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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.
EC-Council · leadership
CCISOCertified Chief Information Security Officer
Executive leadership — governance, program mgmt, finance, and strategic planning for security.
Official pageISC2 · expert
CISSPCertified Information Systems Security Professional
Breadth across security engineering, architecture, operations, and governance at senior-IC / manager level. The default senior-generalist signal.
Official pageComparing
EC-CouncilCCISO
ISC2CISSP
› Cost
Exam fee
CCISO$999
CISSP$749
Exam fee
$999
$749
Annual maintenance fee
CCISO—
CISSP$135/yr
Annual maintenance fee
—
$135/yr
3-year cost of ownership
CCISO$999
CISSP$1,154
3-year cost of ownership
$999
$1,154
› Exam mechanics
Pass mark
CCISO72% (scaled)
CISSP700/1000 (CAT-derived)
Pass mark
72% (scaled)
700/1000 (CAT-derived)
Retake policy
CCISO$999 fee · 30d wait
CISSP$749 fee · 30d wait · 4/yr cap
Retake policy
$999 fee · 30d wait
$749 fee · 30d wait · 4/yr cap
Study time
CCISO80–160 hrs
CISSP150–300 hrs
Study time
80–160 hrs
150–300 hrs
Validity
CCISO3 yrs
CISSP3 yrs
Validity
3 yrs
3 yrs
CPE / yr
CCISO40 CPEs
CISSP40 CPEs
CPE / yr
40 CPEs
40 CPEs
Delivery
CCISOonline proctored
CISSPtest center
Delivery
online proctored
test center
› Salary signal (US base)
Range
CCISO$180K – $320K
CISSP$130K – $200K
Range
$180K – $320K
$130K – $200K
Median
CCISO$225,000
CISSP$155,000
Median
$225,000
$155,000
Premium %
CCISO—
CISSP+12%
Premium %
—
+12%
Role context
CCISOCISO / Deputy CISO, US, 10+ years. Very wide range — depends on company size.
CISSPSenior security engineer / architect, US, 5+ years experience.
Role context
CISO / Deputy CISO, US, 10+ years. Very wide range — depends on company size.
Senior security engineer / architect, US, 5+ years experience.
› Quality (4-axis rubric · 0–10)
Schema quality
CCISO3.5
CISSP9.0
Schema quality
3.5
9.0
Practice evidence
CCISO1.0
CISSP1.5
Practice evidence
1.0
1.5
Maintenance
CCISO3.0
CISSP8.0
Maintenance
3.0
8.0
Market recognition
CCISO3.5
CISSP9.5
Market recognition
3.5
9.5
Average
CCISO2.8
CISSP7.0
Average
2.8
7.0
› Recognition & lifecycle
Recognition
CCISOGlobal · US
CISSPGlobal · US · EU · UK · DACH
Recognition
Global · US
Global · US · EU · UK · DACH
ISO 17024 accredited
CCISO—
CISSP✓
ISO 17024 accredited
—
✓
DoD 8140 baseline
CCISO✓
CISSP✓
DoD 8140 baseline
✓
✓
Holders worldwide
CCISO4,000
CISSP190,000
Holders worldwide
4,000
190,000
Current version
CCISO2024 BoK (2024-01)
CISSP2024 CBK refresh (2024-04)
Current version
2024 BoK (2024-01)
2024 CBK refresh (2024-04)
› Domain coverage
A1Governance, Risk & Compliance
CCISO● core
CISSP● core
A1Governance, Risk & Compliance
● core
● core
A10Security Operations
CCISO·
CISSP● core
A10Security Operations
·
● core
A11Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
CCISO·
CISSP● core
A11Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
·
● core
A12Data Security, Privacy & Protection
CCISO○ touched
CISSP● core
A12Data Security, Privacy & Protection
○ touched
● core
A13Supply Chain Security
CCISO·
CISSP○ touched
A13Supply Chain Security
·
○ touched
A14OT/ICS Security
CCISO·
CISSP⚠ gap
A14OT/ICS Security
·
⚠ gap
A15Cryptography
CCISO·
CISSP● core
A15Cryptography
·
● core
A18Security Leadership
CCISO● core
CISSP○ touched
A18Security Leadership
● core
○ touched
A2Network Security
CCISO·
CISSP● core
A2Network Security
·
● core
A21Malware Analysis & Reverse Engineering
CCISO·
CISSP⚠ gap
A21Malware Analysis & Reverse Engineering
·
⚠ gap
A25Security Architecture & Engineering
CCISO○ touched
CISSP● core
A25Security Architecture & Engineering
○ touched
● core
A3Zero Trust Architecture
CCISO·
CISSP● core
A3Zero Trust Architecture
·
● core
A4Application Security
CCISO·
CISSP● core
A4Application Security
·
● core
A5Cloud Security
CCISO·
CISSP○ touched
A5Cloud Security
·
○ touched
A6Identity & Access Management
CCISO·
CISSP● core
A6Identity & Access Management
·
● core
A7Incident Response & Forensics
CCISO·
CISSP○ touched
A7Incident Response & Forensics
·
○ touched
A9Penetration Testing & Red Teaming
CCISO·
CISSP○ touched
A9Penetration Testing & Red Teaming
·
○ touched
B1AI-Powered Threat Detection
CCISO·
CISSP⚠ gap
B1AI-Powered Threat Detection
·
⚠ gap
B2AI-Driven Security Automation
CCISO·
CISSP⚠ gap
B2AI-Driven Security Automation
·
⚠ gap
B3AI for Vulnerability Management
CCISO·
CISSP⚠ gap
B3AI for Vulnerability Management
·
⚠ gap
C1Adversarial Machine Learning
CCISO·
CISSP⚠ gap
C1Adversarial Machine Learning
·
⚠ gap
C11Agentic AI Security
CCISO·
CISSP⚠ gap
C11Agentic AI Security
·
⚠ gap
C2LLM-Specific Attacks
CCISO·
CISSP⚠ gap
C2LLM-Specific Attacks
·
⚠ gap
C5AI Red Teaming
CCISO·
CISSP⚠ gap
C5AI Red Teaming
·
⚠ gap
C7AI Governance & Risk
CCISO○ touched
CISSP·
C7AI Governance & Risk
○ touched
·
D2Post-Quantum Cryptography
CCISO·
CISSP⚠ gap
D2Post-Quantum Cryptography
·
⚠ gap
Browse the full catalog or open any one of these on its detail page for full study materials, peer comparisons, and lifecycle notes.