RoleMath

comparison

Cisco CCNA Cybersecurity vs CompTIA Security+

CompTIA positions Security+ as a vendor-neutral security foundation with no experience requirement; Cisco positions CCNA Cybersecurity (200-201 CCNACBR, formerly CyberOps Associate) for security operations work — monitoring, host analysis, and network intrusion analysis. Choose Security+ for a vendor-neutral baseline, and CCNA Cybersecurity when the learner is targeting a SOC role.

Choose between these for my background

Next source review 2026-08-08.

Certification details change. Always confirm final pricing, availability, and credential terms on the official provider page linked in the sources below before you pay for anything.

Decision comparison

Side-by-side comparison

Side-by-side certification tradeoff grid with fit-dependent caveats.

Cited detail

EvidenceCisco CCNA Cybersecurity (200-201 CCNACBR, formerly Cisco CyberOps Associate)CompTIA Security+
Exam code200-201SY0-701
Exam length120 minutes90 minutes
Credential levelAssociateFoundation
Published exam price$300 (exam fee as of 2026-06-25)$439 (exam fee as of 2026-06-13)
Official certification sourceBLS occupation contextO*NET role evidenceRoleMath scoring evidence

Choose by fit

Choose Cisco CCNA Cybersecurity (200-201 CCNACBR, formerly Cisco CyberOps Associate) when
  • You have networking or Cisco context and want cyber operations depth.
  • You are targeting SOC, security operations, or network-security paths.
  • You want monitoring, host analysis, and network intrusion analysis in the exam scope.
Choose CompTIA Security+ when
  • You need a broad vendor-neutral first security credential.
  • You are early in cybersecurity and still building fundamentals.
  • You want security architecture, operations, threats, and governance in one foundation.
Not claimed here
  • Exam pass rates
  • Job placement rates
  • Any job guarantee
  • A salary figure attributed to this certification
  • A salary prediction for you personally
  • Return on investment or a payback period

Related Roles

These are role mappings for career-planning context. Salary and outlook data must stay tied to BLS occupations, not to certification outcomes.

The Relationship column compares a credential's published exam objectives with the work the occupation involves, and names which credential it is describing. A role RoleMath maps to only one of the two credentials shows that one; where both map to it, both are named, and Both means they read the same way for that role. Covers the core means the objectives reach that occupation's main work, Covers groundwork that they reach what it builds on rather than the work itself, and Partial overlap that they meet it only in places; a qualifier such as after a foundation records where RoleMath reads the objectives as assuming earlier study or experience, and Overlap not classified marks a pairing we hold but have not placed on this scale. This is RoleMath's reading of published objectives, not a measurement of hiring: we have not surveyed employers, and nothing here measures how much a credential is asked for or what it does for an application.

Every wage below is the occupation's national annual median wage - the midpoint of that occupation's wage distribution - as published by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025. It is not the OEWS mean, not an average, and not a starting wage. The outlook column is the BLS Employment Projections change for the same occupation over 2024-2034. Both describe the occupation, not an outcome of holding the credential.

RoleRelationshipSOCAnnual median wage (BLS OEWS, May 2025)BLS outlook (2024-2034)
Cybersecurity AnalystCisco CCNA Cybersecurity (200-201 CCNACBR, formerly Cisco CyberOps Associate) - Partial overlap, after a foundation; CompTIA Security+ - Covers the core15-1212$129,180 annual median28.5%
Network Security EngineerCisco CCNA Cybersecurity (200-201 CCNACBR, formerly Cisco CyberOps Associate) - Overlap not classified; CompTIA Security+ - Covers groundwork15-1299$116,580 annual median8.2%
Network AdministratorCisco CCNA Cybersecurity (200-201 CCNACBR, formerly Cisco CyberOps Associate) - Partial overlap, security specialization; CompTIA Security+ - Partial overlap15-1244$99,130 annual median-4.2%

These pages draw on the same sourced data, and are the closest to what you just read.

Roles & paths this connects to

cert comparisonCybersecurity Analystcert comparisonIT Security Operations Specialistcert comparisonIncident Response Analyst

Zoom out

cert comparisonCisco CCNA Cybersecuritycert comparisonCompTIA Security+

Core source records

This table lists the page’s core content records and their checked dates where recorded. Claim-specific citations appear beside the relevant text and may not be repeated here.

