Exam fee
Varies by country
CompTIA shows the price for your country before you pay
Cost, pay and fit
Is Security+ worth it?
Yes, if you want to work in security and don’t yet have a security certification or years of experience to show. It’s written as a first security certification, it has no entry requirements, and CompTIA lists it for US Department of Defense work roles. It gets you considered for a job. It doesn’t replace hands-on skill.
Last updated
The cost
What it costs
The exam fee is the certification’s fixed cost. Study material and your own time come on top.
Keeping it
Valid for 3 years
Earn 50 CEUs within the three years and pay the CE fee
A fee covers one attempt: if you don’t pass, the next attempt is paid for again. What every exam costs
The return
What the jobs pay
US government figures for the occupations this certification most often leads to.
Information security analysts
$129,180
Median pay a year, 2025
- Employed
- 192,900
- Openings a year
- About 14,100
- Outlook
- Expected to grow much faster than average (7% or higher) from 2025 to 2035
Security+ is aimed at the first rungs of this occupation: junior analyst, security administrator and similar roles.
These figures cover everyone in the occupation in the United States, with or without the certification, at every level of experience. Starting pay is lower, and no certification guarantees a job.
Source: O*NET OnLine (US Department of Labor), from Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data and employment projections. Checked November 10, 2026. How we check our facts
Recognition
What the vendor says
Quoted from the vendor’s own page, so read it as their claim.
CompTIA lists Security+ for US Department of Defense (DoD 8140) work roles, among them cyber defense analyst, incident responder, vulnerability analyst and system administrator.
CompTIA’s Security+ page · Read November 10, 2026
Your decision
Is Security+ worth it for you?
It’s worth it if
- you’re moving into security from IT support, networking or systems administration.
- you’re aiming at US Department of Defense work, or a contractor’s: CompTIA lists Security+ for several of its cyber work roles.
- a job you want asks for it, or for “Security+ or equivalent”.
Think twice if
- you already hold a higher security certification, such as CySA+ or CISSP: it adds little on top.
- you have no IT background yet. Learn the fundamentals first, or the exam turns into memorization.
- you expect the certificate alone to get you hired. Employers also look for what you can do.
FAQs
Got Questions? We’ve Got Answers.
Find quick answers or contact our support team.
Is Security+ worth it in 2026?
Yes, if you want to work in security and don’t yet have a security certification or years of experience to show. It’s written as a first security certification, it has no entry requirements, and CompTIA lists it for US Department of Defense work roles. It gets you considered for a job. It doesn’t replace hands-on skill.
How much does Security+ cost?
Varies by country. CompTIA shows the price for your country before you pay.
What jobs does Security+ lead to, and what do they pay?
The closest occupation is information security analysts (median pay $129,180 a year in 2025). The figures are for the United States, from O*NET OnLine, the US Department of Labor’s occupation database. They cover everyone in the occupation, with or without the certification, so starting pay is lower.
Does Security+ expire?
Valid for 3 years. To keep it: earn 50 CEUs within the three years and pay the CE fee.
How hard is Security+?
We rate it intermediate, going by the level CompTIA gives it and the experience it expects. You need 750 out of 900. CompTIA recommends Network+ and 2 years in security administration. It isn’t required to sit the exam.
