Most "top consulting firms" lists are prestige theater. They stack McKinsey, BCG, and Bain on a ladder, then pad the page with folklore revenue numbers private partnerships never publish.
What actually helps you choose targets is thinner and more useful: disclosed scale, a published interview format, an entry pay band you can cite, and an office footprint you can reach. After this piece you should be able to score any firm on those four filters, drop the ones that fail them, and point your case prep at the formats those firms actually describe.
CoachNed is independent of every firm named here. Firm deep-dives live in separate guides; this page is the filter, not the encyclopedia.
The four filters (state these before any ranking)
I score a firm for recruiting purposes on evidence a candidate can open and date—not on peer surveys or anonymous salary posts.
| Filter | What counts | What does not |
|---|---|---|
| Disclosed scale | Revenue or headcount in a filing, annual review, or signed press release | "About $X billion" with no source year |
| Published interview format | Careers page or official assessment hub naming the steps | Round counts from forums |
| Entry pay band | School employment report or firm-posted band | Glassdoor medians treated as fact |
| Office footprint | Cities and countries the firm states | "Global presence" with no map |
If a cell is blank, leave it blank. Blank is information: private partnerships often withhold revenue on purpose. Treating an estimate as a rank is how candidates waste applications on a hierarchy that was never measurable.
Firms with numbers you can actually open
The table below uses parent or segment figures the organizations published. Strategy boutiques that do not disclose revenue are listed for interview format only where the careers page is public—and left incomplete on money.
| Firm or network | Disclosed scale (as of) | Source type | Notes for candidates |
|---|---|---|---|
| BCG | $13.5B revenue, 33,000 people (2024); $14.4B, 33,500 (2025) | Firm press releases | One of the few strategy giants that publishes both |
| Bain | 17,266 employees (31 Dec 2024); revenue confidential | GRI / WEF report | Headcount is firm-stated; do not invent revenue |
| McKinsey | Revenue and total headcount not in audited public filings | Sustainability report discloses clients and countries, not P&L | Prepare to the published interview spine, not to a fake #1 |
| Deloitte network | $70.5B FY2025; 470,000+ people; consulting services $43.7B | Global revenue announcement / metrics PDF | Parent scale ≠ Monitor Deloitte headcount |
| PwC network | $56.9B FY25 (year ended 30 Jun 2025); ~364,000 people | Global press release | Strategy& sits inside a much larger network |
| EY network | $53.2B FY25; 406,209 people; Strategy and Transactions $6.2B / 25,036 people | EY revenue release | Rare Big 4 disclosure of a strategy-adjacent line |
| KPMG network | $39.8B FY25 continued ops; 276,030 people (30 Sep 2025) | KPMG press release | Advisory is one function inside the network |
| Accenture | $69.67B FY2025; Consulting $35.11B; ~779,000 people (31 Aug 2025) | Earnings release / 10-K | Public company; consulting is half of revenue, not all of it |
| Oliver Wyman Group | $3.4B revenue (2024); 7,200+ professionals | Marsh McLennan filings | Includes Oliver Wyman, Lippincott, NERA |
| Capgemini Group | €22.1B revenue (2024); 341,100 people (31 Dec 2024) | Investor results | Invent is not broken out as a separate P&L |
| FTI Consulting | $3.699B revenue (2024); 8,374 employees (31 Dec 2024) | Press release / annual report | Public specialist; restructuring and forensics heavy |
BCG's own April 2025 release put 2024 revenue at $13.5 billion with headcount at 33,000; its April 2026 release raised that to $14.4 billion and 33,500 people. Bain's 2024 GRI index states 17,266 employees and that financial information is confidential. Those two sentences already beat most prestige lists: one firm publishes money, one publishes people, and McKinsey publishes neither as a network total.
Strategy partnerships: prepare the published process, not the brand ladder
McKinsey, BCG, and Bain still dominate MBA consulting placement at many schools. That is a labor-market fact, not a quality ranking. What you can practice against is what each firm puts on its careers site.
McKinsey states that for most consulting roles you take Solve, then a personal experience interview and a problem-solving (case) interview. BCG publishes a case interview preparation page that describes structuring, questioning, math, and communication—and links practice cases. Bain publishes a digital assessment hub naming Sova or TestGorilla when assigned, roughly 30–40 minutes, mandatory when required.
Full firm walkthroughs: McKinsey case interview guide, BCG Casey guide, Bain SOVA guide, what is BCG, what is Bain. Do not re-learn their histories here.
Ned's rule. If a firm will not put its interview steps on a careers page you can bookmark, treat brand lore as optional reading and treat case structure, chart reading, and clean math as mandatory. The scoring sheet is local; the folklore is global.
Big 4 networks: read the parent number, target the practice
Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG publish network-wide revenue because the market demands it. Use those figures for scale and stability. Do not confuse them with the headcount of Monitor Deloitte, Strategy&, EY-Parthenon, or KPMG's strategy group unless the firm breaks that line out.
As of the FY2025 announcements: Deloitte $70.5 billion and 470,000-plus people (consulting services $43.7 billion in its performance metrics PDF); PwC $56.9 billion; EY $53.2 billion with Strategy and Transactions at $6.2 billion and 25,036 people; KPMG $39.8 billion continued operations and 276,030 people.
For how those networks hire and how they differ from MBB day-to-day, use Big 4 consulting firms and types of consulting firms. Interview formats vary by country and practice; follow the invitation, not a generic "Big 4 case" myth.
Public implementation and specialist firms
Accenture's FY2025 results show $69.67 billion in revenue, of which Consulting was $35.11 billion, with about 779,000 people in the 10-K summary. Capgemini's 2024 results show €22.1 billion and 341,100 people at year-end—group figures, not Invent alone.
