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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.
OffSec · professional
OSDAOffensive Security Defense Analyst
Offensive Security Defense Analyst
Official pageCompTIA · associate
CySA+CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst+
SOC analyst skills: triage, log analysis, vulnerability management basics.
Official pageComparing
OffSecOSDA
CompTIACySA+
› Cost
Exam fee
OSDA$1,649
CySA+$404
Exam fee
$1,649
$404
Annual maintenance fee
OSDA—
CySA+$50/yr
Annual maintenance fee
—
$50/yr
3-year cost of ownership
OSDA$1,649
CySA+$554
3-year cost of ownership
$1,649
$554
› Exam mechanics
Pass mark
OSDALab points-based with report
CySA+750/900 (~83%)
Pass mark
Lab points-based with report
750/900 (~83%)
Retake policy
OSDA$249 fee · 0d wait
CySA+$404 fee · 0d wait
Retake policy
$249 fee · 0d wait
$404 fee · 0d wait
Study time
OSDA200–400 hrs
CySA+60–120 hrs
Study time
200–400 hrs
60–120 hrs
Validity
OSDA3 yrs
CySA+3 yrs
Validity
3 yrs
3 yrs
CPE / yr
OSDA—
CySA+20 CPEs
CPE / yr
—
20 CPEs
Delivery
OSDAonline proctored
CySA+test center
Delivery
online proctored
test center
› Salary signal (US base)
Range
OSDA$95K – $145K
CySA+$75K – $110K
Range
$95K – $145K
$75K – $110K
Median
OSDA$115,000
CySA+$92,000
Median
$115,000
$92,000
Premium %
OSDA—
CySA+—
Premium %
—
—
Role context
OSDASOC analyst / blue team operator, US, 2-4 years.
CySA+SOC analyst tier 2 / threat hunter, US, 2–5 years.
Role context
SOC analyst / blue team operator, US, 2-4 years.
SOC analyst tier 2 / threat hunter, US, 2–5 years.
› Quality (4-axis rubric · 0–10)
Schema quality
OSDA7.5
CySA+7.0
Schema quality
7.5
7.0
Practice evidence
OSDA8.5
CySA+5.0
Practice evidence
8.5
5.0
Maintenance
OSDA7.0
CySA+7.0
Maintenance
7.0
7.0
Market recognition
OSDA5.5
CySA+8.0
Market recognition
5.5
8.0
Average
OSDA7.1
CySA+6.8
Average
7.1
6.8
› Recognition & lifecycle
Recognition
OSDAGlobal
CySA+Global · US · EU · UK
Recognition
Global
Global · US · EU · UK
ISO 17024 accredited
OSDA—
CySA+✓
ISO 17024 accredited
—
✓
DoD 8140 baseline
OSDA—
CySA+✓
DoD 8140 baseline
—
✓
Holders worldwide
OSDA—
CySA+50,000
Holders worldwide
—
50,000
Current version
OSDASOC-200 (2024) (2024-04)
CySA+CS0-003 (2023-06)
Current version
SOC-200 (2024) (2024-04)
CS0-003 (2023-06)
› Domain coverage
A10Security Operations
OSDA● core
CySA+● core
A10Security Operations
● core
● core
A11Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
OSDA● core
CySA+● core
A11Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
● core
● core
A24Exposure Management & Attack Surface
OSDA·
CySA+○ touched
A24Exposure Management & Attack Surface
·
○ touched
A7Incident Response & Forensics
OSDA● core
CySA+○ touched
A7Incident Response & Forensics
● core
○ touched
A8Threat Intelligence
OSDA·
CySA+● core
A8Threat Intelligence
·
● core
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