Show all 35 sources
IDSupportsSourceChecked
CIT-01Public official credential page for Cisco CCNA Cybersecurity (200-201 CCNACBR, formerly Cisco CyberOps Associate).Cybersecurity Associate Exam and Training - Cisco2026-06-09T03:15:32+00:00
CIT-02Supports occupation-level labor context for Cybersecurity Analyst.Cybersecurity Analyst BLS OEWS wage source2026-06-25T08:28:38+00:00
CIT-03Supports occupation-level labor context for Cybersecurity Analyst.Cybersecurity Analyst BLS Employment Projections source2026-06-25T08:27:06+00:00
CIT-04Supports occupation-level labor context for Cybersecurity Analyst.Cybersecurity Analyst O*NET source2026-07-14T04:32:12+00:00
CIT-05Supports occupation-level labor context for IT Security Operations Specialist.IT Security Operations Specialist BLS OEWS wage source2026-06-25T08:28:38+00:00
CIT-06Supports occupation-level labor context for IT Security Operations Specialist.IT Security Operations Specialist BLS Employment Projections source2026-06-25T08:27:06+00:00
CIT-07Supports occupation-level labor context for IT Security Operations Specialist.IT Security Operations Specialist O*NET source2026-07-14T04:32:12+00:00
CIT-08Supports occupation-level labor context for Network Security Engineer.Network Security Engineer BLS OEWS wage source2026-06-25T08:28:38+00:00
CIT-09Supports occupation-level labor context for Network Security Engineer.Network Security Engineer BLS Employment Projections source2026-06-25T08:27:06+00:00
CIT-10Supports occupation-level labor context for Network Security Engineer.Network Security Engineer O*NET source2026-07-14T04:32:12+00:00
CIT-11Supports occupation-level labor context for SOC Analyst.SOC Analyst BLS OEWS wage source2026-06-25T08:28:38+00:00
CIT-12Supports occupation-level labor context for SOC Analyst.SOC Analyst BLS Employment Projections source2026-06-25T08:27:06+00:00
CIT-13Supports occupation-level labor context for SOC Analyst.SOC Analyst O*NET source2026-07-14T04:32:12+00:00
CIT-14Supports occupation-level labor context for Network Administrator.Network Administrator BLS OEWS wage source2026-06-25T08:28:38+00:00
CIT-15Supports occupation-level labor context for Network Administrator.Network Administrator BLS Employment Projections source2026-06-25T08:27:06+00:00
CIT-16Supports occupation-level labor context for Network Administrator.Network Administrator O*NET source2026-07-14T04:32:12+00:00
CIT-17Supports occupation-level labor context for Threat Intelligence Analyst.Threat Intelligence Analyst BLS OEWS wage source2026-06-25T08:28:38+00:00
CIT-18Supports occupation-level labor context for Threat Intelligence Analyst.Threat Intelligence Analyst BLS Employment Projections source2026-06-25T08:27:06+00:00
CIT-19Supports occupation-level labor context for Threat Intelligence Analyst.Threat Intelligence Analyst O*NET source2026-07-14T04:32:12+00:00
CIT-20Supports occupation-level labor context for Incident Response Analyst.Incident Response Analyst BLS OEWS wage source2026-06-25T08:28:38+00:00
CIT-21Supports occupation-level labor context for Incident Response Analyst.Incident Response Analyst BLS Employment Projections source2026-06-25T08:27:06+00:00
CIT-22Supports occupation-level labor context for Incident Response Analyst.Incident Response Analyst O*NET source2026-07-14T04:32:12+00:00
CIT-23Public official credential page for CompTIA Security+.Security+ (Plus) Certification | CompTIA2026-06-19T04:57:29+00:00
CIT-24Supports occupation-level labor context for Junior Systems Administrator.Junior Systems Administrator BLS OEWS wage source2026-06-25T08:28:38+00:00
CIT-25Supports occupation-level labor context for Junior Systems Administrator.Junior Systems Administrator BLS Employment Projections source2026-06-25T08:27:06+00:00
CIT-26Supports occupation-level labor context for Junior Systems Administrator.Junior Systems Administrator O*NET source2026-07-14T04:32:12+00:00
CIT-27Supports occupation-level labor context for Penetration Tester.Penetration Tester BLS OEWS wage source2026-06-25T08:28:38+00:00
CIT-28Supports occupation-level labor context for Penetration Tester.Penetration Tester BLS Employment Projections source2026-06-25T08:27:06+00:00
CIT-29Supports occupation-level labor context for Penetration Tester.Penetration Tester O*NET source2026-07-14T04:32:12+00:00
CIT-30Supports occupation-level labor context for Security Engineer.Security Engineer BLS OEWS wage source2026-06-25T08:28:38+00:00
CIT-31Supports occupation-level labor context for Security Engineer.Security Engineer BLS Employment Projections source2026-06-25T08:27:06+00:00
CIT-32Supports occupation-level labor context for Security Engineer.Security Engineer O*NET source2026-07-14T04:32:12+00:00
CIT-33Cisco CCNA Cybersecurity was renamed from Cisco CyberOps Associate, effective 2026-02-03; the vendor's own exam page names the credential the exam earns.Cisco CCNA Cybersecurity - official exam pageDate not recorded
CIT-34The exam fee shown for Cisco CCNA Cybersecurity (200-201 CCNACBR, formerly Cisco CyberOps Associate), and the date beside it, were both read from this published price source on 2026-06-25.Cisco CCNA Cybersecurity (200-201 CCNACBR, formerly Cisco CyberOps Associate) exam fee - published price source, read 2026-06-252026-06-25
CIT-35The exam fee shown for CompTIA Security+, and the date beside it, were both read from this published price source on 2026-06-13.CompTIA Security+ exam fee - published price source, read 2026-06-132026-06-13

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