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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.
Microsoft · professional
SC-100 Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect
The Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect Expert (SC-100) is Microsoft's highest security certification and targets experienced professionals who design security architectures for hybrid and cloud-native environments based on the Microsoft platform. It requires at least one associate-level security certification (e.g., AZ-500, SC-200, or SC-300) and builds on that knowledge. The certification addresses zero-trust architectures, compliance requirements, identity governance, and infrastructure protection from a strategic perspective. For organizations heavily invested in Microsoft 365 and Azure, SC-100 is valuable proof of expertise; outside the Microsoft ecosystem, its relevance is more limited. The exam will be updated in April 2026.
Official page ISC2 · professional
CCSP Certified Cloud Security Professional
Cloud security architecture: shared responsibility, identity, data protection, crypto, and cloud-native detection.
Official page Comparing
Microsoft SC-100
ISC2 CCSP
› Cost Annual maintenance fee
—
$135/yr
3-year cost of ownership
$165
$1,004
› Exam mechanics Pass mark
SC-100 700/1000 (scaled)
CCSP 700/1000 (scaled)
Pass mark
700/1000 (scaled)
700/1000 (scaled)
Retake policy
SC-100 $165 fee · 1d wait
CCSP $599 fee · 30d wait · 4/yr cap
Retake policy
$165 fee · 1d wait
$599 fee · 30d wait · 4/yr cap
Study time
SC-100 100–200 hrs
CCSP 100–180 hrs
Study time
100–200 hrs
100–180 hrs
Delivery
SC-100 mixed
CCSP test center
› Salary signal (US base) Range
SC-100 $145K – $210K
CCSP $130K – $190K
Range
$145K – $210K
$130K – $190K
Median
SC-100 $170,000
CCSP $155,000
Role context
SC-100 Cybersecurity architect (Microsoft-stack focus), US, 7+ years.
CCSP Cloud security engineer / architect, US, 4+ years.
Role context
Cybersecurity architect (Microsoft-stack focus), US, 7+ years.
Cloud security engineer / architect, US, 4+ years.
› Quality (4-axis rubric · 0–10) › Recognition & lifecycle Recognition
SC-100 Global
CCSP Global · US · EU · UK · DACH
Recognition
Global
Global · US · EU · UK · DACH
Current version
SC-100 SC-100 (current) (2024-09)
CCSP 2022 CBK refresh (2022-08)
Current version
SC-100 (current) (2024-09)
2022 CBK refresh (2022-08)
› Domain coverage A10 Security Operations
·
○ touched
A11 Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
A11 Detection Engineering & Threat Hunting
·
○ touched
A12 Data Security, Privacy & Protection
A12 Data Security, Privacy & Protection
·
● core
A13 Supply Chain Security
·
○ touched
A23 Recovery, Resilience & Cyber Recovery
A23 Recovery, Resilience & Cyber Recovery
·
● core
A25 Security Architecture & Engineering
A25 Security Architecture & Engineering
● core
● core
A3 Zero Trust Architecture
SC-100 ● core
CCSP ○ touched
A3 Zero Trust Architecture
● core
○ touched
A5 Cloud Security
● core
● core
A6 Identity & Access Management
A6 Identity & Access Management
·
● core
A9 Penetration Testing & Red Teaming
A9 Penetration Testing & Red Teaming
·
⚠ gap
C1 Adversarial Machine Learning
C1 Adversarial Machine Learning
·
⚠ gap
C6 AI Infrastructure Security
C6 AI Infrastructure Security
·
⚠ gap
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