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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 · associate
CEHCertified Ethical Hacker
Offensive-concepts breadth; light on hands-on rigor compared to OSCP.
Official pageOffSec · professional
OSCPOffensive Security Certified Professional
Hands-on penetration testing — exploitation, privilege escalation, AD attacks.
Official pageComparing
EC-CouncilCEH
OffSecOSCP
› Cost
Exam fee
CEH$1,199
OSCP$1,649
Exam fee
$1,199
$1,649
Annual maintenance fee
CEH—
OSCP—
Annual maintenance fee
—
—
3-year cost of ownership
CEH$1,199
OSCP$1,649
3-year cost of ownership
$1,199
$1,649
› Exam mechanics
Pass mark
CEHVariable cut score 60-85% depending on form difficulty
OSCP70 / 100 points across the 24-hour exam
Pass mark
Variable cut score 60-85% depending on form difficulty
70 / 100 points across the 24-hour exam
Retake policy
CEH$1,199 fee · 0d wait
OSCP$249 fee · 0d wait
Retake policy
$1,199 fee · 0d wait
$249 fee · 0d wait
Study time
CEH60–120 hrs
OSCP300–600 hrs
Study time
60–120 hrs
300–600 hrs
Validity
CEH3 yrs
OSCP3 yrs
Validity
3 yrs
3 yrs
CPE / yr
CEH40 CPEs
OSCP30 CPEs
CPE / yr
40 CPEs
30 CPEs
Delivery
CEHonline proctored
OSCPpractical lab
Delivery
online proctored
practical lab
› Salary signal (US base)
Range
CEH$75K – $115K
OSCP$110K – $170K
Range
$75K – $115K
$110K – $170K
Median
CEH$92,000
OSCP$135,000
Median
$92,000
$135,000
Premium %
CEH—
OSCP—
Premium %
—
—
Role context
CEHJunior penetration tester / security analyst, US, 1–4 years.
OSCPPenetration tester / red team operator, US, 3–5 years.
Role context
Junior penetration tester / security analyst, US, 1–4 years.
Penetration tester / red team operator, US, 3–5 years.
› Quality (4-axis rubric · 0–10)
Schema quality
CEH3.5
OSCP8.5
Schema quality
3.5
8.5
Practice evidence
CEH2.5
OSCP9.5
Practice evidence
2.5
9.5
Maintenance
CEH6.0
OSCP7.0
Maintenance
6.0
7.0
Market recognition
CEH7.5
OSCP9.5
Market recognition
7.5
9.5
Average
CEH4.9
OSCP8.6
Average
4.9
8.6
› Recognition & lifecycle
Recognition
CEHGlobal · US · DACH
OSCPGlobal · US · EU · UK
Recognition
Global · US · DACH
Global · US · EU · UK
ISO 17024 accredited
CEH✓
OSCP—
ISO 17024 accredited
✓
—
DoD 8140 baseline
CEH✓
OSCP—
DoD 8140 baseline
✓
—
Holders worldwide
CEH250,000
OSCP30,000
Holders worldwide
250,000
30,000
Current version
CEHv13 (AI-augmented) (2024-09)
OSCPPEN-200 (2024) (2024-03)
Current version
v13 (AI-augmented) (2024-09)
PEN-200 (2024) (2024-03)
› Domain coverage
A1Governance, Risk & Compliance
CEH·
OSCP⚠ gap
A1Governance, Risk & Compliance
·
⚠ gap
A12Data Security, Privacy & Protection
CEH·
OSCP⚠ gap
A12Data Security, Privacy & Protection
·
⚠ gap
A2Network Security
CEH● core
OSCP● core
A2Network Security
● core
● core
A21Malware Analysis & Reverse Engineering
CEH·
OSCP○ touched
A21Malware Analysis & Reverse Engineering
·
○ touched
A24Exposure Management & Attack Surface
CEH○ touched
OSCP○ touched
A24Exposure Management & Attack Surface
○ touched
○ touched
A4Application Security
CEH● core
OSCP● core
A4Application Security
● core
● core
A6Identity & Access Management
CEH·
OSCP● core
A6Identity & Access Management
·
● core
A9Penetration Testing & Red Teaming
CEH● core
OSCP● core
A9Penetration Testing & Red Teaming
● core
● core
C1Adversarial Machine Learning
CEH·
OSCP⚠ gap
C1Adversarial Machine Learning
·
⚠ gap
C2LLM-Specific Attacks
CEH·
OSCP⚠ gap
C2LLM-Specific Attacks
·
⚠ gap
Browse the full catalog or open any one of these on its detail page for full study materials, peer comparisons, and lifecycle notes.