Scrum Master Certification program is conducted by several bodies like Scrum Alliance, Scrum.org, Scrum Institute, ScrumStudy, Exin, PMI etc. and also called by different names.

Each body claims its certification to be the best and most valued in the market. However as with any certification, the most important thing is knowledge and real experience which can only be achieved by doing a training from an experienced trainer followed up with real life work experience in Scrum over several years.

Here is a summary comparing the different options:

https://www.smartsheet.com/everything-you-need-know-about-becoming-certified-scrum-master

Summary of Training Cost:

There is difference in the price of certifications as well –

Certification body	Name of Certification	Certification Only	Training Only Cost	Certification Plus Training
Scrum Institute	Scrum Master Accredited Certification	USD 39	Rs. 8,000	USD 150
Exin	EXIN Agile Scrum Master	USD 200		INR 22,000 to 24000
Scrum Alliance	Certified ScrumMaster®	Not available	Not available	INR 26,000 to 29,000
ScrumStudy	Scrum Master Certified	USD 300	Rs. 8,000	INR 20,000 to 24000
Scrum.org	Professional Scrum Master I	USD 150	Rs.10,000	USD 300
PMI	PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (It goes beyond just Scrum)	USD 435	INR 12,000

 

Which certification is legitimate?

If one were to browse the internet then one will come across several posts bad-mouthing the certification bodies. Read for yourself …

Against ScrumAlliance

http://www.uiandtherest.com/ui/index.php/2010/12/03/is-scrum-alliance-csm-certification-legit/

Against ScrumStudy

http://scottdunn.blogspot.com/2014/03/newcomers-bad-ethics-in-agile-community.html­‑

 

Fair Synopsis

ScrumAlliance is the oldest body offering Scrum Certification. It is an alliance of trainers known as ‘Certified Scrum Trainers’. Although ScrumAlliance is a not-for-profit body, their trainings are prohibitively costly.

They are now seeing themselves being challenged by ‘newbees’ like ScrumStudy and others which can potentially upset the ‘applecart’ and cutting into their pie. Hence, founders of SrumAlliance are furious at ScrumStudy and are going hammer and tongs against them.

Another comparison point is the amount of training materials made available on the net from ScrumStudy is much more than that available from ScrumAlliance. One can do the comparison by visiting their respective websites.

In all fairness, it is a free market and there are several bodies offering similar certification. So ScrumAlliance is as legitimate as ScrumStudy or any other body offering the certification. There are many corporate bodies who have got their employees certified through ScrumStudy to avoid the ‘Big Boy’s Club’.

Since there is no official regulating body for scrum certifications, like PMP, CPA, etc. It seems one is as good as the other! Unless you have actual experience managing scrum projects the only thing that certification represents is a base level of knowledge at best. Employers would be smart to require hands on experience over the CSM certification if their goal is to hire resources who will know what they are doing!