The CompTIA A+ Study Guide: Everything You Need to Pass 220-1201 & 220-1202
If you’re looking for a CompTIA A+ study guide, here’s the whole thing in one place: what’s actually on both exams (220-1201 and 220-1202), how much each topic counts, a step-by-step study plan that has worked for students for 30 years, the free resources worth grabbing, and, most important, how to know you’re ready to book the exam before you spend money on a test date.
I’ll keep this practical. The A+ is an entry-level certification, and people go from zero IT background to certified every day. But it’s two separate exams covering nine domains between them, so the winning move isn’t studying harder, it’s studying the right things in the right proportions. That’s what this guide is for.
What’s in this guide
- What the A+ is (and why it’s worth earning)
- The two exams at a glance
- Core 1 (220-1201) study guide: the five domains
- Core 2 (220-1202) study guide: the four domains
- How long should you study?
- The six-step study plan
- Free A+ study resources
- Choosing your study materials
- Registering and exam day
- After you pass: what’s next
- FAQ
What the A+ is (and why it’s worth earning)
The CompTIA A+ is the globally recognized standard for entry-level IT jobs. It tells an employer you have the skills for IT support, technical troubleshooting, and help desk roles. If you’re trying to break into IT with no track record, that signal matters. Without something that proves your knowledge of basic hardware, software, security, and best practices, getting that first interview can be a tough sell.
Two things make the A+ different from vendor exams like Microsoft’s or Cisco’s. First, it’s vendor neutral — it covers technology from Microsoft, Apple, Linux, and everything in between, because a real support tech doesn’t get to choose what walks in the door. Second, it’s a gateway: the A+ is the standard first step toward CompTIA Network+ and Security+, which is the path most IT careers follow.
There are no prerequisites. CompTIA recommends the equivalent of about a year of hands-on experience as an IT technician — recommends, not requires. Plenty of people substitute structured practice for on-the-job years. That’s exactly what a good study plan is for.
The two exams at a glance
Getting A+ certified means passing two exams, and you register and pay for each separately:
- Core 1 (220-1201) — the hardware side: devices, networking, virtualization and cloud, and troubleshooting hardware problems.
- Core 2 (220-1202) — the software side: operating systems, security, software troubleshooting, and the operational procedures of working IT.
The mechanics are the same for both:
| Core 1 (220-1201) & Core 2 (220-1202) | |
|---|---|
| Questions | Up to 90 per exam |
| Time | 90 minutes per exam |
| Question types | Multiple choice + performance-based questions (PBQs) |
| Scoring scale | 100–900 |
| Passing score | 675 |
| Where | Pearson VUE testing center, or online proctored from home |
You can take the two exams in either order, and almost nobody sits both on the same day. One rule to respect: both passes must come from the same exam series. The exam changes about every three years, the current exam was released in 2025. Just be aware of versioning and know that you can’t mix versions. If you’re starting now, that’s 220-1201 and 220-1202. For a deeper look at difficulty specifically what trips people up and what doesn’t, see our honest take on how hard the CompTIA A+ really is.
Core 1 (220-1201) study guide: the five domains
CompTIA publishes exactly how much of the exam each domain carries, which means you can budget your study hours like a smart shopper instead of guessing:
| Core 1 domain | Share of exam | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | 25% | ~23 questions |
| Hardware & network troubleshooting | 28% | ~25 questions |
| Networking | 23% | ~20 questions |
| Mobile devices | 13% | ~12 questions |
| Virtualization & cloud computing | 11% | ~10 questions |
Look at the top two rows: more than half of Core 1 is hardware plus troubleshooting hardware. That’s where your study hours go. Specifically:
- Hardware (25%) — the biggest single domain. Display devices and components, cable types and connectors and their uses, the various types of RAM and their packaging, disk and SSD storage including RAID and SAN, motherboards, CPUs, power supplies, expansion cards, and printers and multi-function devices. If you’ve ever built or upgraded a PC, you’re further along than you think.
- Hardware & network troubleshooting (28%) — diagnosing problems with RAM, CPUs, and power supplies; storage and RAID issues; video, display, and projector problems; mobile devices; network issues; and printer malfunctions. These questions are scenario-based: something’s broken, and you pick the next diagnostic step.
- Networking (23%) — TCP and UDP protocols and ports, wireless standards, common servers and services, network hardware and its functions, SOHO network configuration, internet connectivity types, and networking test and monitoring tools. Ports and protocols are pure memorization — flash-card material.
- Mobile devices (13%) — monitoring and replacing mobile hardware (battery, keyboard, RAM, storage), accessories and connectivity, basic network configuration, mobile device management (MDM), and mobile apps.
