CompTIA Security+
Issued by CompTIA. Below is what it costs, how long it lasts, and what it actually signals — with the date we checked.
CompTIA Security+
CompTIA · SY0-701
Free to learn · paid certificate Recognized
| Cost | $439 Raised to $439 on 2026-06-01. Figures below that are pre-hike and stale. |
|---|---|
| Validity | 3 years. |
| Renewal | 50 continuing-education units plus about $50/yr (~$150 per cycle), or renew automatically via a higher certificate such as CySA+, PenTest+ or SecurityX. |
| Assessment | Proctored exam — 90 questions, 90 minutes, pass mark 750/900 |
| Proctored | Yes |
| Verify via | Credly |
| Cost per active year | $196/yr(439 + 150) ÷ 3 |
Named repeatedly as the foot-in-the-door credential for defensive security roles, and used as a DoD 8570 baseline.
This is a worked example of why we date everything: an apparent three-way price conflict was really one price change with stale copies downstream.
Verified 2026-07-25 · Official page
How we know
Price corrected 2026-07-25. Three sources citing $392/$404/$425 were not three disagreeing estimates — all three predate CompTIA's 2026-06-01 price rise. Current official figure is $439.
Last verified 2026-07-25 · https://www.comptia.org/en-us/certifications/security/
Free preparation
Free resources first. Everything below is free to use; the exam itself is the paid part.
MITRE ATT&CK
Free to learn · no certificate
The shared catalogue of attacker techniques, free and open. It is the vocabulary security teams and reports actually use, which makes it the highest-leverage thing to learn early.
Verified 2026-07-27
CISA — cyber threats and advisories
Free to learn · no certificate
Current advisories from the US cyber defence agency, free and public. Reading real advisories teaches the shape of an incident better than a course.
Verified 2026-07-27
Professor Messer Security+ SY0-701 full video course
Free to learn · no certificate
Free course covering the current Security+ objectives. The course is free; the exam is a separate paid purchase.
Verified 2026-07-25
Professor Messer Security+ SY0-701 full video course
Free to learn · no certificate
Complete free course covering the current exam objectives.
Verified 2026-07-25
LetsDefend — SOC simulation
Free to learn · no certificate
Alert investigation and log analysis against simulated incidents. Free tier is live; paid tiers exist and are not counted here.
Verified 2026-07-25
TryHackMe free rooms
Free to learn · no certificate
The SOC Level 1 path contains free rooms. A subscription exists — only the free rooms are counted here.
Verified 2026-07-25
Used by these roles
- Security Analyst — You work out what an attacker did, or is doing, and write it up so someone can act.
- SOC Analyst — You watch the alerts, work out which ones matter, and investigate the ones that do.