Security+ vs CISSP
These two get compared constantly and they should not be. Security+ is an entry credential you can hold in six weeks for $425. CISSP is a management-level credential that costs $749, needs five years of documented security experience before it will certify you, and takes most people several months.
The real question is almost never which is better. It is which one you are eligible for and which one matches where you are now.
Side by side
| Security+ | CISSP | |
|---|---|---|
| Experience required | None formally. Networking fluency is assumed but not enforced. | Five years of paid work across two or more of the eight domains. Pass without it and you become an Associate of ISC2 until you accrue it. |
| Exam cost | $425, retake at full price. | $749, retake at full price, plus an annual maintenance fee once certified. |
| Ongoing cost | 50 continuing education units over three years plus CompTIA's continuing education fee. | 120 CPE credits over three years, at least 40 per year, plus the annual maintenance fee every year. |
| Exam format | Up to 90 questions in 90 minutes, including performance-based items. | Adaptive testing with multiple choice plus drag-and-drop and hotspot items. The adaptive engine stops when it has decided. |
| Study time | Four to six weeks with an IT background, eight to twelve without. | Three to six months for most candidates, even experienced ones. |
| What it signals | You know the vocabulary and the reasoning well enough to be useful in a security team. | You can think about security at the level of a programme, a budget, and a risk register. |
| Typical roles | SOC analyst, security administrator, junior security engineer, DoD 8140 IAT Level II roles. | Security manager, security architect, consultant, roles where the certification is a hiring filter. |
| Difficulty | Broad rather than deep. Fair to anyone who has done the reading. | Broad and deep, and the adaptive format is uncomfortable in a way practice does not fully remove. |
Which one to take first
If you have fewer than five years of security experience, take Security+. Not because it is easier, but because CISSP will not certify you at the end of it. You can sit CISSP without the experience and become an Associate of ISC2, but you are paying $749 and several months for a credential that reads as provisional until the years arrive.
If you have the five years, the question changes entirely. Security+ will teach you almost nothing you do not already know, and CISSP is the credential that moves your career. Take CISSP and skip Security+ unless a specific contract requires it.
The one case where an experienced practitioner should still take Security+ first: DoD 8140 IAT Level II roles name it specifically, and if a job or a clearance depends on that approval, $425 and two weeks is cheap for that.
When the answer is the other one
Take CISSP instead if you already have the experience
Five years of security work and a career heading toward architecture or management means Security+ is a formality that teaches you nothing. Spending six weeks on it delays the credential that actually changes your options. Go straight to CISSP.
Take neither if you are aiming at hands-on security work
Both of these are conceptual, defensive, and management-adjacent. If you want to do detection engineering or offensive work, CySA+ or eJPT will make you more employable in those specific roles than either of these, and cost less.
Take Network+ first if networking is shaky
Security+ assumes networking fluency it does not teach, and CISSP assumes considerably more. Candidates who cannot explain how traffic moves struggle with both. Network+ material, even without the exam, fixes the foundation faster than pushing through.
The short version
Under five years of experience: Security+, without hesitation. It is a quarter of the price, six weeks instead of six months, and it certifies you at the end.
Five or more years and heading toward management or architecture: CISSP, and skip Security+ unless a contract names it.
The comparison only becomes genuinely close for someone at four years with a manager willing to fund either one. In that case the tiebreaker is the job description you want to answer next year, not the certification itself.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take CISSP without five years of experience?
You can sit the exam. Passing without the experience makes you an Associate of ISC2, and you have six years to accrue the required time before the full certification is granted. The annual maintenance fee is lower as an Associate.
Is CISSP harder than Security+?
Substantially. CISSP covers eight domains at management depth and uses adaptive testing that gets harder as you answer correctly. Most candidates study three to six months for CISSP and four to six weeks for Security+.
Does Security+ count toward CISSP?
Not toward the experience requirement directly, but holding an approved credential such as Security+ waives one of the five years. That leaves four years of documented experience to satisfy.
Which pays more, Security+ or CISSP?
CISSP-holding roles pay considerably more, but the certification is not the cause. CISSP requires five years of experience, so the salary difference largely reflects the experience the certification proves you have.
Try both before you decide
Free sample questions for each, with the full explanation on every answer. Nothing tells you which exam suits you like sitting a few of its questions.