- Virtualization & cloud (11%) — the smallest domain: virtual machines and hypervisors, cloud service and delivery models, and cloud characteristics. Learnable in a weekend; don’t let it eat a month.
A word of caution: the percentages tell you how the questions are distributed, not which topics you’re allowed to skip. A 13% domain can still sink you if you write it off.
Core 2 (220-1202) study guide: the four domains
| Core 2 domain | Share of exam | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| Operating systems | 28% | ~25 questions |
| Security | 28% | ~25 questions |
| Software troubleshooting | 23% | ~21 questions |
| Operational procedures | 21% | ~19 questions |
Core 2 is more evenly spread than Core 1 — no domain is safe to shortchange. Here’s what each one actually asks:
- Operating systems (28%) — common operating systems and their functions, OS installation and maintenance, the differences between Windows versions and their settings and features, commonly used Windows command-line commands, configuring networking on a Windows system, Mac and Linux features and tools, and installing applications and cloud-based productivity tools. This is where career changers feel the friction: “I use Windows every day” and “I administer Windows” are different skills. Both are learnable.
- Security (28%) — this isn’t a token chapter; it’s over a quarter of the exam. Security technologies and devices, Windows security settings, wireless authentication methods and protocols, malware identification, removal, and prevention, browser security, social engineering attacks and their mitigation, securing mobile devices, and how to destroy or repurpose data storage safely.
- Software troubleshooting (23%) — scenario-based incidents: common problems with Windows, mobile operating systems, application security, and PC security. Like Core 1’s troubleshooting domain, these reward people who’ve practiced the diagnostic sequence, not just memorized facts.
- Operational procedures (21%) — the “working professional” domain: documentation and change management, workstation backup and recovery, safety procedures, environmental controls, policies on content, privacy, and licensing, scripting basics, professional communication, remote access — and basic concepts of artificial intelligence. Don’t skim this one because it sounds soft; at roughly 19 questions it carries more weight than most people give it.
How long should you study?
Mike quotes Gilster’s Law on this: you can never tell, and it all depends; and it depends on you. Your experience from courses, reading, and hands-on work determines what you need to study and how much. Someone who’s been fixing PCs for a year needs a fraction of the prep a complete newcomer does, and any guide that promises everyone the same “30 days to A+” is selling a calendar, not a plan.
So skip the calendar math and use a readiness signal you can measure: you’re ready to schedule an exam when you’re consistently scoring 85% or higher on timed practice tests for it. That’s the line Mike has given students for 30 years, in the McGraw-Hill All-in-One guides and the video course alike. Below 85%, more practice is cheaper than a retake. Above it, book the exam and stop second-guessing.
Remember you’re studying for one exam at a time. Work one objectives booklet, pass that exam, then start the other. It keeps the material from blurring together.
The six-step study plan
- Download the exam objectives first. Both booklets, free from CompTIA’s website. They list every domain, every objective, and the specific topics, devices, and concepts under each — every exam question traces to that list. There’s even a note that the booklets include the acronym list and equipment list the exam may reference. This is the map; everything else is transportation.
- Pick your core learning source. Video, book, or both — see choosing your study materials below. Work through it domain by domain, in the exam’s proportions: for Core 1, that means hardware and troubleshooting get the most hours.
- Get your hands dirty. The exam includes performance-based questions — tasks like putting troubleshooting steps in order or matching cable types to connectors — and reading about a task is not the same as doing it. Open a PC. Poke around Windows settings. Run the command line. If you don’t have spare hardware, simulations exist for exactly this, and our guide to building a first home lab shows the cheap route.
- Take practice exams. Then take more. In Mike’s words: you can’t take too many practice tests. Make sure some include PBQs — one detail from the exam itself is that PBQ selection is adaptive, so if you do well on an early one, the next will be a higher difficulty level. Exam day should not be your first PBQ.
- Practice against the clock. Up to 90 questions in 90 minutes is a minute a question, and a PBQ can eat five. Always run practice tests timed, because under the pressure of the real thing, the time can fly by. Pacing has to be automatic. (A structured study routine helps make that a habit rather than a hope.)
- Apply the 85% rule, then schedule. Consistently at 85%+ on timed practice tests for the exam? Book it. Momentum matters, schedule the test, and let the date pull your studying forward instead of letting “someday” push it back.
Free A+ study resources
- The official exam objectives (free, comptia.org) — both booklets, as above. If a “free A+ study guide PDF” is what you came looking for, this is the one that actually matters, because it’s the document the exam is written from.
- 25 free CompTIA A+ practice questions — real-exam-style questions from our TotalTester bank. A fast way to find out where you actually stand before you plan anything.
- Our free protocols & ports PDF — the Core 1 networking domain’s memorization work, on one sheet. Print it, tape it to the fridge.
