Siemens SITRAIN Review: Course Prices, SITRAIN Access and Certification
An honest look at Siemens SITRAIN: what TIA Portal courses like TIA-PRO1 cost, what the SITRAIN access subscription includes, how the Siemens Certified Programmer exam works, and cheaper ways to prepare.
Short answer: SITRAIN is Siemens' official industrial training organisation. It sells classroom, online and self-paced courses on TIA Portal, SIMATIC S7, WinCC, drives and safety, plus a yearly SITRAIN access subscription and a few certification exams.
Two published price examples on October 25, 2026:
- TIA-PRO1 SIMATIC Programming 1 in TIA Portal on Siemens' German SITRAIN site: €2,990 for 5 days, face-to-face in Erlangen.
- The same course through AFS Automation, a US distributor: $3,850 for a 4-day class in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The SITRAIN access subscription price is shown only after login on Siemens' SiePortal, so check their site.
SITRAIN is the right choice when you work in a Siemens plant and need official instruction or the Siemens Certified Programmer credential. It is expensive for self-funded beginners, who should learn the fundamentals first.
Researched October 25, 2026 from Siemens' SITRAIN pages and public distributor listings (sources at the end). Siemens moved SITRAIN to a new site, sitrain.siemens.com, and older sitrain-learning URLs now redirect, so prices quoted elsewhere from the old site may be out of date. We did not take a SITRAIN course.
Ownership disclosure: PLC Programming and PLC Simulation Software are run by the same team. Our product appears in the alternatives section, with its prices and limits stated.
What SITRAIN sells
| Offering | What it is | Price (as published Oct 25, 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| SITRAIN access (Learning Membership) | 365 days of unlimited access to all SITRAIN digital courses and curricula, 2 hours of free Siemens Virtual Lab, and a manager account for teams of more than 5 (US page) | Annual single-user subscription with automatic extension, bought on SiePortal (part 9TF6276-2XA11-1AL4); price shown after login, so check their site |
| TIA-PRO1 SIMATIC Programming 1 in TIA Portal | 5-day classroom course on an S7-1500 with a conveyor model; also offered online (5 days) and as a 40-hour Learning Journey (TIA-PRO1-LJ) | €2,990 in Erlangen, Germany; $3,850 for 4 days through AFS Automation in the US |
| TIA-SERV1 service course | 5 days, online or classroom (German catalog) | Check their site |
| Siemens Certified Programmer in TIA Portal (CPT-FAP) | 3 days: 2 days of theory, then a 5-hour practical exam | No dates or price shown on review date |
A detail worth knowing: the German TIA-PRO1 page says SITRAIN access is included from one week before the course to two weeks after it. That gives classroom students some self-paced material around the class.
US course lengths differ. Siemens' German catalog runs TIA-PRO1 over 5 days. US distributor listings we found (AFS Automation, Electro-Matic) ran it over 4 days. Compare the outline, not only the price.
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The Siemens Certified Programmer path
The certification page describes:
- Format: a 3-day block with a practical exam on an S7-1500, ET 200SP, TP700 panel, SINAMICS G120 drive and a belt model.
- Prerequisite: TIA-PRO3. TIA-PRO1 is described as "the first of three courses" toward the certification, so the full route is TIA-PRO1, TIA-PRO2, TIA-PRO3, then the exam.
- Credential: "a recognized certificate" built on ZVEI guidelines.
Siemens lists other certifications too, such as Safety (CPT-TIASAF) and PCS 7.
This is one of the most demanding vendor PLC exams: a real practical on real hardware, not a multiple-choice quiz. It also takes three 5-day courses before you can sit it. At the German price for TIA-PRO1, three courses alone are well over €8,000 before the exam, travel and time off. That figure is our extrapolation, so check current prices for PRO2 and PRO3.
What SITRAIN does well
- Official, current content. Course codes track the current TIA Portal and S7-1500 generation.
- Real hardware in class. The TIA-PRO1 kit is an S7-1500 plus a conveyor model.
- A rigorous certification. The Certified Programmer exam is practical and hardware-based.
- Flexible formats. Classroom, online, Learning Journey and a yearly subscription.
Where it falls short
- Cost for individuals. Prices are set for employer-funded training.
- Regional variation. Course length, price and dates differ by country and distributor, and the new site hides some prices behind login.
- Pace. A 5-day course covers a lot. Without prior ladder and PLC basics, beginners struggle to keep up.
- Little practice afterwards. Once the class ends, you need TIA Portal and hardware, or PLCSIM, to keep practising.
Alternatives and cheaper preparation
| If you need… | Consider | Price (as published) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLC fundamentals and daily practice before SITRAIN | PLC Simulation Software (our product) | Free tier with no expiry; Pro $29/month or $249/year; Teams $199/seat/year (5-seat minimum) (product facts) | Browser lessons in nine learning dialects, including Siemens SCL, plus graded scenarios and fault-finding. Not TIA Portal, not PLCSIM and not a Siemens certificate. |
| Free official learning material | Siemens SCE (Automation Cooperates with Education) modules | Check Siemens' access terms | Curriculum documents for schools and learners; see our Siemens PLC training guide |
| Low-cost TIA Portal video courses | Online course platforms such as PLC Dojo | Low one-time prices | Video plus your own TIA Portal trial |
| A step-by-step TIA Portal walkthrough | TIA Portal tutorial | Free | Concepts first, then the real IDE |
| Allen-Bradley instead of Siemens | Rockwell instructor-led courses | Distributor-priced | See Rockwell Automation training cost |
Who should choose SITRAIN?
- Good fit: engineers and technicians in Siemens plants, especially in Europe, whose employer pays.
- Good fit: anyone who needs the Siemens Certified Programmer credential.
- Partial fit: the SITRAIN access subscription for people who want official self-paced content. Check the price after login.
- Poor first step: self-funded beginners who haven't yet learned basic ladder, timers and counters.
Frequently asked questions
How much does SITRAIN cost?
It depends on the course and region. On October 25, 2026, TIA-PRO1 was listed at €2,990 for 5 days in Germany and at $3,850 for 4 days through the US distributor AFS Automation. The SITRAIN access subscription price is shown only after login on SiePortal.
What is SITRAIN access?
SITRAIN access is Siemens' yearly digital learning membership. The US page describes 365 days of unlimited access to all digital courses and curricula, 2 hours of Siemens Virtual Lab time, and a manager account for teams of more than five.
How do you become a Siemens Certified Programmer?
Complete the TIA Portal programming sequence through TIA-PRO3, then take the 3-day Siemens Certified Programmer in TIA Portal block, which ends in a 5-hour practical exam on S7-1500 hardware. Dates and prices are set regionally.
Is SITRAIN worth it?
For Siemens-plant staff whose employer pays, yes: it is the official, current and hardware-based route. For a self-funded beginner, learn PLC fundamentals cheaply first, so a SITRAIN course is spent on Siemens-specific skills rather than basics.
Sources
- SITRAIN USA: SITRAIN access / Learning Membership
- SiePortal: SITRAIN access subscription
- SITRAIN Germany: SIMATIC Programming 1 in TIA Portal (TIA-PRO1)
- SITRAIN Germany: Siemens Certified Programmer in TIA Portal
- AFS Automation: TIA-PRO1 listing
- Electro-Matic: Siemens training listings
Related reading
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