Which exam?
ITIL 4 Foundation vs PRINCE2 Foundation
Both are entry-level, both are PeopleCert-owned, and both are frequently required by the same employers — but they govern different things. ITIL is about running a service that continues indefinitely; PRINCE2 is about delivering a project that ends.
ITIL
ITILFND V4: ITIL 4 Foundation
10 free questions
Choose this if you work in IT operations, service desk, or anywhere with SLAs and incidents. ITIL 4 Foundation is the common baseline for service-management roles and is very often a stated requirement.
Practise ITILFND V4PRINCE2
PRINCE2-Foundation: PRINCE2 Foundation
10 free questions
Choose this if you deliver change with a defined start and finish. PRINCE2 Foundation gives you the method, the roles and the stage structure that UK and European project work is frequently organised around.
Practise PRINCE2-Foundation
Our recommendation
Neither is harder; they answer different questions. If your work has a go-live date, PRINCE2. If it has a service level, ITIL. Many IT departments expect both eventually, and Foundation level of either is achievable in a couple of weeks.
What each exam covers
ITILFND V4: ITIL 4 Foundation
ITILFND V4: ITIL 4 Foundation is part of the ITIL 4 scheme from PeopleCert. ITIL 4 exams are identified by tier and module rather than by a code — Foundation, then Practitioner modules, then the Specialist, Strategist and Leader modules that stack into the Managing Professional and Strategic Leader designations. Foundation is 40 questions in 60 minutes at 65% and can be self-studied; every module above it requires an accredited training course before you may sit it.
PRINCE2-Foundation: PRINCE2 Foundation
PRINCE2 Foundation is one of the PRINCE2 tests covered here. PRINCE2 belongs to PeopleCert, which acquired AXELOS in 2021, and the name now covers several formerly separate schemes: core PRINCE2, PRINCE2 Agile, and the rebranded MSP and MoP programmes now called PRINCE2 Programme Management and Portfolio Management. Version 7 arrived in 2023 and changed more than the content. Foundation is 60 questions in 60 minutes, closed book; Practitioner is 56 questions worth 70 marks in 150 minutes, open book; and both now pass at 60%, where the 2017 edition used 55% and a different question structure — so older practice figures no longer describe the paper you will sit.
Common questions
- ITIL 4 Foundation vs PRINCE2 Foundation — which is harder?
- Neither is harder; they answer different questions. If your work has a go-live date, PRINCE2. If it has a service level, ITIL. Many IT departments expect both eventually, and Foundation level of either is achievable in a couple of weeks.
- Can I practise both ITILFND V4: ITIL 4 Foundation and PRINCE2-Foundation: PRINCE2 Foundation?
- Yes. Each opens with 10 free questions. A single exam is a one-time $19.99 for 30 days, and full access at $39.99 a month covers both and every other exam in the catalogue.
- Is there a timed practice test for each?
- Yes — 65 questions in 130 minutes on both, scored the moment you finish, so you can compare how ready you are for each before committing to one.
Practise both before you decide
10 free questions on each, no card and no account. Full access at $39.99 a month covers both and everything else.