- The cost math — before you budget, read our complete A+ cost breakdown, including the June 2026 CompTIA price increase and where the real savings are.
Free resources will genuinely get some people through. Just be honest with yourself about the two gaps they leave: hands-on PBQ practice, and a big enough bank of timed practice questions to make the 85% rule meaningful.
Choosing your study materials
Mike has taught the A+ for 30 years, and the study system that’s come out of it maps to the plan above — pick the pieces that fill your gaps, tech to tech:
- TotalVideo course ($329) — Mike’s full walkthrough of every domain on both exams. If you’re starting from zero, this is the core learning source: he teaches the concept with an everyday analogy first, then attaches the exam terminology to it.
- TotalSims ($69) — hands-on simulations, which is exactly the practice PBQs demand and the piece free resources don’t cover.
- TotalTester practice exams ($69) — the readiness meter. Timed, real-exam-style questions for both Core 1 and Core 2, so “am I at 85% yet?” has a real answer.
- Bundles — the same pieces cost less together: Sims + Tester ($124), Video + Sims + Tester ($364), or the Complete Study bundle ($456) — Mike’s All-in-One Exam Guide e-book, sims, practice tests, plus an exam voucher with a retake attempt built in. Everything on the A+ study bundle page side by side.
Registering and exam day
The registration process, straight from Mike’s “how to take the exam” lesson: you register for each exam and purchase a separate voucher for each, then schedule the how, when, and where. Your two options are a Pearson VUE testing center or online proctored from home (or another quiet place).
One good thing to know about vouchers: CompTIA sells them at the full exam price, but CompTIA partners — like Total Seminars — can resell vouchers at a discount. Right now our A+ vouchers are $245.99 per exam against $274 retail (CompTIA’s June 2026 pricing) — about $56 saved across the pair. And since CompTIA doesn’t do free retakes, a $72 retake option purchased with your voucher is a lot cheaper than a second full-price attempt if nerves get the better of you.
At a testing center: arrive on time, bring photo ID, and expect your belongings to be stored securely — you can’t take anything in. You’ll get paper and pencil for notes and calculations, an administrator signs you into the testing system, and off you go. Testing online instead? CompTIA’s testing pages have a step-by-step preparation checklist, read it before exam day, since your room and computer have to meet their requirements.
After you pass: what’s next
The A+ is a gateway certification: the standard next steps are CompTIA Network+ and then Security+. A+ proves you can support the machine, Network+ proves you can support the network it lives on, and Security+ opens the security-side doors. If a security career is the goal, here’s the full certification pathway from IT pro to cybersecurity pro.
And if you’re still deciding whether the A+ is even your starting point, CompTIA’s Tech+ is the gentler on-ramp , our A+ vs Tech+ comparison sorts out which fits where you are today.
FAQ
Is there a free CompTIA A+ study guide PDF?
The one free PDF that matters is CompTIA’s own exam objectives booklet, one per exam, free on comptia.org. Every exam question traces to it, and it includes the acronym and equipment lists the exam may reference. Pair it with our 25 free practice questions and you can gauge readiness without spending a dime.
How many questions are on the CompTIA A+ exam?
Up to 90 questions per exam, with 90 minutes on the clock, a mix of multiple choice and performance-based questions. Core 1 (220-1201) and Core 2 (220-1202) are separate exams, so you’ll do it twice. Scoring runs 100–900 with 675 to pass.
Should I take Core 1 or Core 2 first?
Either order is allowed. Whichever you choose, study for one exam at a time — download that exam’s objectives booklet, work it, pass it, then start the other. Both passes must come from the same exam series (220-1201 + 220-1202).
How long does it take to study for the A+?
It depends on where you start, Mike’s answer is Gilster’s Law: “you can never tell, and it all depends.” Your experience from courses, reading, and hands-on work sets the pace. Use the readiness rule instead of a calendar: when you’re consistently scoring 85%+ on timed practice exams, you’re ready to schedule.
What’s the best CompTIA A+ study guide?
The best study system covers three jobs: learning the material (video course or Mike’s All-in-One Exam Guide), hands-on practice for the PBQs (simulations or a home lab), and timed practice exams to measure readiness. Any single book or video alone leaves at least one of those jobs undone — that’s why we sell them as bundles, and why the objectives booklet stays open next to all of it.
What happens if I fail one exam?
Your other pass still counts — you only retake the exam you failed. There are no free retakes, so a second attempt normally means a second voucher; a retake option purchased up front with your voucher covers it for $72 instead of full price.
Do I need work experience before taking the A+?
No. CompTIA recommends the equivalent of about a year of hands-on IT experience, but it’s a recommendation, not a requirement. Career changers pass by substituting structured practice, video walkthroughs, simulations, and practice exams to the 85% line,for on-the-job years.