Mike Holt price comparison (review 8)

What Mike Holt sells, what BONBON sells

Mike Holt Enterprises has been the gold standard for NEC training since the 80s. Books, videos, exam prep, continuing education. If you want to actually learn the code cover to cover, or pass your journeyman or master exam, Mike Holt is where you go. That is not what Ask BONBON is.

BONBON is a code lookup app for the field. You are on a ladder, the inspector is coming tomorrow, and you need to know if that receptacle in the finished basement needs GFCI protection under NEC 210.8(A)(5). You type the question, you get the answer with the citation. That is the whole job.

Different tools. Different prices. Both have a place on a working electrician's phone or bookshelf.

Price breakdown, head to head

Here is what you are actually paying for in 2026, based on current pricing from mikeholt.com and the BONBON app store listing.

• Mike Holt Understanding the NEC Volume 1 and 2 textbooks: roughly $240 for the pair, printed.
• Mike Holt Illustrated Guide to the NEC: around $95.
• Mike Holt online video library subscription: about $300 a year for the full library, less for single topics.
• Mike Holt journeyman exam prep bundle: $400 to $600 depending on state and format.
• Ask BONBON: $9.99 a month or $79 a year, unlimited lookups.

If you are prepping for an exam, Mike Holt earns every dollar. If you are a licensed electrician who already knows the code and just needs to confirm an article at 2 PM on a Tuesday, $79 a year beats flipping through a $95 guide on a dusty job site.

When Mike Holt is the right call

Do not replace Mike Holt with an app. If you are an apprentice, a student, or you are sitting for your master's exam next spring, buy the books and watch the videos. There is no shortcut for learning why NEC 250.122 sizes equipment grounding conductors the way it does, or how 310.16 ampacity tables interact with 310.15(B) adjustment factors.

Mike Holt's explanations build the mental model. You need that model before a lookup tool is useful, because you have to know which article to ask about in the first place.

If you cannot explain why a 60 amp feeder to a subpanel in a detached garage needs a grounding electrode under 250.32, no app is going to save you on inspection day. Learn it first, look it up later.

When BONBON earns its $79

You already passed your exam. You have been bending pipe for five, ten, twenty years. You know the code. You just cannot remember if the bathroom receptacle clearance in 210.52(D) is 36 inches or if that is the kitchen counter rule. You are on the job, phone in one hand, Klein in the other.

That is the moment BONBON pays for itself. Type the question in plain English, get the article number and the answer. No scrolling through a PDF, no flipping a tabbed codebook with drywall dust on your gloves.

1. Ask a question in the field, get a cited answer in under 10 seconds.
2. Works offline after first load, so basements and metal buildings do not kill you.
3. Covers 2020, 2023, and 2026 NEC editions, so you can match your AHJ's adopted cycle.

The honest overlap

Mike Holt has a free code question archive and a paid Code Forum. Both are useful. The forum is moderated by instructors and other electricians, and answers can take hours or days. BONBON answers in seconds but it is a tool, not a human. A tricky AHJ interpretation question still belongs on the forum or on the phone with your inspector.

Mike Holt also sells a digital codebook through NFCA's Link platform, roughly $12 a month for the NEC alone. That is a searchable PDF. BONBON is not a PDF reader, it is a question answering tool built on the code. Different workflow. Some guys carry both.

What I actually run on my truck

Personal setup, for what it is worth. Mike Holt Volume 1 and 2 live in the shop for apprentice training and for settling arguments on the rare occasion someone wants to see the full commentary. NFPA Link on the tablet for reading full article text when I am planning a job. BONBON on the phone for the 40 times a week I need a fast answer in the field.

Total annual cost, roughly $200 spread across all three. That is less than one callback on a failed rough-in inspection.

Buy the tool for the job you are actually doing. Training tools for training, reference tools for reference. Do not pay exam prep prices to answer one question about tamper resistant receptacles under 406.12.

Mike Holt is not a competitor to BONBON. He is the reason a lot of us passed our exams in the first place. BONBON is what you reach for after, when the code is already in your head and you just need to double check the article before the inspector shows up.