Mike Holt side-by-side review (review 5)

Why compare Mike Holt to BONBON

Mike Holt built the gold standard for NEC training. His books, videos, and exam prep have put more electricians through the licensing process than anything else on the market. If you came up in the trade in the last twenty years, you probably own at least one of his graphic textbooks.

BONBON is a different animal. It is not a training course. It is a code reference app built for the guy in the attic at 2pm trying to remember whether 210.52(C)(1) says 24 inches or 20 inches from the countertop edge. Both tools have a place on the truck, but they solve different problems.

What Mike Holt does well

The Understanding the NEC series is the best classroom product in the industry. The graphics are clear, the examples are worked out step by step, and the commentary explains the why behind the rule. For a second year apprentice studying for the journeyman exam, there is nothing better.

His Code Forum is also worth the membership. You can post a question about a weird service configuration and get answers from inspectors and master electricians who have seen it before. The searchable archive alone has saved me billable hours on ambiguous calls like 230.40 Exception 2 service conductor arrangements.

• Exam prep: unmatched for journeyman and master licensing
• Continuing education: approved in most states
• Graphic textbooks: best in class for visual learners
• Forum: real answers from working pros and AHJs

Where Mike Holt falls short on the jobsite

The books are heavy. The apps are essentially digital versions of the books with a search bar. If you know exactly what article you need, you can find it. If you are trying to remember which part of 250 covers bonding around a pool shell, you are going to scroll. The search is literal, not semantic.

There is also no offline lookup that gives you a direct answer. You get the code text, the commentary, and a graphic. You still have to read three paragraphs and apply it yourself. On a tear out in a crawlspace with one bar of service, that is a problem.

Field tip: when an inspector cites a section you are not sure about, ask them to point to the exact subsection and exception. Nine times out of ten they are citing the general rule and missing an exception that applies to your install.

Where BONBON is different

BONBON is built around the question, not the article number. You type "GFCI required in a detached garage with no receptacles" and it returns 210.8(A)(2) with the current wording, the 2023 changes if applicable, and a plain English summary. No scrolling through 210.8 subsections to find the one that matches your situation.

It also handles the cross references automatically. Ask about a kitchen island receptacle and it pulls 210.52(C)(2), 210.8(A)(6), and the 406.5(E) tamper resistant requirement in one answer. Mike Holt will give you each article in isolation and trust you to connect them.

1. Ask in plain language, get the exact citation
2. Related articles surfaced automatically
3. Works offline once the code edition is downloaded
4. Covers 2017, 2020, 2023 side by side for jurisdictions on older cycles

Honest tradeoffs

BONBON will not teach you the code. If you do not already understand load calculations, you will get an answer you cannot verify. Mike Holt teaches you to think like an electrician. BONBON assumes you already do and just need the lookup faster.

BONBON also does not replace the Code Forum. If you have a genuinely weird situation, like a 480 volt service feeding a single family detached ADU with a shared meter, you want human judgment from someone who has installed it. No app replaces that conversation.

And Mike Holt has decades of credibility with AHJs. If you print his commentary and bring it to an inspection, it carries weight. BONBON is newer. That will change, but right now the citation you bring to an argument should still be the actual NEC text, not an app screenshot.

Field tip: keep a PDF of the adopted code cycle for your jurisdiction on your phone. Apps are for speed. The PDF is for when an inspector wants to see the exact page.

The verdict

Use both. Mike Holt to learn the code, pass the exam, and settle deep questions with commentary and forum input. BONBON for the fifty times a day you need a fast, accurate citation without digging through a book or a search index.

If your truck only has room for one tool and you are already licensed, BONBON wins on speed. If you are prepping for a test or teaching an apprentice, Mike Holt wins on depth. They are not competing for the same slot in your workflow once you actually use both for a month.