--- title: "Reforge Alternatives (2026): Price and Fit" description: "Reforge alternatives for product managers in 2026: Builders Camp, Maven, Product Faculty and Product School compared on price, format, mentorship and AI." canonical_url: "https://builderscamp.com/compare/reforge-alternatives" date_published: "2026-09-29" date_modified: "2026-09-29" author: "Andre Albuquerque" publisher: "Builders Camp" guide_class: "compare" --- # Reforge Alternatives **TL;DR:** Reforge charges $1,995 a year plus tax, billed annually, with no single-course option. The main alternatives are Maven (pay per course), Product Faculty and Product School (annual certification bundles in USD) and Builders Camp, which covers all 40+ bootcamps, live and self-paced, for €749 one-time (Lifetime) or €199 a month (Monthly), sales tax included. Last checked: 29 September 2026. ## Why choose Builders Camp Reforge sells one annual plan. Builders Camp Lifetime is one payment, with no renewal. - Every bootcamp for €749 one-time, with no renewal. Reforge is $1,995 a year plus tax, billed annually. - Every bootcamp runs live in cohorts and is also fully self-paced, so you are not waiting for one live course per season. - 1:1 mentorship included: book sessions with 40+ mentors and directors, subject to availability. Reforge and Product School list none. - Hands-on AI building in the same price: Bootcamps on Claude Code, Cursor, Lovable, AI agents and vibe coding, among others. - Try it first: 7-day free trial that starts on the bootcamp's first day; no credit card required. Builders Camp, Reforge, Maven, Product Faculty and Product School compared on price, what one payment includes, format and more, as of 28 September 2026. | | Builders Camp | Reforge (as of 28 September 2026) | Maven (as of 28 September 2026) | Product Faculty (as of 28 September 2026) | Product School (as of 28 September 2026) | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Price | ✅ **€749 one-time or €199/month** (Includes ALL 40+ bootcamps (live and self-paced), 1:1 mentorship with 40+ mentors and directors (subject to availability) and every experience in the membership: all 9 learning tracks, monthly live masterclasses and the on-demand archive, Quest Mode, templates, a certificate per completed bootcamp and community access. Sales tax included.) | **$1,995/yr + tax** ($1,995 a year plus tax, billed annually) | **$499 to $2,700 per course** (Priced per course by each instructor; sampled AI and product courses cost $499 to $2,700) (note 1) | **$5,000/yr, auto-renews** ($5,000 a year, renews automatically unless cancelled) | **$2,999 per course, up to $4,999/yr** ($2,999 for one certification; Pro $3,999 a year; Unlimited $4,999 a year) | | What one payment includes | ✅ **All 40+ bootcamps, one price** (All 40+ bootcamps (live and self-paced), all 9 learning tracks, 1:1 mentorship subject to availability, monthly live masterclasses and the archive, Quest Mode, templates, a certificate per completed bootcamp and community access) | **40+ on-demand courses** (Live courses (one per season), 40+ on-demand courses, 600+ guides, 1,400+ artifacts and the Slack community) | **One course** (One course: its live sessions, recordings, a cohort community space, projects and a certificate) | **8 certifications for one year** (A year of access to 8 live certification courses, retakes at no extra cost, weekly live AI workshops, mastermind networking sessions, 1:1 capstone feedback from faculty and new certifications at no extra cost) (note 2) | **11 certifications for $4,999/yr** (Unlimited ($4,999 a year): 11 live certifications, weekly live AI workshops, the on-demand library, the alumni community, one ProductCon ticket and access to partner AI tools) | | Format | ✅ **Live cohorts + fully self-paced** (Bootcamps run live in cohorts and are also available fully self-paced) | **On-demand, 1 live course per season** (On-demand courses year-round, plus one live cohort course per member per season (Spring and Fall)) | **Live cohorts, per course** (Live cohort courses on Zoom with recordings, usually 2 to 6 weeks; also 1-day workshops and some self-paced courses with office hours) | **Live cohorts with capstones** (Live instructor-led cohorts with recordings, weekly live workshops and a capstone per certification) | **Live online cohorts** (Live online cohorts; each certification ends in an instructor-graded capstone) | | Time per week and length | ✅ **1 or 2 weeks per bootcamp** (Each bootcamp runs 1 or 2 weeks: a live 2-hour lecture, self-paced