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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
GRIDGIAC Response and Industrial Defense
Active defense and incident response for ICS environments.
Official pageGIAC / SANS · professional
GICSPGlobal Industrial Cyber Security Professional
IT + engineering overlap for industrial control systems.
Official pageComparing
GIAC / SANSGRID
GIAC / SANSGICSP
› Cost
Exam fee
GRID$979
GICSP$979
Exam fee
$979
$979
Annual maintenance fee
GRID—
GICSP—
Annual maintenance fee
—
—
3-year cost of ownership
GRID$979
GICSP$979
3-year cost of ownership
$979
$979
› Exam mechanics
Pass mark
GRID68% (scaled per attempt)
GICSP69% (scaled per attempt)
Pass mark
68% (scaled per attempt)
69% (scaled per attempt)
Retake policy
GRID$999 fee · 30d wait
GICSP$999 fee · 30d wait
Retake policy
$999 fee · 30d wait
$999 fee · 30d wait
Study time
GRID100–180 hrs
GICSP100–200 hrs
Study time
100–180 hrs
100–200 hrs
Validity
GRID4 yrs
GICSP4 yrs
Validity
4 yrs
4 yrs
CPE / yr
GRID9 CPEs
GICSP9 CPEs
CPE / yr
9 CPEs
9 CPEs
Delivery
GRIDonline proctored
GICSPonline proctored
Delivery
online proctored
online proctored
› Salary signal (US base)
Range
GRID$115K – $175K
GICSP$110K – $170K
Range
$115K – $175K
$110K – $170K
Median
GRID$140,000
GICSP$140,000
Median
$140,000
$140,000
Premium %
GRID—
GICSP—
Premium %
—
—
Role context
GRIDICS detection / response engineer, US, 3-5 years.
GICSPICS/SCADA practitioner / OT security engineer, US, 3-5 years.
Role context
ICS detection / response engineer, US, 3-5 years.
ICS/SCADA practitioner / OT security engineer, US, 3-5 years.
› Quality (4-axis rubric · 0–10)
Schema quality
GRID8.5
GICSP8.5
Schema quality
8.5
8.5
Practice evidence
GRID6.0
GICSP5.0
Practice evidence
6.0
5.0
Maintenance
GRID7.0
GICSP7.0
Maintenance
7.0
7.0
Market recognition
GRID6.5
GICSP8.5
Market recognition
6.5
8.5
Average
GRID7.0
GICSP7.3
Average
7.0
7.3
› Recognition & lifecycle
Recognition
GRIDGlobal · US · EU · UK
GICSPGlobal · US · EU · UK
Recognition
Global · US · EU · UK
Global · US · EU · UK
ISO 17024 accredited
GRID✓
GICSP✓
ISO 17024 accredited
✓
✓
DoD 8140 baseline
GRID—
GICSP✓
DoD 8140 baseline
—
✓
Holders worldwide
GRID—
GICSP5,000
Holders worldwide
—
5,000
Current version
GRID2024 ICS515 refresh (2024-06)
GICSP2024 ICS410 refresh (2024-04)
Current version
2024 ICS515 refresh (2024-06)
2024 ICS410 refresh (2024-04)
› Domain coverage
A10Security Operations
GRID● core
GICSP·
A10Security Operations
● core
·
A14OT/ICS Security
GRID● core
GICSP● core
A14OT/ICS Security
● core
● core
A2Network Security
GRID·
GICSP● core
A2Network Security
·
● core
A7Incident Response & Forensics
GRID● core
GICSP○ touched
A7Incident Response & Forensics
● core
○ touched
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