CA Foundation Online Classes: ICAI's Free Classes and Paid Courses

ICAI's free live virtual classes for Foundation

ICAI's prospectus describes its Live Learning Classes as free for Foundation, Intermediate and Final, taught by subject experts, with unlimited access to the recordings, notes, assignments and MCQs, and questions answered during the live class. It says Foundation batches start twice a year.

The current batch is for students taking the January 2027 Foundation exam. BoS announced it on 2 September 2026, and classes began on 16 and 17 September 2026 on Zoom:

To join, log in to the BoS Knowledge Portal, enter your course, registration number and date of birth, and select "Join LVC Zoom Live Classes Jan 2027". Because the Zoom classes ask for a registration number, register for the Foundation course with ICAI before you try to join; ICAI also lists its YouTube channel (ICAI CA tube) as a way to access the classes. If you start later in the batch, the recorded lectures let you catch up. For a later exam session, watch the portal's announcements for the next batch.

What a Foundation course has to cover

Any online course, free or paid, should follow ICAI's New Scheme, which has four Foundation papers of 100 marks each (ICAI FAQs, Q 2.9, Q 2.12 and Q 2.13; January 2027 exam schedule):

In the January 2027 exam, Papers 1 and 2 get 15 minutes of reading time before the exam starts; Papers 3 and 4 get none. To pass, you need at least 40% in each paper and 50% in aggregate, all at one sitting (ICAI FAQs, Q 2.14).

This shapes what a good course should include: written-answer practice with feedback for Accounting and Business Laws, and timed MCQ practice for Papers 3 and 4, where guessing costs marks.

ICAI also says which edition of its study material applies to each exam. For January 2027, it is the August 2024 edition (reprint August 2025 onwards) for all four papers, plus the Revision Test Paper (RTP) for January 2027 for Accounting and Business Laws. Ask whether a paid course's notes follow these editions. The study material itself is available on the BoS Knowledge Portal (ICAI FAQs, Q 2.4).

When to start classes

Foundation exams are held in January, May and September (ICAI FAQs, Q 2.11). To sit an exam, you must be registered with ICAI for at least four months and have appeared in your Class 12 exam (ICAI FAQs, Q 2.7):

The next Foundation exam is on 3, 5, 7 and 9 January 2027 (ICAI announcement of 23 September 2026). Choose a batch that finishes the syllabus early enough to leave time for revision and mock tests before your exam. For eligibility, registration steps and fees in full, see our CA Foundation course guide.

Advantages and limits of online classes

In our experience, online classes suit Foundation students who are still in school or college, because they fit around a timetable you don't control.

No travel

You save the time and cost of commuting to a coaching centre and can use it for study.

Study when it suits you

Recorded lectures can be watched at any time, and you can slow down for a hard chapter or speed through one you know.

Replay what you didn't understand

You can rewind a lecture as many times as you need. ICAI's own classes give unlimited access to their recordings.

Choose your teachers

You are not limited to the faculty at one centre. You can pick a different teacher for each paper, or use ICAI's free classes for one paper and a paid course for another.

Notes alongside ICAI's material

Many courses add short notes and question banks for revision. They supplement ICAI's study material; they don't replace it.

The main limit is discipline: nobody checks whether you watched the lecture. Doubt support also varies from course to course. For a side-by-side comparison of online and classroom coaching, see can you do CA online or at home.

What to check before you pay for a course

• Compare with the free option first. Attend a few of ICAI's live classes or recordings for the same paper.
• Current scheme and edition. Four papers as above, with notes that follow the study material edition ICAI lists for your exam.
• Practice in the exam format. Written-answer tests for Papers 1 and 2, and timed MCQ tests with negative marking for Papers 3 and 4. Compare them with ICAI's Mock Test Papers on the BoS portal.
• Access until your exam. Check how long recordings stay available if you move to a later session.
• Doubt support. Ask how and how quickly doubts are answered.
• A full demo lecture by the teacher who will actually teach you, in the language you want.

Course fees are paid on top of ICAI's own fees: ₹9,000 to register for Foundation, which includes the study material (ICAI FAQs, Q 2.2), and an exam fee for every attempt, which was ₹1,500 at centres in India for the September 2026 exam (ICAI fee chart, September and November 2026).

If you prefer a classroom, ICAI's prospectus says its regional councils and branches run coaching classes for Foundation, and ICAI accredits institutions to run CA coaching. The BoS portal's "Accredited Coaching Classes" page has ICAI's National Policy for Oral Coaching Classes.

If you plan to rely mainly on ICAI's study material and free classes, our guide to self-study for CA at home shows how to build a routine around them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the best online coaching for CA Foundation?

ICAI does not rank private coaching. Start with ICAI's free live classes as a benchmark, then compare any paid course on the checks above, including a full demo lecture by the teacher who will teach you.