microlessons, a practical challenge, a 1-hour live Q&A masterclass and a graded final quiz) | **3 to 5 hours a week** (3 to 5 hours a week; live courses mostly run 4 weeks (a few 6) with one 90-minute session a week) | **2 to 6 weeks per course** (Set per course; sampled AI-for-PM courses run 2 to 6 weeks at 2 to 8 hours a week) | **3 to 6 weeks, 4 to 6 h/week** (3 to 6 weeks per certification; 4 to 6 hours a week) | **3 weeks, 12 live hours** (3 weeks per certification: 6 live sessions of 2 hours (12 live hours), or a Saturday format) | | Instructors | ✅ **A programme director per bootcamp** (Each bootcamp is led by its own programme director, a working practitioner, from a pool of 40+ mentors and directors) | **Named operators per course** (Named operators per course, for example Sachin Rekhi, Ravi Mehta and Jiaona Zhang) | **Independent experts** (Independent experts who create and run their own courses) | **Practitioners at AI and tech companies** (Named practitioners at OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Uber, teaching in a personal capacity) (note 3) | **Rotating practitioners** (Practitioner instructors who rotate per cohort; the homepage names employers including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Meta and Netflix) | | 1:1 mentorship | ✅ **Included, subject to availability** (1:1 mentorship included: book sessions with 40+ mentors and directors, subject to availability) | ❌ **No 1:1 mentorship** (No 1:1 mentorship listed on the pricing or membership pages) | **Varies by course** (Set by each course, not a platform feature; for example, the AI PM Bootcamp (Marily Nika) includes a mentor and 3 hours of 1:1 time with software engineers) | ❌ **No standing 1:1 mentorship** (No standing 1:1 mentorship listed; the Fellowship includes 1:1 capstone feedback from faculty, and the Teams page lists 1:1 coaching) (note 4) | ❌ **No 1:1 mentorship** (No 1:1 mentorship or coaching listed in any tier on the pricing page) | | Community | ✅ **Slack community** (Community access, including the Slack community) | **Slack community** | **Per-cohort space only** (Each cohort has its own Slack or forum space; no community shared across courses) | **Slack community** (PM Slack community) | **Alumni community (Pro and Unlimited)** (Alumni community, included in Pro and Unlimited (not in the single certification)) | | Certificate | ✅ **LinkedIn certificate per bootcamp** (LinkedIn-integrated, uniquely identified certificate per completed bootcamp; stays accessible after you cancel) | **Certificate of completion** (Downloadable certificate of completion) | **Certificate per course** (Certificate issued by Maven on the instructor's behalf after the cohort ends; can be added to LinkedIn) | **Certificate per course** (One certificate per course, awarded after a faculty-reviewed capstone (a working AI product, a demo video and an AI PRD)) | **Certificate with LinkedIn badge** (Certificate with a LinkedIn badge per certification) | | AI building coverage | ✅ **Claude Code, Cursor, Lovable, agents** (Bootcamps on Claude Code, Cursor, Lovable, AI agents and vibe coding, among others) | **AI strategy, evals and prototyping** (Live AI courses listed: AI Transformation, AI Productivity, AI Evals, AI Prototyping, AI Strategy, AI Product Leadership and AI Growth) | **Separate AI courses per instructor** (The Claude Code for product managers category lists 10 cohort courses and 3 workshops; tools named on course pages include Claude Code, Codex, Lovable, MCP and n8n) (note 5) | **AI PM, Claude, agentic engineering, evals** (Courses include AI Product Management, AI-Native PM with Claude, Agentic Engineering and AI Evals) | **AI build certifications** (Live certifications in Claude Code for PMs, Vibe Coding, Codex for PMs, Agentic Workflows and Loops, AI Evals and AI Product Management) | | Language and schedule | ✅ **English, live or self-paced** (English; live sessions run on business days, and every bootcamp is also available self-paced) | **US Pacific mornings** (Live sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in US Pacific time, mostly mornings; recordings posted within 72 hours) | **Set by each instructor** (Courses checked are in English; each instructor sets the session times, for example Claude Code for Product Managers meets Wednesdays 17:30 to 19:00 UTC) (note 6) | ❌ **Session times not published** (Site and course pages in English; session times and time zone not published on productfaculty.com) (note 7) | **US Pacific time** (Cohort