Cost breakdown
CEHHow much does Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) cost?
The CEH voucher is $1199, and a retake is another $500. Every figure on this page links to the vendor page it came from.
This cost page is built from the registry, not written yet.
Everything below comes from CEH’s published exam data, and every figure links to the vendor page it came from. The researched version, with study plans and the parts nobody publishes, is still being written. This page is not submitted to search engines until it is.
Practice CEH questions in the meantimeCost breakdown
| Item | Cost | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Exam voucher | $1199 | The published US list price for one attempt at CEH. |
| Retake | $500 | A second attempt is $500, $699 less than the first. |
| Eligibility application fee | $100 | Non-refundable, and only for candidates who skip official training and apply for eligibility directly. It is not refunded if the application is declined. |
| Official training | Varies | EC-Council's own packages start at $1,699 on demand and $2,499 live online. Training also satisfies eligibility, so a candidate who takes it does not pay the $100 application fee. |
| Voucher extension | $35 | A voucher is valid one year from purchase and can be extended once, by three months. |
Exam pricing from EC-Council store, CEH Exam Voucher (Pearson VUE) ↗.
Ways to bring the cost down
Official training removes the eligibility fee
The $100 eligibility application fee is only charged on the direct route. A candidate who takes official training through iClass, an Authorized Training Center or a participating college is deemed eligible by that route and does not pay it.
Retake is priced below a first attempt
EC-Council's store lists the CEH retake voucher at $500 against $1,199 for a first attempt, so a second sitting is not full price the way it is at most vendors.
For a good share of candidates somebody else pays this fee. The GI Bill, DoD and employer routes, with the rules each one publishes.
What a retake costs
A retake costs another $500, the same as the first attempt. That single line is larger than every other avoidable cost on this page combined, which is why practicing until your mock scores clear the pass line is the cheapest thing you can do.
Check EC-Council's current retake policy for the waiting period between attempts before you rebook.
Retake pricing from EC-Council store, CEH Exam Voucher (Pearson VUE) ↗.
What renewal costs across the full cycle
EC-Council states CEH is valid for 3 year periods, renewed with 120 EC-Council Continuing Education credits per certification within three years rather than by paying a fixed renewal fee.
Cycle length: 3 years. EC-Council states the CEH credential is valid for 3 year periods and is renewed by earning EC-Council Continuing Education (ECE) credits: 120 credits per certification within a period of three years. Candidates who bypass official training pay a non-refundable eligibility application fee of $100 before they can buy a voucher, and a voucher is valid for one year from purchase, extendable once by three months for $35.
Typical preparation budget
Preparation for CEH can genuinely cost nothing. The realistic range people spend is $0 to $500, and the top of that range buys convenience rather than a better chance of passing.
Our questions, explanations, and cheat sheets are free, and the explanation is never paywalled. That is the part of a paid practice set you are actually buying, so it is the part we do not charge for.
The cheapest way to avoid the $500 line on this page is to be ready before you book. Free CEH practice questions with a full explanation on every answer.
Keep reading
- CEH practice questions
Free sample questions with the full explanation on every answer.
- Free CEH practice test
10 original questions, playable now. No account, no card.
- CEH exam objectives
The full official blueprint, with practice pages on covered objectives.
- CEH exam format
How many questions, how long, what the items look like, and how long it stays valid.
- CEH passing score
The exact cut score, what kind of number it is, and the retake terms.
- How hard is CEH?
An honest difficulty read from the format, the clock and the weights.
Practice CEH for free while you decide
Original questions written from the published objectives, with the concept, the reasoning, and a note on every wrong option. No account needed to start.
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