SecProve
ProfessionalVendor-neutralCompTIA· issued from US

A+

CompTIA A+

CompTIA A+

Official page at CompTIA↔ Compare with another cert
Exam fee
$246
Ongoing
$0/yr AMF · 17 CPE/yr
Study time
60–150 hrs
Delivery
Hybrid
Validity
3 yrs (renewal cycle)

› Quality score

30.0 / 40

Four-axis SecProve rubric, each 0–10. SecProve editorial assessment — each axis carries a written justification so you can push back on any single call without dismissing the whole score.

Blueprint rigor
How well-defined and rigorous the exam blueprint is.
CompTIA A+ — IT support fundamentals; broad provider-neutral ECO.
7.5/10
Practical evidence
Hands-on labs / written reports vs pure MCQ.
Performance-based items grounded in real-system tasks.
5.5/10
Currency & upkeep
How aggressively content is kept current with the field.
Three-year refresh cycle; current 220-1101/1102 modern.
7.5/10
Market recognition
How often this signal actually moves a hiring decision.
Universal entry-level IT credential; often a security-track prerequisite. [Holders: 1.2M, 2024-12] [DoD 8140 listed]
9.5/10

› Market signals

public, citable inputs to the recognition score
Holders worldwide
1,200,000
as of 2024-12 · source
DoD 8140 baseline
Listed
IAT-I

› Exam format

Two exams (Core 1 + Core 2), max. 90 questions each, 90 minutes each, proctored via Pearson VUE. Passing score: 675/900 and 700/900 respectively.

Passing score
Core 1: 675/900; Core 2: 700/900
Retake policy
Fee: $404 per attempt
Wait: 0d between attempts

First retake immediate; 14-day wait before each subsequent attempt. Retake fee equals the standard exam fee.

› Recertification

Valid for 3 years. Renewal through 20 CEUs or higher-level CompTIA cert (stacking) or re-exam.

› NICE Framework work roles

The NIST NICE work-role IDs this cert maps to. NICCS lookup.

DD-WRL-001DD-WRL-004IO-WRL-005IO-WRL-007PD-WRL-004
Recognition
Global
Exam languages
en

› Core domains covered

The 1 domain this cert is centrally about. Passing the exam demonstrates working knowledge of each.

A2Network Security

Firewalls, IDS/IPS, network segmentation, DNS security, SD-WAN, VPN, traffic analysis, wireless security.

› Prerequisites

Experience

No formal prerequisites. Recommended: 9–12 months hands-on experience.

› Study materials

Curated starting points. Not exhaustive — vet each against your learning style and the current exam version.

Official guides
  • CompTIA A+ (220-1101 + 220-1102) Study Guide — Sybex / Pearson IT Certification
Training providers
Practice tests
  • Boson ExSim-Max for A+ (220-1101 + 220-1102)
  • Jason Dion Practice Exams (Udemy)

› Version & lifecycle

Current version
220-1101 + 220-1102
Released
2022-04

Two-part exam. CompTIA refreshes every ~3 years; next refresh expected 2025.

› Salary signal

Help desk / IT support, US, 0-2 years.

$45K–$70K
median $55K

Robert Half Salary Guide + Glassdoor 'IT Support / Help Desk' aggregations · 2024 · US base only · p25–p75 range

› How it compares

vs
Net+

A+ is general IT/help-desk; Network+ is the next CompTIA step into networking.

↔ Compare side-by-side

› Careers that commonly pursue this cert

SOC Analyst

Monitor, detect, and respond to security threats in a Security Operations Center. The front line of cyber defense.

Vulnerability Management Lead

Owns the end-to-end find → prioritize → fix → verify loop at scale, now increasingly AI-driven.

Threat Exposure Management / Attack Surface Analyst

External-first role: inventories what an attacker can see, tracks what's new, and drives closure through the org. The outside-in counterpart to vuln management.

See this cert’s domains highlighted on the interactive map, or compare it against the rest of the catalog.

Highlight on the domain mapBrowse all certifications