The Security Plus cert costs $392 for the exam voucher. If you pass, median salary jumps roughly $15,000–$20,000 for people moving from general IT support into security-focused roles, based on CompTIA's own workforce data. If you fail, you're out $392 and need to decide whether to buy another attempt. That's the stakes — so it's worth being precise about what you're actually buying.
This guide covers the SY0-701 version of the Security Plus cert (current as of 2024–2026), realistic prep timelines, which domains trip people up, and honest assessments of the career ROI depending on where you're starting from.
What the Security Plus Cert Actually Tests
CompTIA's Security+ (exam code SY0-701) covers five domains. The weighting matters because it tells you where to focus your study time:
- General Security Concepts — 12% of the exam. Foundational terms: CIA triad, authentication models, cryptography basics.
- Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations — 22%. The heaviest domain. Malware types, social engineering, vulnerability scanning, incident response.
- Security Architecture — 18%. Cloud, on-prem, and hybrid environments. Zero trust, network segmentation, virtualization security.
- Security Operations — 28%. The largest domain. Identity and access management, endpoint protection, log monitoring, SIEM basics, automation concepts.
- Security Program Management and Oversight — 20%. Governance, risk, compliance, data privacy regulations (GDPR, HIPAA), third-party risk.
The exam is 90 minutes, up to 90 questions. Most are multiple choice, but you'll see performance-based questions (PBQs) — drag-and-drop, simulations, fill-in commands. PBQs appear early and throw off candidates who haven't practiced hands-on scenarios. Plan for them specifically, not just flashcard memorization.
Passing score: 750 out of 900. There's no partial credit, and CompTIA uses adaptive scoring, so a harder question answered correctly contributes more. You won't know your item-level scores — just the domain breakdowns on your score report.
Who the Security Plus Cert Is Actually For
CompTIA recommends two years of IT experience before attempting Security+. That's real advice, not boilerplate. Candidates who come in fresh from a bootcamp with no hands-on networking or systems experience consistently struggle with the operations questions — you need to have at least touched Active Directory, firewall rules, or log analysis in a real environment.
The cert makes the most sense for:
- Help desk or sysadmin professionals moving into a security analyst or security engineer role
- Network administrators who want to formalize security knowledge they already use daily
- Anyone targeting U.S. federal government IT roles — Security+ satisfies DoD 8570/8140 IAT Level II, which is a hard requirement for a large percentage of government contractor positions
- IT professionals in regulated industries (healthcare, finance, defense) where the cert is specifically named in job postings
It's less useful as a pure career-pivot credential if you have no IT background at all. In that case, CompTIA A+ and Network+ first will make Security+ significantly easier and your resume more credible to employers who screen for progression.
Realistic Prep Timeline for the Security Plus Cert
Most people with a working IT background need 6–10 weeks of focused study. People starting with minimal networking or systems knowledge should budget 3–4 months.
A practical structure that works:
- Weeks 1–2: Go through a structured video course end-to-end. Don't stop to memorize — build the mental map first. Take notes on domains that feel unfamiliar.
- Weeks 3–4: Work through the Security Operations and Threats/Vulnerabilities domains in depth. These two account for 50% of the exam. Use practice questions after each sub-topic.
- Weeks 5–6: Full practice exams (Dion Training, Jason Dion, or Professor Messer's practice tests). Target 80%+ consistently before booking. Review wrong answers against the official CompTIA objectives document, not just the answer explanation.
- Final week: Performance-based question drills only. If you're shaky on PBQs, you'll know from the practice exams — allocate time accordingly.
One underrated resource: CompTIA publishes the full exam objectives as a free PDF. Cross-reference your study materials against it. If a topic is in the objectives and your course doesn't cover it, find a supplemental resource. The objectives document is the ground truth.
Top Courses for the Security Plus Cert
These aren't just general cybersecurity courses — they're specifically useful for building the practical and conceptual knowledge that Security+ tests.
IT Security: Defense against the Digital Dark Arts
Google's IT support curriculum (via Coursera) covers the exact threat landscape and security operations concepts that dominate the Security+ exam. It's particularly strong on the Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations domain — the 22% section most people lose points on. Rated 9.7 by verified learners.
Put It to Work: Prepare for Cybersecurity Jobs
This Coursera course bridges textbook security concepts and what actual SOC work looks like day-to-day — directly relevant to Security+ Security Operations questions and post-cert job interviews. Rated 9.7; covers incident response documentation and stakeholder communication that appear in the Management and Oversight domain.
A Practical Guide to Cybersecurity Operations Foundations
A Udemy course (rated 9.6) built around hands-on scenarios — exactly what the performance-based questions test. If your weak spot is knowing what to do rather than what something is called, this fills that gap faster than another video lecture series.
