How Much Does CompTIA Security+ Cost in 2026? (SY0-701)
Here’s the straight answer, because that’s what you came for: as of June 1, 2026, the CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) exam costs $439 if you buy it directly from CompTIA. That’s up from $425 — CompTIA raised prices across its whole exam lineup this June.
But the sticker price isn’t what most people actually pay, and it’s definitely not the whole cost of getting certified. By the time you add study materials, practice exams, and maybe a retake, the real number lands somewhere between $440 and $560 depending on how you buy. Buy it smart and you’ll spend less than someone who just walked up to CompTIA’s site and paid retail for everything.
Let’s break the whole thing down the way a tech would — line by line, no fluff, real numbers.
The exam fee: what CompTIA charges in 2026
The Security+ exam voucher from CompTIA retails for $439 as of June 1, 2026. One voucher, one attempt. Here’s how the increase shook out across the certs most people pair with Security+:
| Exam | Before June 1, 2026 | After June 1, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| CompTIA A+ (per exam — you need two) | $265 | $274 |
| CompTIA Network+ | $390 | $399 |
| CompTIA Security+ | $425 | $439 |
| CompTIA CySA+ | $425 | $439 |
One important thing about that fee: it buys you a seat at a Pearson VUE testing center (or an online proctored session), up to 90 questions, and 90 minutes on the clock. It does not buy you a retake. If you don’t pass, that money is spent. We’ll get to what that means for your strategy in a minute.
The voucher trick: how to pay less than retail
You don’t have to buy your exam directly from CompTIA. Authorized partners sell exam vouchers — a voucher is just a prepaid code you redeem when you schedule your exam — and partner pricing runs below retail.
Our Security+ exam voucher is $393.99 right now, because we bought our voucher stock before CompTIA’s June 1 increase. That’s $46 less than the $439 retail price, for the exact same exam, same testing centers, same certification.
And here’s the part worth knowing even if your exam date is months away: our vouchers are valid for 11 months from purchase. Think of it like booking a plane ticket before a fare increase — you lock in the price now, and you fly when you’re ready. You don’t have to schedule the exam the week you buy the voucher. (Heads up: our voucher prices will rise to match CompTIA’s new pricing soon — the details are here.)
Retakes: the cost nobody budgets for
CompTIA doesn’t do free retakes. Fail the exam and the next attempt costs you another voucher — full price. There’s no waiting period between your first and second attempt; from the third attempt on, you wait 14 days between tries.
So a single fail can turn a $439 exam into an $878 exam. That’s the math that should drive your prep strategy, and it’s why we tell people two things:
- Don’t book the exam until your practice scores say you’re ready. Mike’s rule from 30 years of doing this: when you’re consistently scoring 85% or higher on practice exams, you’re ready to schedule. Below that, more practice is cheaper than a retake. A TotalTester practice exam package is $59 — about 13% of the cost of one failed attempt.
- If you want a safety net, buy it up front. We sell a retake option for $103 — a fraction of a second full-price voucher. If exam nerves are a real factor for you, that’s the cheap way to take the pressure off.
Study materials: what you actually need
The exam fee is only part of the cost. Unless you’re already working in security and just need the paper, you’ll want study materials. The good news: self-study for Security+ is genuinely affordable, especially compared to a bootcamp that can run a couple thousand dollars. Here’s the realistic menu:
- A solid book. The All-in-One Exam Guide series (the line Mike Meyers built at McGraw-Hill over 30 years) covers every SY0-701 objective. Figure $40–60.
- Practice exams — non-negotiable. You can’t take too many practice tests. TotalTester ($59) gives you real-exam-style questions so exam day isn’t the first time you see the format.
- Hands-on practice. SY0-701 includes performance-based questions — scenarios you work through, not just multiple choice. TotalSims ($75) exists for exactly that.
- Video training, if that’s how you learn. The full TotalVideo course is $289 — a complete walkthrough of all five exam domains: General Security Concepts (12% of the exam), Threats, Vulnerabilities & Mitigations (22%), Security Architecture (18%), Security Operations (28%), and Security Program Management (20%).
Three ways people overpay for Security+
After watching learners go through this process for three decades, the overspending almost always happens in one of three places:
- Paying retail for the exam. The $439 walk-up price is the most expensive way to sit the exam, full stop. A partner voucher gets you the identical exam for less — there is no quality difference to pay for. Same Pearson VUE seat, same questions, same cert.
- Booking the exam before they’re ready. A failed attempt is the single most expensive line item on this whole page, and it’s entirely avoidable. Practice exams tell you when you’re ready; spending $59 to find out you’re not ready yet beats spending $439 to find out the hard way.
- Buying the pieces one at a time. Book this month, practice tests next month, voucher after that — each purchase looks small, but the total runs higher than the bundle that contains all of it. If you know you’re going the distance, buy the kit once.
Don’t forget renewal: the cost after you pass
Security+ is good for three years. After that, you keep it current one of three ways:
- Earn 50 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) over the three years through approved activities — the standard route for working techs.
- Take CompTIA’s shorter CertMaster CE renewal course/assessment — less expensive than re-sitting the full exam.
- Pass a higher-level CompTIA exam (CySA+, for example) within the window — that renews Security+ automatically. If you’re climbing the ladder anyway, your next cert is also your renewal.
None of this hits you in year one, but it belongs in the honest total cost of holding the cert — budget for it the way you’d budget for renewing a license.
So what’s the real total?
| Path | What you get | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Walk-up retail | Exam only, direct from CompTIA | $439 |
| Exam with discounted voucher | Same exam, partner voucher | $393.99 |
| Self-study | E-book + TotalTester + TotalSims | $138 |
| The full kit | All of the above + voucher with retake safety net | $630 |
Is it worth it? The jobs Security+ opens — security specialist, security administrator, cybersecurity analyst, systems administrator — carry a median salary around $81,000. Spending five or six hundred dollars, once, to qualify for that tier of work is one of the better trades in IT. The cert pays for itself in the first week of the first job it helps you land.
If you’re still weighing whether you’re ready for the exam itself, read our honest take on how hard the Security+ exam actually is — difficulty and cost are really two halves of the same decision.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the CompTIA Security+ exam cost in 2026?
$439 retail from CompTIA as of June 1, 2026 (up from $425). Authorized partners sell vouchers for less — ours is currently $393.99.
Does the Security+ exam fee include a retake?
No. Each attempt requires its own voucher at full price, and there are no free retakes. A separate retake option ($103) is the inexpensive way to cover yourself, or it comes included in the full Security+ bundle.
How long is a Security+ exam voucher valid?
Vouchers purchased from us are valid for 11 months, so you can buy at today’s price and test when your practice scores say you’re ready.
Can I get Security+ for free?
The exam itself, no — someone has to pay CompTIA for the seat. Some employers and workforce programs will cover the voucher, so ask. What you can do for free is sample plenty of study content (Mike’s live YouTube Q&As, for a start) before you spend anything.
Is Security+ worth the cost?
For anyone heading into security work, yes — it’s the internationally recognized foundation cert for cybersecurity careers, the related jobs carry a median salary around $81,000, and it’s valid for three years before renewal.
Will the price go up again?
CompTIA updates pricing periodically — the June 1, 2026 increase was the most recent. Voucher stock purchased before an increase can still be sold at the old price, which is why partner vouchers are cheapest right after a price change.