Oliver Wyman Group is one of the rare strategy-heavy units with a parent filing: Marsh McLennan reported about $3.4 billion of Oliver Wyman Group revenue for 2024 and more than 7,200 professionals in its annual materials. FTI Consulting's 2024 results show $3.699 billion and 8,374 employees—useful as a public specialist benchmark when candidates equate "top" only with MBB logos.
Sector shortlists (healthcare, financial services, and so on) belong in those vertical guides, not in another prestige stack here.
Entry pay: use school reports, not rumor ladders
Harvard Business School's Class of 2025 consulting function page reports a median base salary of $190,000, a median signing bonus of $30,000 (91% receiving), and a median variable bonus of $40,000 (90% receiving). That is an MBA consulting cohort, heavily weighted to the firms that hire on campus—not a firm-by-firm disclosure.
Undergraduate and experienced-hire bands move by city and market. When a firm posts a range on the job requisition, use that. When it does not, cite the school report for your program year and label everything else as estimate. For a deeper pay walkthrough, see CoachNed's salary tools after you shortlist firms—not before.
Worked example: triage nine applications in twelve weeks
Assume you are in Chicago, finishing an MBA, and you can run three serious applications per month for twelve weeks—nine total. Score each target 0 or 1 on the four filters, then take the sum.
| Target | Scale disclosed | Interview format published | Pay band citeable | Chicago / Midwest office | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BCG | 1 | 1 | 1 (HBS cohort) | 1 | 4 |
| Bain | 1 (headcount) | 1 (digital assessment page) | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| McKinsey | 0 (no P&L) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Deloitte Consulting | 1 (parent + consulting line) | 1 (practice-dependent) | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| EY Strategy and Transactions | 1 (line disclosed) | Check invite | 1 | 1 | 3–4 |
| Kearney / L.E.K. / Roland Berger | Often 0 on revenue | Check careers page | Partial | Office-dependent | 1–3 |
| Boutique with no careers process page | 0 | 0 | 0 | ? | 0–1 |
Priority order for this candidate: fill the four-score slots first, then McKinsey on process strength, then any boutique that publishes a clear process and has a reachable office. Skip prestige-only names that fail three filters. That is nine applications with a memory of why each exists—not twenty logos and no reps.
Reproduce the table with your city and your calendar. Change a 1 to a 0 when you cannot open a primary source in five minutes.
Practice against the formats you just filtered
Once three firms clear the filters, stop collecting lists and run the assessments those firms describe.
- Open Solve or Bain SOVA or BCG CCA for the digital screen your invite names.
- Run one live voice case on /interview (CopperCup, about 18 minutes, seven-score debrief) or three typed turns on /start if you have five minutes.
- Drill structure and math on /drills/structure and /drills/math until the sheet stops leaking points on setup and arithmetic.
Everything on CoachNed is open for seven days with no card; then $120 for a recruiting season or $49 a month.
Frequently asked questions
Which consulting firm is number one in 2026?
There is no durable number-one once you drop prestige surveys. BCG discloses recent revenue and headcount; Bain discloses headcount and withholds revenue; McKinsey withholds both as network totals. Rank the application you can prepare for, not a logo order.
How should I compare MBB and Big 4 as a candidate?
Compare day-to-day work type, published interview steps, and parent versus practice scale. Big 4 networks publish larger revenue because they include audit, tax, and technology. MBB partnerships sit closer to pure strategy staffing. Use how to get into consulting for path design after you pick a tier.
Do consulting firms publish starting salaries?
Rarely as a universal global band. Business-school employment reports (for example HBS consulting medians for the Class of 2025) are the durable public source for MBA cohorts. Prefer a posted requisition range when one exists.
Is Accenture a strategy firm or an implementation firm?
Accenture's FY2025 filings split revenue into Consulting ($35.11B) and Managed Services ($34.57B). Strategy work exists inside a much larger technology and operations machine. Score it on the role description you applied to, not on a single bucket label.
Should I apply only to firms that disclose revenue?
No. Apply where the interview format is published and the office is reachable. Disclosed revenue helps you understand scale; missing revenue only means you should not invent a rank from an estimate.
Sources
- BCG press release: 2024 revenue $13.5B, headcount 33,000 — BCG disclosed scale for 2024. Checked 2026-09-24.
- BCG press release: 2025 revenue $14.4B, headcount 33,500 — BCG disclosed scale for 2025. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Bain & Company GRI index and WEF report 2024 — Bain employee count and confidentiality of financials. Checked 2026-09-24.
- McKinsey interviewing — PEI and problem-solving interview description. Checked 2026-09-24.
- McKinsey Solve — gamified assessment step. Checked 2026-09-24.
- BCG case interview preparation — published case interview expectations. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Bain digital assessment — Sova / TestGorilla timing and rules. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Deloitte FY2025 global revenue announcement — $70.5B and workforce scale. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Deloitte 2025 performance metrics PDF — consulting services $43.7B. Checked 2026-09-24.
- PwC FY25 global revenues — $56.9B network revenue. Checked 2026-09-24.
- EY FY25 global revenue — $53.2B; Strategy and Transactions line and headcount. Checked 2026-09-24.
- KPMG FY25 revenue press release — $39.8B continued ops; 276,030 people. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Accenture FY2025 earnings PDF — $69.67B; Consulting $35.11B. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Accenture 2025 Form 10-K (company PDF) — ~779,000 people as of 31 Aug 2025. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Capgemini full-year 2024 results — €22.1B; 341,100 people. Checked 2026-09-24.
- FTI Consulting FY2024 results — $3.699B; 8,300-plus employees. Checked 2026-09-24.
- HBS Class of 2025 consulting employment data — median base $190k and bonus medians. Checked 2026-09-24.