Mike Holt side-by-side review (review 6)

Two tools, two jobs

Mike Holt built an empire teaching the code. His books, videos, and illustrated guides are how a lot of us learned the why behind the NEC. That is a different job than answering "can I land this on a 20A breaker" while you are standing on a ladder with a meter in your teeth.

Ask BONBON is built for the second job. Mike Holt is built for the first. Both matter. If you are prepping for the Master's exam or trying to understand grounding versus bonding from the ground up, Mike Holt wins. If you are in an attic at 4pm trying to figure out whether NEC 334.15(B) actually lets you run NM through that bored hole, BONBON wins.

This review is honest because I use both. Here is how they actually compare on a working day.

Lookup speed

On a service call, the clock matters. I timed myself looking up the GFCI requirements in NEC 210.8(A) on both platforms.

• Mike Holt website search: 4 clicks, 22 seconds to land on a summary page, another 10 seconds to find the specific subsection.
• Mike Holt illustrated book (PDF on phone): 35 seconds to index, pinch-zoom, and scroll.
• Ask BONBON: type "GFCI kitchen countertop," 6 seconds to get the citation and the plain-language answer.

That gap compounds. Ten lookups a day is two minutes versus twenty. Over a year that is real money, especially if you bill by the hour and your customer is watching you scroll.

Mike Holt's content is deeper once you get there. BONBON gets you there faster and gives you the exact code reference so you can verify.

Depth and teaching

This is where Mike Holt is untouchable. The illustrated guides explain voltage drop, transformer calculations, and ground-fault protection with diagrams that actually make sense. His videos on Article 250 have kept more apprentices out of trouble than any single resource I can name.

BONBON does not try to replace that. When I ask BONBON to explain something, it gives me a working electrician's answer, not a 40-minute lecture. That is good for the field and bad for studying.

If you are studying for your Journeyman or Master's exam, buy Mike Holt's exam prep package. Do not rely on an app, any app, to pass that test. Study the theory, then use field tools in the field.

Code coverage and updates

Both platforms track the current NEC cycle. Mike Holt publishes a new illustrated edition after each code update, which means you are buying a new book every three years at around $90 to $150 per volume depending on which set you choose.

BONBON updates live. When a state adopts an amendment or the 2026 cycle rolls out, you get it without repurchasing. For jurisdictions that lag behind (plenty of places are still on 2020), BONBON lets you specify which code year you are working under so the answers match what your AHJ will actually enforce.

1. Check your local AHJ for the adopted code year before trusting any reference.
2. Flag any answer you are not sure about against the actual NEC book on site.
3. Keep a paper copy of at least your jurisdiction's amendments. Phones die.

Price and access

Mike Holt's full library (Understanding the NEC Volumes 1 and 2, Exam Prep, Grounding vs Bonding, videos) runs north of $800 if you buy everything. Worth it if you are a student or a teacher. A lot for a guy who just wants to know if a receptacle in a garage needs GFCI protection.

BONBON is a monthly subscription. You lose access if you stop paying, same as any SaaS. Trade-off: lower upfront cost, always current, searchable from any device. No shelf space needed in the truck.

For a one-man shop running residential service, the math is clear. For a training program or an inspector's office, Mike Holt's printed library still earns its keep.

Where each one wins

Use Mike Holt when you are learning, teaching, or trying to understand a concept deeply. The illustrated explanations, the worked examples for load calcs, the Grounding vs Bonding book... nothing else touches it. Apprentices should own at least Volume 1.

Use BONBON when you are on the job and need an answer in under ten seconds. Conductor ampacity from NEC 310.16, box fill from 314.16, working space from 110.26, motor overload sizing from 430.32. The stuff you know exists but do not want to flip pages for while a customer waits.

My rule: Mike Holt at the kitchen table, BONBON on the truck. They do not compete, they cover different parts of the day.

Neither one replaces the actual NEC book, and neither replaces your AHJ. They are faster ways to get to the code, not substitutes for it. Use both, trust your training, and verify anything that will get inspected.