Building and Configuring Your Cybersecurity Attack Lab
Setting up your own lab environment forces you to internalize network segmentation, logging, and detection concepts that Security+ tests conceptually. This Udemy course (rated 9.6) walks through the lab setup — useful if you're studying Security Architecture and need to see the concepts in action, not just on slides.
Managing Security in Google Cloud
Security+ SY0-701 increased cloud security weighting compared to the previous version. This Coursera course (rated 9.7) covers identity and access management, encryption, and cloud security architecture — all tested in the Security Architecture domain and increasingly relevant in job roles post-cert.
Career Value of the Security Plus Cert: What the Numbers Actually Show
Security+ is listed as required or preferred in more U.S. cybersecurity job postings than any other entry-level certification, by a significant margin. CyberSeek (a NIST-funded workforce tool) consistently shows it as the most requested cert for cybersecurity analyst roles.
Salary ranges for roles that commonly list Security+ as required:
- Information Security Analyst: $75,000–$105,000 (median $99,000 per BLS, 2024)
- Security Operations Center (SOC) Analyst Tier 1: $55,000–$75,000 entry
- Systems Administrator (security-focused): $70,000–$95,000
- DoD contractor / cleared IT roles: Often $80,000–$120,000+ depending on clearance level
The DoD 8570/8140 angle is real and specific: if you want to work for a defense contractor or in a federal IT role, Security+ is not optional in many cases — it's a compliance checkbox. Contractors like Leidos, Booz Allen, SAIC, and CACI list it explicitly in hundreds of postings. The cert effectively unlocks a labor market segment that otherwise requires higher-level credentials.
Worth noting: Security+ alone is rarely sufficient for senior roles. The typical progression is Security+ → CySA+ (analyst) or SSCP → CISSP (management/architect track). If your goal is a $130,000+ security engineer role, Security+ is the foundation, not the destination.
FAQ: Security Plus Cert
How much does the Security Plus cert exam cost?
The exam voucher costs $392 USD through CompTIA directly. Discounts are available through academic institutions, CompTIA training partners, and sometimes through employer reimbursement programs. The CertMaster Learn + Exam Voucher bundles run $539–$699. Retakes require purchasing another voucher at full price.
How hard is the Security Plus cert exam?
Pass rates aren't publicly disclosed by CompTIA, but instructor-reported estimates range from 65–80% for candidates who complete structured preparation. The difficulty is less about depth and more about breadth — you need working knowledge across five distinct domains. Candidates who focus only on their strong areas and neglect domains like governance/compliance often fail on those overlooked sections. Performance-based questions are where prepared candidates separate from unprepared ones.
How long does it take to prepare for the Security Plus cert?
With an IT background: 6–10 weeks of dedicated study (1–2 hours/day). Without an IT background: 3–5 months, and you'll likely benefit from studying A+ or Network+ first. CompTIA's own recommendation is two years of IT experience before attempting the exam.
Does the Security Plus cert expire?
Yes. Security+ is valid for three years. Renewal is done through CompTIA's Continuing Education (CE) program: earn 50 CEUs over three years (by attending webinars, completing relevant training, or earning higher certs) or retake the current exam. Letting it lapse and renewing later requires passing the full exam again.
Is Security Plus cert worth it for someone already in IT?
For IT professionals targeting a move into security roles, yes — it's the highest-signal entry-level credential relative to cost and prep time. For someone already working as a security analyst or in a SIEM/SOC role, CySA+ or a vendor-specific cert (AWS Security Specialty, Microsoft SC-200) may add more differentiation. Security+ is most valuable as a role-changer credential and a DoD compliance requirement.
What's the difference between Security+ SY0-601 and SY0-701?
SY0-701 (current) reduced the domain count from six to five and increased emphasis on cloud security, automation, and zero-trust architecture — reflecting how enterprise security has shifted since SY0-601's 2020 release. SY0-601 retired in July 2024. All current exam prep should target SY0-701; any course or book published before mid-2023 may have domain structure mismatches.
Bottom Line
The Security Plus cert is a legitimate credential with a specific use case: it moves IT generalists into security-defined roles and satisfies a compliance requirement that unlocks significant portions of the government and defense contractor job market. At $392 for the exam, it's one of the better-priced certifications relative to its career impact.
It's not a magic pass into a $100,000 security role on its own — employers know this, and most entry-level security postings that list Security+ also want 1–2 years of hands-on IT experience. But as a formal signal on top of existing IT experience, it consistently moves resumes past initial screening filters and satisfies DoD requirements that competitors without the cert simply can't meet.
If you're in IT support, sysadmin, or networking and want to move into security: Security+ is the right first cert. Study the SY0-701 objectives document directly, drill performance-based questions specifically, and use practice exams to identify domain gaps rather than re-watching lectures you already understood. Most people who fail do so on the domains they skipped, not the ones they studied.