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Compare certifications Pick up to 3 certifications and compare them side-by-side on cost, exam format, recertification, salary signal, quality, and domain coverage.
CompTIA · expert
CASP+ CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner+
CompTIA's SecurityX (formerly CASP+, current exam code CAS-005) is one of the few vendor-neutral advanced certifications for technical security experts without management focus. It deliberately positions itself as a technical alternative to CISSP and is recognized by DoD and US government agencies as an 8570-compliant credential, which is a real advantage in government environments. In the private sector, market perception is mixed: CISSP clearly dominates job postings, but SecurityX provides a credible signal for technically deep skills. The pass/fail format without score disclosure is unusual and criticized by some as lacking transparency. Performance-based questions increase the practical rigor.
Official page ISC2 · expert
CISSP Certified Information Systems Security Professional
Breadth across security engineering, architecture, operations, and governance at senior-IC / manager level. The default senior-generalist signal.
Official page Comparing
CompTIA CASP+
ISC2 CISSP
› Cost Annual maintenance fee
—
$135/yr
3-year cost of ownership
$494
$1,154
› Exam mechanics Pass mark
CASP+ Pass/Fail (no scaled score published; CompTIA's only ungraded exam)
CISSP 700/1000 (CAT-derived)
Pass mark
Pass/Fail (no scaled score published; CompTIA's only ungraded exam)
700/1000 (CAT-derived)
Retake policy
CASP+ $509 fee · 14d wait
CISSP $749 fee · 30d wait · 4/yr cap
Retake policy
$509 fee · 14d wait
$749 fee · 30d wait · 4/yr cap
Study time
CASP+ 100–200 hrs
CISSP 150–300 hrs
Study time
100–200 hrs
150–300 hrs
Delivery
CASP+ mixed
CISSP test center
› Salary signal (US base) Range
CASP+ $115K – $160K
CISSP $130K – $200K
Range
$115K – $160K
$130K – $200K
Median
CASP+ $130,000
CISSP $155,000
Role context
CASP+ Senior security engineer / DoD security professional, US, 5+ years. Concentrated in defense / federal contractor roles.
CISSP Senior security engineer / architect, US, 5+ years experience.
Role context
Senior security engineer / DoD security professional, US, 5+ years. Concentrated in defense / federal contractor roles.
Senior security engineer / architect, US, 5+ years experience.
› Quality (4-axis rubric · 0–10) › Recognition & lifecycle Recognition
CASP+ Global
CISSP Global · US · EU · UK · DACH
Recognition
Global
Global · US · EU · UK · DACH
Holders worldwide
15,000
190,000
Current version
CASP+ CAS-004 (rebranding to SecurityX CAS-005) (2021-10) [in_transition]
CISSP 2024 CBK refresh (2024-04)
Current version
CAS-004 (rebranding to SecurityX CAS-005) (2021-10) [in_transition]
2024 CBK refresh (2024-04)
› Domain coverage A1 Governance, Risk & Compliance
A1 Governance, Risk & Compliance
·
● core
A10 Security Operations
·
● core
A11 Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
A11 Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
·
● core
A12 Data Security, Privacy & Protection
A12 Data Security, Privacy & Protection
·
● core
A13 Supply Chain Security
·
○ touched
A18 Security Leadership
·
○ touched
A2 Network Security
·
● core
A21 Malware Analysis & Reverse Engineering
A21 Malware Analysis & Reverse Engineering
·
⚠ gap
A25 Security Architecture & Engineering
A25 Security Architecture & Engineering
● core
● core
A3 Zero Trust Architecture
A3 Zero Trust Architecture
·
● core
A4 Application Security
● core
● core
A5 Cloud Security
CASP+ ● core
CISSP ○ touched
A5 Cloud Security
● core
○ touched
A6 Identity & Access Management
A6 Identity & Access Management
·
● core
A7 Incident Response & Forensics
A7 Incident Response & Forensics
·
○ touched
A9 Penetration Testing & Red Teaming
A9 Penetration Testing & Red Teaming
·
○ touched
B1 AI-Powered Threat Detection
B1 AI-Powered Threat Detection
·
⚠ gap
B2 AI-Driven Security Automation
B2 AI-Driven Security Automation
·
⚠ gap
B3 AI for Vulnerability Management
B3 AI for Vulnerability Management
·
⚠ gap
C1 Adversarial Machine Learning
C1 Adversarial Machine Learning
·
⚠ gap
C11 Agentic AI Security
·
⚠ gap
C2 LLM-Specific Attacks
·
⚠ gap
D2 Post-Quantum Cryptography
D2 Post-Quantum Cryptography
·
⚠ gap
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