Mike Holt feature comparison (review 8)

What Mike Holt Is (and Isn't)

Mike Holt Enterprises built its reputation on training. Textbooks, exam prep, continuing ed, illustrated code books. That's the core product. It's education first, reference second. If you're studying for the journeyman or master exam, there's nothing better out there. The illustrated graphics alone have taught more apprentices the code than any instructor.

Ask BONBON is a different tool. It's a field reference for the electrician already on the job. You're in an attic, a panel room, a crawlspace, and you need to know if that 20A circuit needs AFCI per NEC 210.12(A) right now. Different problem, different tool.

Both have a place in your toolbox. This post covers where each one wins and where they fall short.

Code Lookup Speed

The Mike Holt code app and website are built around their illustrated NEC. You navigate by article number or browse the chapter structure. It works, but you're reading formatted pages, scrolling, and looking for the specific subsection. Fine at a desk. Slow on a ladder.

Ask BONBON is built for a different workflow. You type a plain question ("GFCI required in a garage?") and get the answer with the citation. Under NEC 210.8(A)(2), garages need GFCI protection on 125V through 250V receptacles, 150V to ground or less, 50A or less. BONBON surfaces that in one screen.

Tip: When you're troubleshooting on site, measure your reference tool by seconds to answer. Anything over 30 seconds and your helper is standing around on the clock.

Depth of Explanation

This is where Mike Holt is hard to beat. Their illustrated code books walk you through the why. Why does NEC 250.122 size equipment grounding conductors the way it does? Why did 210.8(F) get added for outdoor outlets on dwellings? Mike Holt explains the reasoning, the history of the change, and shows you a drawing. For learning, that's gold.

BONBON gives you the rule and the citation. If you ask a follow-up ("why 150V to ground?"), it'll explain. But it's not a replacement for sitting down with an illustrated code book over coffee. If your goal is to truly understand the code, not just apply it, Mike Holt's training materials are still the benchmark.

Price and Access

Mike Holt's illustrated NEC runs around $180 for the current cycle. Exam prep packages go higher. Their code app is a separate purchase. If you want the full library across code cycles, you're looking at several hundred dollars invested.

Here's the breakdown on typical costs:

• Mike Holt Illustrated NEC (2023): roughly $180
• Mike Holt Understanding the NEC Vol 1 and 2: $150+ each
• Mike Holt exam prep bundles: $300 to $600
• Ask BONBON: subscription based, field reference only, no textbook

Different price, different product. Mike Holt sells you a library. BONBON sells you a faster lookup.

Exam Prep

If you're studying for a license, this isn't a comparison. Mike Holt wins, full stop. Their practice questions, calculation workbooks, and video courses are the industry standard. Thousands of guys have passed the master and journeyman exams working through his material.

BONBON doesn't do exam prep. It's not trying to. If someone tells you an AI chatbot will get you through your master's exam, they're selling you something. Put the time in with Mike Holt's workbooks, work the calculations by hand, and understand the articles cold. There's no shortcut.

Field Use, Day to Day

Here's where the tools diverge most. A working electrician runs into maybe 10 to 20 code questions a week that need a fast answer. Box fill under NEC 314.16. Conductor ampacity and 310.16 table lookups. Required receptacle spacing under 210.52. Working space clearances under 110.26. These are the questions that come up on jobs.

Mike Holt's material teaches you these inside and out, but in the moment, flipping through a textbook on a jobsite isn't practical. The app helps but still follows a navigation model. BONBON is built for the quick question when your hands are dirty and the inspector is on the way.

Tip: Test any reference tool with this one question first: "How deep does my UF cable need to be under a driveway?" (NEC 300.5 Table). If you can get to 18 inches, direct buried, in under 15 seconds, it's a field tool. Anything else is a textbook.

Which One for You

Studying for your exam or learning the code deeply: Mike Holt. Period. His illustrated books and video courses have no equal for building real code knowledge.

Working on jobs, trying to answer quick questions between pulls: Ask BONBON. It's built for that specific problem. Type the question, get the citation, keep moving.

Most journeymen and masters I know end up using both. Mike Holt on the shelf for serious study and continuing ed. A phone reference for the dozens of small questions that come up every week. They solve different problems, and pretending one replaces the other helps nobody.