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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 pageComparing
GIACGMON
GIAC / SANSGCIH
› Cost
Exam fee
GMON$979
GCIH$979
Exam fee
$979
$979
Annual maintenance fee
GMON—
GCIH—
Annual maintenance fee
—
—
3-year cost of ownership
GMON$979
GCIH$979
3-year cost of ownership
$979
$979
› Exam mechanics
Pass mark
GMON74% (scaled per attempt)
GCIH73% (scaled per attempt)
Pass mark
74% (scaled per attempt)
73% (scaled per attempt)
Retake policy
GMON$999 fee · 30d wait
GCIH$999 fee · 30d wait
Retake policy
$999 fee · 30d wait
$999 fee · 30d wait
Study time
GMON100–200 hrs
GCIH80–150 hrs
Study time
100–200 hrs
80–150 hrs
Validity
GMON4 yrs
GCIH4 yrs
Validity
4 yrs
4 yrs
CPE / yr
GMON9 CPEs
GCIH9 CPEs
CPE / yr
9 CPEs
9 CPEs
Delivery
GMONmixed
GCIHonline proctored
Delivery
mixed
online proctored
› Salary signal (US base)
Range
GMON$100K – $150K
GCIH$100K – $150K
Range
$100K – $150K
$100K – $150K
Median
GMON$120,000
GCIH$120,000
Median
$120,000
$120,000
Premium %
GMON—
GCIH—
Premium %
—
—
Role context
GMONDetection engineer / SOC senior analyst, US, 3-5 years.
GCIHIncident responder / blue team analyst, US, 3–5 years.
Role context
Detection engineer / SOC senior analyst, US, 3-5 years.
Incident responder / blue team analyst, US, 3–5 years.
› Quality (4-axis rubric · 0–10)
Schema quality
GMON8.0
GCIH8.5
Schema quality
8.0
8.5
Practice evidence
GMON5.5
GCIH5.5
Practice evidence
5.5
5.5
Maintenance
GMON7.0
GCIH7.0
Maintenance
7.0
7.0
Market recognition
GMON5.5
GCIH8.5
Market recognition
5.5
8.5
Average
GMON6.5
GCIH7.4
Average
6.5
7.4
› Recognition & lifecycle
Recognition
GMONGlobal
GCIHGlobal · US · EU · UK
Recognition
Global
Global · US · EU · UK
ISO 17024 accredited
GMON—
GCIH✓
ISO 17024 accredited
—
✓
DoD 8140 baseline
GMON—
GCIH✓
DoD 8140 baseline
—
✓
Holders worldwide
GMON—
GCIH25,000
Holders worldwide
—
25,000
Current version
GMON2024 SEC511 refresh (2024-04)
GCIH2024 SEC504 refresh (2024-04)
Current version
2024 SEC511 refresh (2024-04)
2024 SEC504 refresh (2024-04)
› Domain coverage
A10Security Operations
GMON● core
GCIH● core
A10Security Operations
● core
● core
A11Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
GMON● core
GCIH○ touched
A11Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
● core
○ touched
A21Malware Analysis & Reverse Engineering
GMON·
GCIH○ touched
A21Malware Analysis & Reverse Engineering
·
○ touched
A25Security Architecture & Engineering
GMON● core
GCIH·
A25Security Architecture & Engineering
● core
·
A7Incident Response & Forensics
GMON·
GCIH● core
A7Incident Response & Forensics
·
● core
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