Mike Holt search comparison (review 4)

Why compare at all

Mike Holt built the gold standard for NEC training. His forum, his books, his videos, his continuing ed... most of us cut our teeth on that material. When I started pulling wire, a dog-eared Mike Holt Understanding the NEC was in my truck next to the code book.

So this is not a takedown. This is a working electrician looking at two tools that both try to answer the same question on the job: what does the code actually say, and can I find it before the GC starts pacing.

I spent two weeks using Mike Holt's site search and Ask BONBON side by side on real calls. Service upgrades, a small commercial TI, a pool bond callback, a couple of resi rough-ins. Here is what held up and what did not.

Search behavior on the pole

Mike Holt's site is a training library first. When you search "receptacle garage," you get forum threads, article excerpts, newsletter archives, course pages, and PDF links. Good stuff if you have 20 minutes to read. On a ladder with a phone in one hand, you are scrolling past 2015 forum debates trying to find 210.8(A)(2).

Ask BONBON is built the other direction. Same query returns the current rule text, the exceptions, and the related articles pinned at the top. It reads like a code book that answers questions, not a library you search through.

Tip: if you are on a Mike Holt result, scroll to the bottom of the article for the actual code citation. The summary at the top often paraphrases, and paraphrased code loses inspectors.

Where Mike Holt wins

Depth of explanation. When you want to understand why 250.122 sizes the EGC the way it does, Mike Holt's training content walks you through the reasoning with examples, illustrations, and the history of how the rule evolved through cycles. That context matters when you are training an apprentice or prepping for a journeyman exam.

Forum archives are also a real asset. Decades of electricians arguing edge cases, with AHJs chiming in. If you are hunting a weird install, someone probably already posted about it in 2011.

• Training depth for exam prep and CEUs
• Forum discussions with AHJ input on edge cases
• Illustrated examples for calculations like 220, 310.16, and 250
• Video walkthroughs for visual learners

Where Ask BONBON wins

Speed to answer. On a service call I asked "bond pool equipotential grid spacing" and got 680.26(B)(2) with the 12 inch grid, the 6 foot perimeter, and the bonded parts list in under five seconds. Same search on Mike Holt returned a course page, two forum threads, and a newsletter from 2018. All correct info, none of it readable on a phone without pinching.

The other thing is follow-up questions. If I ask about 210.8 GFCI requirements and then ask "does that apply to a dedicated fridge circuit," Ask BONBON remembers the context. Mike Holt's search is stateless, so every query starts from zero.

Tip: when an inspector challenges you, ask for the exact article and subsection. Then pull it up. Do not argue from memory. Both tools are faster than flipping the book, but only one reads well in bright sun on a roof.

Accuracy check

I ran ten queries against both and cross-referenced every answer with my 2023 NEC. Both tools were accurate on the rule text. The difference showed up in edge cases.

Example: "minimum branch circuits small appliance kitchen." Mike Holt pointed to 210.11(C)(1) and the two circuit minimum. Ask BONBON returned the same, plus flagged 210.52(B)(1) and (B)(2) on the receptacle requirements those circuits feed, and noted the 2023 revision to (B)(2) Exception. The second answer saved a callback.

1. Ask the same question to both tools
2. Verify against the printed code book
3. Note which tool surfaced related articles without being asked
4. Pick the one that works for how you actually use it

What I actually use

Both. Not a cop-out. Mike Holt stays on my laptop at the shop for training videos, exam prep, and deep dives on calculation chapters. Ask BONBON stays on my phone for jobsite lookups, inspector conversations, and the "wait, what does the exception say" moments that happen three times a day.

If you are prepping for your Master's exam, Mike Holt. If you are on a roof at 3pm and the inspector is asking why your disconnect is 42 inches from the pool edge, Ask BONBON. Different tools, different jobs.

Bottom line

Mike Holt is a teacher. Ask BONBON is a reference. The training content on Mike Holt's site is better than anything else out there, and it should be, because that is what he built his name on. But a training library is not a search tool, and when you need an answer in under a minute, the difference shows.

Try both. Keep whichever one ends up open on your phone the most. For me that is Ask BONBON during the day and Mike Holt at night when I am actually studying.