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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.
GIAC / SANS · professional
GCIHGIAC Certified Incident Handler
Incident handling methodology and lifecycle.
Official pageCompTIA · associate
CySA+CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst+
SOC analyst skills: triage, log analysis, vulnerability management basics.
Official pageComparing
GIAC / SANSGCIH
CompTIACySA+
› Cost
Exam fee
GCIH$979
CySA+$404
Exam fee
$979
$404
Annual maintenance fee
GCIH—
CySA+$50/yr
Annual maintenance fee
—
$50/yr
3-year cost of ownership
GCIH$979
CySA+$554
3-year cost of ownership
$979
$554
› Exam mechanics
Pass mark
GCIH73% (scaled per attempt)
CySA+750/900 (~83%)
Pass mark
73% (scaled per attempt)
750/900 (~83%)
Retake policy
GCIH$999 fee · 30d wait
CySA+$404 fee · 0d wait
Retake policy
$999 fee · 30d wait
$404 fee · 0d wait
Study time
GCIH80–150 hrs
CySA+60–120 hrs
Study time
80–150 hrs
60–120 hrs
Validity
GCIH4 yrs
CySA+3 yrs
Validity
4 yrs
3 yrs
CPE / yr
GCIH9 CPEs
CySA+20 CPEs
CPE / yr
9 CPEs
20 CPEs
Delivery
GCIHonline proctored
CySA+test center
Delivery
online proctored
test center
› Salary signal (US base)
Range
GCIH$100K – $150K
CySA+$75K – $110K
Range
$100K – $150K
$75K – $110K
Median
GCIH$120,000
CySA+$92,000
Median
$120,000
$92,000
Premium %
GCIH—
CySA+—
Premium %
—
—
Role context
GCIHIncident responder / blue team analyst, US, 3–5 years.
CySA+SOC analyst tier 2 / threat hunter, US, 2–5 years.
Role context
Incident responder / blue team analyst, US, 3–5 years.
SOC analyst tier 2 / threat hunter, US, 2–5 years.
› Quality (4-axis rubric · 0–10)
Schema quality
GCIH8.5
CySA+7.0
Schema quality
8.5
7.0
Practice evidence
GCIH5.5
CySA+5.0
Practice evidence
5.5
5.0
Maintenance
GCIH7.0
CySA+7.0
Maintenance
7.0
7.0
Market recognition
GCIH8.5
CySA+8.0
Market recognition
8.5
8.0
Average
GCIH7.4
CySA+6.8
Average
7.4
6.8
› Recognition & lifecycle
Recognition
GCIHGlobal · US · EU · UK
CySA+Global · US · EU · UK
Recognition
Global · US · EU · UK
Global · US · EU · UK
ISO 17024 accredited
GCIH✓
CySA+✓
ISO 17024 accredited
✓
✓
DoD 8140 baseline
GCIH✓
CySA+✓
DoD 8140 baseline
✓
✓
Holders worldwide
GCIH25,000
CySA+50,000
Holders worldwide
25,000
50,000
Current version
GCIH2024 SEC504 refresh (2024-04)
CySA+CS0-003 (2023-06)
Current version
2024 SEC504 refresh (2024-04)
CS0-003 (2023-06)
› Domain coverage
A10Security Operations
GCIH● core
CySA+● core
A10Security Operations
● core
● core
A11Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
GCIH○ touched
CySA+● core
A11Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
○ touched
● core
A21Malware Analysis & Reverse Engineering
GCIH○ touched
CySA+·
A21Malware Analysis & Reverse Engineering
○ touched
·
A24Exposure Management & Attack Surface
GCIH·
CySA+○ touched
A24Exposure Management & Attack Surface
·
○ touched
A7Incident Response & Forensics
GCIH● core
CySA+○ touched
A7Incident Response & Forensics
● core
○ touched
A8Threat Intelligence
GCIH·
CySA+● core
A8Threat Intelligence
·
● core
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