RoleMath

comparison

CompTIA Security+ vs ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)

Choose ISC2 CC when you are genuinely new and want a no-experience cybersecurity foundation. Choose Security+ when you already have IT and networking footing and need a broader operational baseline or your target explicitly names it.

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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

EvidenceCompTIA Security+CC - Certified in Cybersecurity
Exam codeSY0-701CC
Exam length90 minutes2 hours; 100-125 items under the current CAT outline. Verify the September 1, 2026 outline before scheduling.
Credential levelFoundationEntry
Published exam price$439 U.S. voucher captured 2026-06-13; verify the current regional price before purchase (fee as of 2026-06-13)$199 standard U.S. registration ([ISC2 exam pricing](https://www.isc2.org/register-for-exam/isc2-exam-pricing)); verify regional pricing before purchase. Certified-member maintenance for CC-only holders is $50 annually ([ISC2 member policy](https://www.isc2.org/policies-procedures/member-policies)). Previously issued, unexpired One Million CC exam codes may be used through 2026-12-31, but new enrollment closed on 2026-05-20 ([ISC2 One Million Certified in Cybersecurity programme conclusion](https://www.isc2.org/landing/1mcc), checked 2026-07-10) (fee as of 2026-07-01)
Official certification sourceBLS occupation contextO*NET role evidenceRoleMath scoring evidence

Choose by fit

Choose CompTIA Security+ when
  • You have Network+-level knowledge or equivalent hands-on IT and networking experience.
  • Your target work or employer explicitly names Security+.
  • You want a broader baseline across threats, architecture, operations, identity, governance, and risk.
Choose CC - Certified in Cybersecurity when
  • You are genuinely new to cybersecurity and want a credential with no work-experience requirement.
  • You want to validate foundational security concepts before a broader operational exam.
  • The $199 standard U.S. CC registration is a more practical first checkpoint for your budget than the $439 Security+ U.S. voucher; verify regional prices and any valid legacy CC exam code before paying.
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 AnalystBoth - Covers the core15-1212$129,180 annual median28.5%
Network Security EngineerCompTIA Security+ - Covers groundwork15-1299$116,580 annual median8.2%
Junior Systems AdministratorCompTIA 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 comparisonSOC Analyst

Zoom out

cert comparisonCompTIA Security+cert comparisonCC - Certified in Cybersecurity

Core source records

This table lists the page’s core content records and when they were checked. Claim-specific citations appear beside the relevant text and may not be repeated here.

Show all 33 sources
IDSupportsSourceChecked
CIT-01Public official credential page for CompTIA Security+.Security+ (Plus) Certification | CompTIA2026-06-19T04:57:29+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 SOC Analyst.SOC Analyst BLS OEWS wage source2026-06-25T08:28:38+00:00
CIT-06Supports occupation-level labor context for SOC Analyst.SOC Analyst BLS Employment Projections source2026-06-25T08:27:06+00:00
CIT-07Supports occupation-level labor context for SOC Analyst.SOC Analyst O*NET source2026-07-14T04:32:12+00:00
CIT-08Supports occupation-level labor context for Junior Systems Administrator.Junior Systems Administrator BLS OEWS wage source2026-06-25T08:28:38+00:00
CIT-09Supports occupation-level labor context for Junior Systems Administrator.Junior Systems Administrator BLS Employment Projections source2026-06-25T08:27:06+00:00
CIT-10Supports occupation-level labor context for Junior Systems Administrator.Junior Systems Administrator O*NET source2026-07-14T04:32:12+00:00
CIT-11Supports occupation-level labor context for Threat Intelligence Analyst.Threat Intelligence Analyst BLS OEWS wage source2026-06-25T08:28:38+00:00
CIT-12Supports occupation-level labor context for Threat Intelligence Analyst.Threat Intelligence Analyst BLS Employment Projections source2026-06-25T08:27:06+00:00
CIT-13Supports occupation-level labor context for Threat Intelligence Analyst.Threat Intelligence Analyst O*NET source2026-07-14T04:32:12+00:00
CIT-14Supports occupation-level labor context for Incident Response Analyst.Incident Response Analyst BLS OEWS wage source2026-06-25T08:28:38+00:00
CIT-15Supports occupation-level labor context for Incident Response Analyst.Incident Response Analyst BLS Employment Projections source2026-06-25T08:27:06+00:00
CIT-16Supports occupation-level labor context for Incident Response Analyst.Incident Response Analyst O*NET source2026-07-14T04:32:12+00:00
CIT-17Supports occupation-level labor context for IT Security Operations Specialist.IT Security Operations Specialist BLS OEWS wage source2026-06-25T08:28:38+00:00
CIT-18Supports occupation-level labor context for IT Security Operations Specialist.IT Security Operations Specialist BLS Employment Projections source2026-06-25T08:27:06+00:00
CIT-19Supports occupation-level labor context for IT Security Operations Specialist.IT Security Operations Specialist O*NET source2026-07-14T04:32:12+00:00
CIT-20Supports occupation-level labor context for Network Security Engineer.Network Security Engineer BLS OEWS wage source2026-06-25T08:28:38+00:00
CIT-21Supports occupation-level labor context for Network Security Engineer.Network Security Engineer BLS Employment Projections source2026-06-25T08:27:06+00:00
CIT-22Supports occupation-level labor context for Network Security Engineer.Network Security Engineer O*NET source2026-07-14T04:32:12+00:00
CIT-23Supports occupation-level labor context for Penetration Tester.Penetration Tester BLS OEWS wage source2026-06-25T08:28:38+00:00
CIT-24Supports occupation-level labor context for Penetration Tester.Penetration Tester BLS Employment Projections source2026-06-25T08:27:06+00:00
CIT-25Supports occupation-level labor context for Penetration Tester.Penetration Tester O*NET source2026-07-14T04:32:12+00:00
CIT-26Supports occupation-level labor context for Security Engineer.Security Engineer BLS OEWS wage source2026-06-25T08:28:38+00:00
CIT-27Supports occupation-level labor context for Security Engineer.Security Engineer BLS Employment Projections source2026-06-25T08:27:06+00:00
CIT-28Supports occupation-level labor context for Security Engineer.Security Engineer O*NET source2026-07-14T04:32:12+00:00
CIT-29Public official credential page for CC - Certified in Cybersecurity.CC Certified in Cybersecurity Certification | ISC22026-06-12T17:53:02+00:00
CIT-30Supports official facts for CC - Certified in Cybersecurity.CC Exam Outline PDF - CC - English2026-06-08T23:30:50+00:00
CIT-31Supports official facts for CC - Certified in Cybersecurity.CC Exam Outline PDF - CC - English2026-06-08T23:30:50+00:00
CIT-32The 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
CIT-33The exam fee shown for CC - Certified in Cybersecurity, and the date beside it, were both read from this published price source on 2026-07-01.CC - Certified in Cybersecurity exam fee - published price source, read 2026-07-012026-07-01

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