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Pick up to 3 certifications and compare them side-by-side on cost, exam format, recertification, salary signal, quality, and domain coverage.
GIAC · professional
GEIRGIAC Enterprise Incident Response
GIAC Enterprise Incident Response
Official pageGIAC / SANS · professional
GCIHGIAC Certified Incident Handler
Incident handling methodology and lifecycle.
Official pageComparing
GIACGEIR
GIAC / SANSGCIH
› Cost
Exam fee
GEIR$979
GCIH$979
Exam fee
$979
$979
Annual maintenance fee
GEIR—
GCIH—
Annual maintenance fee
—
—
3-year cost of ownership
GEIR$979
GCIH$979
3-year cost of ownership
$979
$979
› Exam mechanics
Pass mark
GEIR70% (scaled per attempt)
GCIH73% (scaled per attempt)
Pass mark
70% (scaled per attempt)
73% (scaled per attempt)
Retake policy
GEIR$999 fee · 30d wait
GCIH$999 fee · 30d wait
Retake policy
$999 fee · 30d wait
$999 fee · 30d wait
Study time
GEIR—
GCIH80–150 hrs
Study time
—
80–150 hrs
Validity
GEIR4 yrs
GCIH4 yrs
Validity
4 yrs
4 yrs
CPE / yr
GEIR9 CPEs
GCIH9 CPEs
CPE / yr
9 CPEs
9 CPEs
Delivery
GEIRmixed
GCIHonline proctored
Delivery
mixed
online proctored
› Salary signal (US base)
Range
GEIR$120K – $180K
GCIH$100K – $150K
Range
$120K – $180K
$100K – $150K
Median
GEIR$145,000
GCIH$120,000
Median
$145,000
$120,000
Premium %
GEIR—
GCIH—
Premium %
—
—
Role context
GEIREnterprise IR specialist / ransomware response lead, US, 4-7 years.
GCIHIncident responder / blue team analyst, US, 3–5 years.
Role context
Enterprise IR specialist / ransomware response lead, US, 4-7 years.
Incident responder / blue team analyst, US, 3–5 years.
› Quality (4-axis rubric · 0–10)
Schema quality
GEIR7.5
GCIH8.5
Schema quality
7.5
8.5
Practice evidence
GEIR7.5
GCIH5.5
Practice evidence
7.5
5.5
Maintenance
GEIR8.5
GCIH7.0
Maintenance
8.5
7.0
Market recognition
GEIR5.0
GCIH8.5
Market recognition
5.0
8.5
Average
GEIR7.1
GCIH7.4
Average
7.1
7.4
› Recognition & lifecycle
Recognition
GEIRGlobal
GCIHGlobal · US · EU · UK
Recognition
Global
Global · US · EU · UK
ISO 17024 accredited
GEIR—
GCIH✓
ISO 17024 accredited
—
✓
DoD 8140 baseline
GEIR—
GCIH✓
DoD 8140 baseline
—
✓
Holders worldwide
GEIR—
GCIH25,000
Holders worldwide
—
25,000
Current version
GEIRLaunched 2024 (2024-06)
GCIH2024 SEC504 refresh (2024-04)
Current version
Launched 2024 (2024-06)
2024 SEC504 refresh (2024-04)
› Domain coverage
A10Security Operations
GEIR● core
GCIH● core
A10Security Operations
● core
● core
A11Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
GEIR·
GCIH○ touched
A11Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
·
○ touched
A21Malware Analysis & Reverse Engineering
GEIR·
GCIH○ touched
A21Malware Analysis & Reverse Engineering
·
○ touched
A7Incident Response & Forensics
GEIR·
GCIH● core
A7Incident Response & Forensics
·
● core
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