times listed in US Pacific time, with weekday and Saturday slots; language of instruction not stated on the site) | Note 1: Maven, price: checked on 29 September 2026. Note 2: Product Faculty, what one payment includes: checked on 29 September 2026. Note 3: Product Faculty, instructors: checked on 29 September 2026. Note 4: Product Faculty, 1:1 mentorship: checked on 29 September 2026. Note 5: Maven, ai building coverage: checked on 29 September 2026. Note 6: Maven, language and schedule: checked on 29 September 2026. Note 7: Product Faculty, language and schedule: checked on 29 September 2026. ## How does paying for each alternative differ from Reforge's annual membership? Reforge sells individuals one thing: an annual membership at $1,995 a year plus tax, billed annually. Billing: Annual membership only; courses cannot be bought individually. If you only want part of the catalogue, you still pay for the full year, and you pay again when it renews. Each alternative changes that deal in a different way: - **Builders Camp** has two plans: €749 one-time, paid once with no renewal, or €199 a month, cancel any time. Either one includes: All 40+ bootcamps (live and self-paced), all 9 learning tracks, 1:1 mentorship subject to availability, monthly live masterclasses and the archive, Quest Mode, templates, a certificate per completed bootcamp and community access. - **Maven** drops the membership. Billing: Pay per course; no all-courses subscription listed on maven.com. Instructors set their own prices; Maven takes 10% of sales. - **Product School** keeps annual plans and adds a one-off route. Billing: Memberships are billed annually; a single certification is a one-time payment. - **Product Faculty** stays annual, at a higher price: $5,000 a year, renews automatically unless cancelled. Set year against year: Reforge, $1,995 a year plus tax, billed annually. Builders Camp, €749 one-time for all 40+ bootcamps, with no renewal. At the ECB euro reference rate of 29 September 2026 (€1 = $1.1355), Builders Camp Lifetime costs less than one year of Reforge, and less than one Product School single certification ($2,999 one-time for one live certification). Maven prices each course separately: $499 to $2,700 per course, across the AI and product courses sampled. Beyond the course count, what changes is how often you pay: Builders Camp Lifetime is one payment, while Reforge and Product Faculty renew every year. If you are still deciding whether any paid programme is worth it, the [product management bootcamp cost guide](https://builderscamp.com/guides/money/product-management-bootcamp-cost) sets out the price range by format. ## Which alternative gives you the most live teaching? Builders Camp runs every bootcamp live and self-paced. Each bootcamp runs 1 or 2 weeks: a live 2-hour lecture, self-paced microlessons, a practical challenge, a 1-hour live Q&A masterclass and a graded final quiz. You can join the live session, watch the recording or go straight to the self-paced version. Reforge teaches live in two seasons a year. Format: On-demand courses year-round, plus one live cohort course per member per season (Spring and Fall). Schedule: Live sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in US Pacific time, mostly mornings; recordings posted within 72 hours. Outside those seasons the membership is on-demand. Product School: 3 weeks per certification: 6 live sessions of 2 hours (12 live hours), or a Saturday format, with cohort times in US Pacific time. Maven: Live cohort courses on Zoom with recordings, usually 2 to 6 weeks; also 1-day workshops and some self-paced courses with office hours, with each instructor setting the times. If your working hours do not line up with a US schedule, a self-paced version of every bootcamp matters more than the number of live hours on paper. ## Which options teach hands-on AI building? All five list AI courses; the difference is how many of them have you building with a named tool, and what it costs. Builders Camp: Bootcamps on Claude Code, Cursor, Lovable, AI agents and vibe coding, among others, all included in the Membership. Reforge: Live AI courses listed: AI Transformation, AI Productivity, AI Evals, AI Prototyping, AI Strategy, AI Product Leadership and AI Growth. AI Prototyping is the one title there that points at building, and we read titles only, not syllabi. Maven: The Claude Code for product managers category lists 10 cohort courses and 3 workshops; tools named on course pages include Claude Code, Codex, Lovable, MCP