FirstTry

Before you book

Guides and cost breakdowns

Two pages per certification: what it actually costs, including the retake and the full renewal cycle, and an honest guide to whether it is worth taking. Every price links to the vendor page it came from.

Head to head comparisons

Compared on prerequisites, cost, difficulty, and career outcomes, including the cases where the answer is to take the other one.

eJPT vs PenTest+

eJPT and PenTest+ compared on cost, format and credibility, including why a practical lab exam and a multiple-choice exam send different signals to employers.

eJPTPT0-003

CySA+ vs Security Operations Analyst

CySA+ and SC-200 compared on cost, tooling, portability and roles, with guidance on choosing between a vendor-neutral analyst credential and a Microsoft-specific one.

CS0-003SC-200

CKA vs CKS

CKA and CKS compared on prerequisites, scope, difficulty and roles. CKS requires an active CKA, so this is a sequencing question rather than a choice.

CKACKS

Terraform Associate vs Azure Administrator

HashiCorp Terraform Associate and Microsoft AZ-104 compared on cost, scope and hiring value, including why a tool certification and a platform certification answer different questions.

TA-003AZ-104

Security+ vs GSEC

CompTIA Security+ and GIAC GSEC compared on cost, depth, format and employer recognition, including why the price gap is the whole decision for most candidates.

SY0-701GSEC

CySA+ vs PenTest+

CySA+ and PenTest+ compared on cost, difficulty, tooling and job roles, with guidance on choosing between defensive analysis and offensive testing.

CS0-003PT0-003

Linux+ vs RHCSA

Linux+ and RHCSA compared on cost, format, difficulty and employer recognition, including why a practical exam and a multiple-choice exam are not the same signal.

XK0-005EX200

CCNA vs CCNP Enterprise

CCNA and CCNP Enterprise compared on cost, exam structure, difficulty and roles, including why CCNP is two exams and when it is too early to attempt.

200-301350-401

Azure Fundamentals vs Azure Administrator

AZ-900 and AZ-104 compared on cost, difficulty, hands-on requirements and hiring value, including when skipping the fundamentals exam is the right call.

AZ-900AZ-104

CKA vs CKAD

CKA and CKAD compared on cost, format, difficulty and job roles, with guidance on which Kubernetes certification matches operator work against developer work.

CKACKAD

Security+ vs Network+

Security+ and Network+ compared on cost, difficulty, overlap and hiring value, including when skipping Network+ is the right call and when it is not.

SY0-701N10-009

Security+ vs CySA+

Security+ and CySA+ compared on difficulty, cost, job roles and analysis skills, with the cases where CySA+ is the wrong next step.

SY0-701CS0-003

A+ Core 1 vs Network+

A+ and Network+ compared on cost, scope, difficulty and hiring value, including when skipping A+ makes sense and when it costs you the first job.

220-1201N10-009

Security+ vs CISSP

Security+ and CISSP compared on cost, difficulty, prerequisites, and career outcomes, including when the answer is to take neither yet.

SY0-701CISSP

CCNA vs Network+

CCNA and Network+ compared on cost, difficulty, vendor neutrality, and which one employers actually ask for.

200-301N10-009
Microsoft Azure logo

Guides for Microsoft Azure

22exams

Voucher prices from Microsoft Learn, certifications and exam pricing ↗. Vendors change them, which is why the link is there.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) logo

Guides for Amazon Web Services (AWS)

12exams

Voucher prices from AWS Certification, exam pricing ↗. Vendors change them, which is why the link is there.

Guides for CompTIA

7exams

Voucher prices from CompTIA, exam voucher pricing ↗. Vendors change them, which is why the link is there.

Guides for Cisco

4exams

Voucher prices from Cisco, exam pricing and registration ↗. Vendors change them, which is why the link is there.

Guides for ISC2

9exams

Voucher prices from ISC2, Certified in Cybersecurity ↗, ISC2, CISSP exam pricing ↗, ISC2, exam pricing ↗. Vendors change them, which is why the link is there.

Axelos / PeopleCert logo

Guides for Axelos / PeopleCert

1exam

Voucher prices from PeopleCert, ITIL 4 Foundation ↗. Vendors change them, which is why the link is there.

GIAC logo

Guides for GIAC

4exams

Voucher prices from GIAC, certification pricing ↗. Vendors change them, which is why the link is there.

INE Security logo

Guides for INE Security

1exam

Voucher prices from INE, eJPT certification ↗. Vendors change them, which is why the link is there.

Guides for HashiCorp

1exam

Voucher prices from HashiCorp, Terraform Associate certification ↗. Vendors change them, which is why the link is there.

CNCF

Guides for Linux Foundation / CNCF

5exams

Voucher prices from Linux Foundation, CKAD certification ↗, Linux Foundation, CKS certification ↗, Linux Foundation, KCNA certification ↗, Linux Foundation, KCSA certification ↗, Linux Foundation, CKA certification ↗. Vendors change them, which is why the link is there.

Google Cloud logo

Guides for Google Cloud

12exams

Voucher prices from Google Cloud, Associate Cloud Engineer exam details ↗, Google Cloud, Cloud Digital Leader exam details ↗, Google Cloud, Professional Cloud Security Engineer exam details ↗, Google Cloud, Professional Data Engineer exam details ↗, Google Cloud, Professional Cloud Architect exam details ↗, Google Cloud, Professional Machine Learning Engineer exam details ↗, Google Cloud, Professional Cloud Developer exam details ↗, Google Cloud, Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer exam details ↗, Google Cloud, Professional Cloud Network Engineer exam details ↗, Google Cloud, Associate Google Workspace Administrator certification ↗, Google Cloud, Associate Data Practitioner ↗, Google Cloud, Generative AI Leader certification ↗. Vendors change them, which is why the link is there.

Guides for Red Hat

1exam

Voucher prices from Red Hat, RHCSA certification ↗. Vendors change them, which is why the link is there.

Guides for Splunk

10exams

Voucher prices from Splunk, Splunk Core Certified User certification track ↗, Splunk, Splunk Core Certified Power User certification track ↗, Splunk, Splunk Core Certified Advanced Power User certification track ↗, Splunk, Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin certification track ↗, Splunk, Splunk Cloud Certified Admin certification track ↗, Splunk, Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect certification track ↗, Splunk, Splunk Certified Cybersecurity Defense Analyst certification track ↗, Splunk, Splunk Certified Cybersecurity Defense Engineer certification track ↗, Splunk, Splunk Certified Cybersecurity Defense Architect certification track ↗, Splunk, Splunk O11y Cloud Certified Metrics User certification track ↗. Vendors change them, which is why the link is there.

Reading about an exam is not the same as sitting one

The guides tell you what an exam costs and what it asks. The questions tell you whether you are ready, and every answer carries its full explanation.

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