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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 · 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 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 Comparing
ISC2 CISSP
CompTIA CASP+
› Cost Annual maintenance fee
$135/yr
—
3-year cost of ownership
$1,154
$494
› Exam mechanics Pass mark
CISSP 700/1000 (CAT-derived)
CASP+ Pass/Fail (no scaled score published; CompTIA's only ungraded exam)
Pass mark
700/1000 (CAT-derived)
Pass/Fail (no scaled score published; CompTIA's only ungraded exam)
Retake policy
CISSP $749 fee · 30d wait · 4/yr cap
CASP+ $509 fee · 14d wait
Retake policy
$749 fee · 30d wait · 4/yr cap
$509 fee · 14d wait
Study time
CISSP 150–300 hrs
CASP+ 100–200 hrs
Study time
150–300 hrs
100–200 hrs
Delivery
CISSP test center
CASP+ mixed
› Salary signal (US base) Range
CISSP $130K – $200K
CASP+ $115K – $160K
Range
$130K – $200K
$115K – $160K
Median
CISSP $155,000
CASP+ $130,000
Role context
CISSP Senior security engineer / architect, US, 5+ years experience.
CASP+ Senior security engineer / DoD security professional, US, 5+ years. Concentrated in defense / federal contractor roles.
Role context
Senior security engineer / architect, US, 5+ years experience.
Senior security engineer / DoD security professional, US, 5+ years. Concentrated in defense / federal contractor roles.
› Quality (4-axis rubric · 0–10) › Recognition & lifecycle Recognition
CISSP Global · US · EU · UK · DACH
CASP+ Global
Recognition
Global · US · EU · UK · DACH
Global
Holders worldwide
190,000
15,000
Current version
CISSP 2024 CBK refresh (2024-04)
CASP+ CAS-004 (rebranding to SecurityX CAS-005) (2021-10) [in_transition]
Current version
2024 CBK refresh (2024-04)
CAS-004 (rebranding to SecurityX CAS-005) (2021-10) [in_transition]
› 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
CISSP ○ touched
CASP+ ● core
A5 Cloud Security
○ touched
● core
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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