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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.
ISC2 · professional
CCSPCertified Cloud Security Professional
Cloud security architecture: shared responsibility, identity, data protection, crypto, and cloud-native detection.
Official pageMicrosoft · associate
AZ-500Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate
Azure-native security engineering: Entra ID, network controls, Defender, Sentinel.
Official pageComparing
ISC2CCSP
MicrosoftAZ-500
› Cost
Exam fee
CCSP$599
AZ-500$165
Exam fee
$599
$165
Annual maintenance fee
CCSP$135/yr
AZ-500—
Annual maintenance fee
$135/yr
—
3-year cost of ownership
CCSP$1,004
AZ-500$165
3-year cost of ownership
$1,004
$165
› Exam mechanics
Pass mark
CCSP700/1000 (scaled)
AZ-500700/1000 (scaled)
Pass mark
700/1000 (scaled)
700/1000 (scaled)
Retake policy
CCSP$599 fee · 30d wait · 4/yr cap
AZ-500$165 fee · 1d wait
Retake policy
$599 fee · 30d wait · 4/yr cap
$165 fee · 1d wait
Study time
CCSP100–180 hrs
AZ-50060–120 hrs
Study time
100–180 hrs
60–120 hrs
Validity
CCSP3 yrs
AZ-5001 yr
Validity
3 yrs
1 yr
CPE / yr
CCSP30 CPEs
AZ-5000 CPEs
CPE / yr
30 CPEs
0 CPEs
Delivery
CCSPtest center
AZ-500online proctored
Delivery
test center
online proctored
› Salary signal (US base)
Range
CCSP$130K – $190K
AZ-500$115K – $165K
Range
$130K – $190K
$115K – $165K
Median
CCSP$155,000
AZ-500$135,000
Median
$155,000
$135,000
Premium %
CCSP—
AZ-500—
Premium %
—
—
Role context
CCSPCloud security engineer / architect, US, 4+ years.
AZ-500Azure security engineer, US, 3–5 years.
Role context
Cloud security engineer / architect, US, 4+ years.
Azure security engineer, US, 3–5 years.
› Quality (4-axis rubric · 0–10)
Schema quality
CCSP8.5
AZ-5008.5
Schema quality
8.5
8.5
Practice evidence
CCSP2.5
AZ-5006.5
Practice evidence
2.5
6.5
Maintenance
CCSP8.5
AZ-5009.5
Maintenance
8.5
9.5
Market recognition
CCSP8.5
AZ-5009.0
Market recognition
8.5
9.0
Average
CCSP7.0
AZ-5008.4
Average
7.0
8.4
› Recognition & lifecycle
Recognition
CCSPGlobal · US · EU · UK · DACH
AZ-500Global · US · EU · UK
Recognition
Global · US · EU · UK · DACH
Global · US · EU · UK
ISO 17024 accredited
CCSP✓
AZ-500—
ISO 17024 accredited
✓
—
DoD 8140 baseline
CCSP—
AZ-500—
DoD 8140 baseline
—
—
Holders worldwide
CCSP30,000
AZ-500—
Holders worldwide
30,000
—
Current version
CCSP2022 CBK refresh (2022-08)
AZ-500AZ-500 (current) (2024-11)
Current version
2022 CBK refresh (2022-08)
AZ-500 (current) (2024-11)
› Domain coverage
A10Security Operations
CCSP○ touched
AZ-500○ touched
A10Security Operations
○ touched
○ touched
A11Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
CCSP○ touched
AZ-500● core
A11Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
○ touched
● core
A12Data Security, Privacy & Protection
CCSP● core
AZ-500○ touched
A12Data Security, Privacy & Protection
● core
○ touched
A13Supply Chain Security
CCSP○ touched
AZ-500·
A13Supply Chain Security
○ touched
·
A14OT/ICS Security
CCSP⚠ gap
AZ-500·
A14OT/ICS Security
⚠ gap
·
A15Cryptography
CCSP● core
AZ-500·
A15Cryptography
● core
·
A2Network Security
CCSP·
AZ-500○ touched
A2Network Security
·
○ touched
A23Recovery, Resilience & Cyber Recovery
CCSP● core
AZ-500·
A23Recovery, Resilience & Cyber Recovery
● core
·
A25Security Architecture & Engineering
CCSP● core
AZ-500·
A25Security Architecture & Engineering
● core
·
A3Zero Trust Architecture
CCSP○ touched
AZ-500·
A3Zero Trust Architecture
○ touched
·
A5Cloud Security
CCSP● core
AZ-500● core
A5Cloud Security
● core
● core
A6Identity & Access Management
CCSP● core
AZ-500● core
A6Identity & Access Management
● core
● core
A9Penetration Testing & Red Teaming
CCSP⚠ gap
AZ-500·
A9Penetration Testing & Red Teaming
⚠ gap
·
C1Adversarial Machine Learning
CCSP⚠ gap
AZ-500·
C1Adversarial Machine Learning
⚠ gap
·
C6AI Infrastructure Security
CCSP⚠ gap
AZ-500·
C6AI Infrastructure Security
⚠ gap
·
Browse the full catalog or open any one of these on its detail page for full study materials, peer comparisons, and lifecycle notes.