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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 / SANS · professional
GSOCGIAC Security Operations Certified
SOC operations, alert triage, metrics, SOAR.
Official pageComparing
GIAC / SANSGSOC
› Cost
Exam fee
GSOC$979
Exam fee
$979
Annual maintenance fee
GSOC—
Annual maintenance fee
—
3-year cost of ownership
GSOC$979
3-year cost of ownership
$979
› Exam mechanics
Pass mark
GSOC70% (scaled per attempt)
Pass mark
70% (scaled per attempt)
Retake policy
GSOC$999 fee · 30d wait
Retake policy
$999 fee · 30d wait
Study time
GSOC100–180 hrs
Study time
100–180 hrs
Validity
GSOC4 yrs
Validity
4 yrs
CPE / yr
GSOC9 CPEs
CPE / yr
9 CPEs
Delivery
GSOConline proctored
Delivery
online proctored
› Salary signal (US base)
Range
GSOC$95K – $145K
Range
$95K – $145K
Median
GSOC$115,000
Median
$115,000
Premium %
GSOC—
Premium %
—
Role context
GSOCSOC analyst tier 1-2, US, 2-4 years.
Role context
SOC analyst tier 1-2, US, 2-4 years.
› Quality (4-axis rubric · 0–10)
Schema quality
GSOC8.5
Schema quality
8.5
Practice evidence
GSOC4.5
Practice evidence
4.5
Maintenance
GSOC8.0
Maintenance
8.0
Market recognition
GSOC6.0
Market recognition
6.0
Average
GSOC6.8
Average
6.8
› Recognition & lifecycle
Recognition
GSOCGlobal · US · EU · UK
Recognition
Global · US · EU · UK
ISO 17024 accredited
GSOC✓
ISO 17024 accredited
✓
DoD 8140 baseline
GSOC—
DoD 8140 baseline
—
Holders worldwide
GSOC5,000
Holders worldwide
5,000
Current version
GSOC2024 SEC450 refresh (2024-04)
Current version
2024 SEC450 refresh (2024-04)
› Domain coverage
A10Security Operations
GSOC● core
A10Security Operations
● core
A11Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
GSOC● core
A11Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
● core
A7Incident Response & Forensics
GSOC● core
A7Incident Response & Forensics
● core
A8Threat Intelligence
GSOC○ touched
A8Threat Intelligence
○ touched
B1AI-Powered Threat Detection
GSOC○ touched
B1AI-Powered Threat Detection
○ touched
B2AI-Driven Security Automation
GSOC○ touched
B2AI-Driven Security Automation
○ touched
Browse the full catalog or open any one of these on its detail page for full study materials, peer comparisons, and lifecycle notes.