and n8n, each sold as a separate course. Product Faculty: Courses include AI Product Management, AI-Native PM with Claude, Agentic Engineering and AI Evals. Product School: Live certifications in Claude Code for PMs, Vibe Coding, Codex for PMs, Agentic Workflows and Loops, AI Evals and AI Product Management. Entry requirements differ too. Builders Camp: No stated prerequisites to join: no prior product management experience or coding skills required at platform level. Product School: The Vibe Coding page says "This is not an entry level course" and "Completion of AI Product Management Certification is strongly advised". For how much weight a certificate from any of these carries once you have it, see [whether an AI product manager certification is worth it](https://builderscamp.com/guides/money/ai-product-manager-certification-worth-it). ## Where can you get 1:1 mentorship? Reforge, as of 29 September 2026: No 1:1 mentorship listed on the pricing or membership pages. At Builders Camp it is part of both plans: 1:1 mentorship included: book sessions with 40+ mentors and directors, subject to availability. Each bootcamp is led by its own programme director, a working practitioner, and members book 1:1 time with that same pool. Product School: No 1:1 mentorship or coaching listed in any tier on the pricing page. Product Faculty: No standing 1:1 mentorship listed; the Fellowship includes 1:1 capstone feedback from faculty, and the Teams page lists 1:1 coaching. Maven leaves it to each instructor: Set by each course, not a platform feature; for example, the AI PM Bootcamp (Marily Nika) includes a mentor and 3 hours of 1:1 time with software engineers. ## When is Reforge still the right pick? When your company pays and you are an experienced product or growth practitioner. Reforge's instructors: Named operators per course, for example Sachin Rekhi, Ravi Mehta and Jiaona Zhang. For an experienced practitioner on an employer budget who can join US Pacific morning sessions, that is a reasonable way to spend $1,995 a year plus tax, billed annually. If nobody is paying the renewal for you, Builders Camp Lifetime is €749 one-time once, for all 40+ bootcamps, live and self-paced, with 1:1 mentorship subject to availability. Every head to head page is listed on the [compare hub](https://builderscamp.com/compare), and the [guide on whether a PM certification is worth it](https://builderscamp.com/guides/money/is-a-pm-certification-worth-it) covers what a certificate can and cannot do for you. ### Builders Camp Best if you pay for your own learning and want live teaching on every topic, not one live course a season: every bootcamp, live or self-paced, for €749 one-time (Lifetime) or €199 a month (Monthly), sales tax included. 1:1 mentorship included: book sessions with 40+ mentors and directors, subject to availability. Hands-on AI building is included: Bootcamps on Claude Code, Cursor, Lovable, AI agents and vibe coding, among others. ### Reforge Best for experienced product and growth practitioners whose company pays for an annual membership and who can join live sessions in US Pacific time. It costs $1,995 a year plus tax, billed annually, and courses are not sold individually. ### Maven Best for someone who wants one specific course from one specific instructor and nothing beyond it. Priced per course by each instructor; sampled AI and product courses cost $499 to $2,700. ### Product Faculty Best for someone with a larger budget who wants a year of AI certification courses, each ending in a faculty-reviewed capstone. It costs $5,000 a year, renews automatically unless cancelled. ### Product School Best for someone whose employer is paying for a single live certification in US time. Prices: $2,999 for one certification; Pro $3,999 a year; Unlimited $4,999 a year. ## Frequently asked questions ### What does Reforge cost? $1,995 a year plus tax, billed annually, as of 29 September 2026. Annual membership only; courses cannot be bought individually. Builders Camp covers all 40+ bootcamps for €749 one-time (Lifetime) or €199 a month (Monthly), sales tax included. ### Can I buy a single Reforge course? No. Every course sits inside the annual membership. Maven sells courses one at a time (Priced per course by each instructor; sampled AI and product courses cost $499 to $2,700), and Product School sells a single certification ($2,999 one-time for one live certification). Builders Camp takes a different route: one price covers every bootcamp, €749 one-time (Lifetime) or €199 a