Security+ vs CISSP: which one do you need?

Every figure below was read off CompTIA’s and ISC2’s own pages on October 19, 2026, and each is linked to the page it came from.

The two exams side by side

The formats feel different on the day. CompTIA’s Security+ V7 page lists a maximum of 90 multiple-choice and performance-based questions in 90 minutes, so you get hands-on simulations alongside the multiple choice. ISC2’s CISSP exam outline says every CISSP exam uses Computerized Adaptive Testing: between 100 and 150 items in 3 hours. Our Security+ exam format guide covers the performance-based questions in more detail.

On cost, ISC2’s pricing page lists the CISSP exam at $749 for standard registration in the Americas, with $50 to reschedule and $100 to cancel. CompTIA’s Security+ page sells the exam voucher inside study bundles and does not state a standalone voucher price, so we do not quote one; check CompTIA’s store for the current price in your country.

What each exam covers

The topics overlap a lot more than the reputations suggest. Both cover risk, architecture, identity and access, network security, and operations. The difference is the altitude. Security+ spends its largest share, 28 percent, on security operations: hardening, monitoring, vulnerability management, and incident response, the work of someone who runs the controls. CISSP gives its largest share, 16 percent, to security and risk management, and it adds areas Security+ barely touches, such as software development security. ISC2’s outline describes the CISSP as validating the technical and managerial knowledge to design, engineer, and manage an organization’s overall security posture, and the questions reflect that: expect to be asked what the right decision is for the organization more often than how to configure the fix.

The experience gap

This is the real dividing line. CompTIA only recommends experience. For the current exam its V7 page suggests Network+ and two years in a security or systems administrator job role. Nothing stops you from sitting it without that.

ISC2 requires experience. Its experience requirements page asks for a minimum of 5 years of cumulative, full-time work in 2 or more of the eight domains. A relevant bachelor’s or master’s degree may satisfy up to 1 year, or a credential from ISC2’s approved list may satisfy 1 year. Part-time work and internships can count.

You can sit the CISSP exam before you have the years. If you pass without them, ISC2 lets you become an Associate of ISC2, and you then have 6 years to earn the experience. ISC2 lists the Associate fee at $50 a year plus 15 CPE credits a year, and an $85 upgrade payment when you become fully certified. Our CISSP experience requirements guide walks through the part-time math and the Associate route.

How Security+ and CISSP help each other

Security+ counts toward CISSP experience. CompTIA Security+ is on the approved credential list on ISC2’s experience requirements page, so holding it can satisfy 1 year of the 5. That is a real reason to get Security+ first even if CISSP is the goal.

CISSP renews Security+. CompTIA’s list of non-CompTIA certifications for Security+ V7 renewal gives CISSP 50 CEUs, which is the full 50 Security+ needs. CompTIA’s rules for that route say the certification must be earned or renewed during your Security+ three year cycle, and that CE fees apply, so you still pay the $150. In practice, someone who keeps a CISSP current can submit it each cycle instead of collecting Security+ CEUs one activity at a time.

What each costs to keep

CompTIA’s fee page says the $150 is due by your expiration date and need not be paid annually. ISC2’s member policies suggest 40 CPE credits a year toward the 120, and give 90 days after expiration to finish them. Our Security+ renewal guide covers the CEU options in detail.

Both exams are changing

CompTIA’s Security+ V8 page gives SY0-801 a launch date of November 17, 2026, and the V7 page retires the English SY0-701 exam on June 11, 2027. The format stays the same: up to 90 questions in 90 minutes and 750 to pass. The V8 page lists the recommended experience as a security administrator with two years of hands-on experience. ISC2’s CISSP exam outline says a new outline takes effect April 15, 2027. Match your study material to the version you will actually sit.

Which one to get

Get Security+ if a posting or contract names it, if you have under five years in security, or if you want a certification you can earn on your own timeline. It is also a useful first step toward CISSP, because it can satisfy a year of the experience requirement.

Get CISSP if a requirement names it, or you already have the five years and your work involves designing or running a security program rather than operating its tools. If you are still short of the five years, the Associate route lets you pass now and finish the experience later.

Holding both takes less upkeep than it sounds: a current CISSP covers the Security+ CEUs every cycle, though the CompTIA fee still applies.

FAQ

Starting with Security+? The first module of our Security+ course, General Security Concepts, is free. Or, if CISSP is next, the first module of our CISSP course, Security and Risk Management, is free too.