you spend learning, teaching others, or volunteering.

If you want to gain your PMP certificate, a typical learning path is to take 

PMP training

which takes 35 hours of online study.

Choose from these project management certifications

Self-paced

APM PFQ blended online

Writing Business Cases training courses- learning outcomes

If you you’d like to gain any of the certifications listed in this article, why not look at some of the

project management certification courses
offered by Knowledge Train.
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