month (Monthly), sales tax included. ### Does Reforge have a free trial? Reforge, as of 29 September 2026: 14 days, on-demand content only, card required; charges $1,995 at the end unless cancelled. Builders Camp offers a 7-day free trial that starts on the bootcamp's first day; no credit card required. ### What is happening with Reforge and Miro? Miro announced an agreement to acquire Reforge on 24 March 2026, subject to customary closing conditions; closing not confirmed as of the check date. This page describes the Reforge Learning membership as Reforge sold it on that date. ### Which Reforge alternative has 1:1 mentorship? Builders Camp: 1:1 mentorship included: book sessions with 40+ mentors and directors, subject to availability, in both Membership plans. On Maven it depends on the course: Set by each course, not a platform feature; for example, the AI PM Bootcamp (Marily Nika) includes a mentor and 3 hours of 1:1 time with software engineers. Product Faculty: No standing 1:1 mentorship listed; the Fellowship includes 1:1 capstone feedback from faculty, and the Teams page lists 1:1 coaching. Reforge and Product School list none. ### Is Builders Camp a good fit if I am new to product management? Yes: No stated prerequisites to join: no prior product management experience or coding skills required at platform level. Some alternatives set a higher bar for their AI build courses. Product School: The Vibe Coding page says "This is not an entry level course" and "Completion of AI Product Management Certification is strongly advised". ### Can I pay monthly instead of a year upfront? Not at Reforge: Annual membership only; courses cannot be bought individually. Builders Camp: €199 a month, cancel any time, or €749 one-time with no renewal. ### Which Reforge alternative is best for learning to build with AI? Builders Camp runs a bootcamp per tool, all in one Membership: Bootcamps on Claude Code, Cursor, Lovable, AI agents and vibe coding, among others. Reforge: Live AI courses listed: AI Transformation, AI Productivity, AI Evals, AI Prototyping, AI Strategy, AI Product Leadership and AI Growth. Product Faculty ($5,000 a year, renews automatically unless cancelled) and Product School ($2,999 for one certification; Pro $3,999 a year; Unlimited $4,999 a year) both sell AI certifications at US prices. ## Sources - Reforge: reforge.com/pricing, checked 28 September 2026 - Reforge: reforge.helpscoutdocs.com/article/40-what-is-a-live-course-experience, checked 28 September 2026 - Reforge: reforge.helpscoutdocs.com/article/5-time-commitment, checked 28 September 2026 - Reforge: reforge.com/courses, checked 28 September 2026 - Reforge: reforge.helpscoutdocs.com/article/60-whats-included-in-the-reforge-membership, checked 28 September 2026 - Reforge: reforge.helpscoutdocs.com/article/129-do-i-get-a-certification-once-i-complete-a-course, checked 28 September 2026 - Reforge: reforge.helpscoutdocs.com/article/75-when-do-the-live-events-for-live-courses-take-place, checked 28 September 2026 - Maven: maven.com/jules-boiteux/claude-code-for-pms, checked 29 September 2026 - Maven: maven.com, checked 28 September 2026 - Maven: maven.com/courses/for-product-managers/claude-code, checked 29 September 2026 - Maven: maven.com/teach, checked 28 September 2026 - Maven: maven.com/marily-nika/ai-pm-bootcamp, checked 28 September 2026 - Maven: help.maven.com/en/articles/6804811-course-certificates, checked 28 September 2026 - Product Faculty: productfaculty.com, checked 29 September 2026 - Product Faculty: maven.com/product-faculty/ai-product-management-certification, checked 28 September 2026 - Product Faculty: productfaculty.com/courses/, checked 29 September 2026 - Product School: productschool.com/pricing, checked 28 September 2026 - Product School: productschool.com/certifications, checked 28 September 2026 - Product School: productschool.com/certifications/claude-code, checked 28 September 2026 - Product School: productschool.com, checked 28 September 2026 - Product School: productschool.com/faq, checked 28 September 2026 - Product School: productschool.com/certifications/vibe-coding, checked 29 September 2026 - Reforge: reforge.helpscoutdocs.com/article/205-free-trial, checked 28 September 2026 - Reforge: miro.com/newsroom/miro-acquires-reforge-to-help-organizations-navigate-the-transition-to-ai/, checked 28 September 2026 ## How this page was made Drafted with AI from each provider's own public pages, which are listed and dated on this page, and reviewed by a person before publishing.