Security+ vs Network+
This is the most common ordering question in CompTIA's line, and the honest answer depends on one thing: whether you already understand how traffic moves across a network.
Security+ assumes networking fluency without testing it. Network+ teaches that fluency and does not test security beyond a chapter. Neither is a prerequisite for the other on paper.
Side by side
| Security+ | Network+ | |
|---|---|---|
| Exam cost | $425, retake at full price. | $369, retake at full price. |
| Prerequisites | None enforced. CompTIA suggests Network+ and two years of experience. | None enforced. CompTIA suggests A+ and nine months of experience. |
| Exam format | Up to 90 questions in 90 minutes, with performance-based items. | Up to 90 questions in 90 minutes, with performance-based items. |
| What it covers | Threats, cryptography, identity, architecture, operations, governance. | Topologies, addressing, routing and switching, wireless, troubleshooting. |
| Maths involved | Almost none. Risk calculations at most. | Subnetting, and it is the part people fail on. |
| Study time | Six to ten weeks without a networking background. | Six to eight weeks from scratch. |
| Typical roles and hiring value | SOC analyst, security administrator. Named directly in job postings and in DoD 8140 IAT Level II. | NOC technician, junior network administrator. Named less often, usually a stepping stone rather than a requirement. |
| Renewal | Three years. Security+ renews Network+ automatically. | Three years. Network+ does not renew Security+. |
| Overlap | Assumes ports, protocols and segmentation are already understood. | Teaches exactly those, plus far more depth you will not be tested on again. |
Which one to take first
If you already work in IT and can explain what a subnet mask does without looking it up, go straight to Security+. It is the certification employers name, it renews Network+ if you ever want that, and Network+ will teach you things you already use daily.
If networking is genuinely new to you, take Network+ first. Security+ will otherwise spend your study time teaching you networking badly, in passing, while testing you on security. People who skip this step usually fail the architecture and operations domains, not the cryptography ones.
The renewal direction is worth knowing before you choose. Passing Security+ renews an existing Network+ certification, and the reverse is not true. Taking them in the order Network+ then Security+ gives you six years of coverage from two exams.
When the answer is the other one
Take Network+ instead if subnetting is unfamiliar
Security+ questions describe segmented networks, VLANs and firewall placement as background detail on the way to a security question. If that background is not already automatic, you are answering two questions at once under a clock. Network+ makes the first one free.
Take CCNA instead if you want the networking role
Network+ is vendor-neutral and shallow by design. If your goal is a networking job rather than a security one, CCNA is harder, costs $300, and is named in postings far more often than Network+.
Take neither yet if you have no IT experience at all
A+ exists for this. Both of these assume you have used a command line, configured an operating system and seen a real network. Starting at Security+ with none of that is the commonest reason people fail it twice.
The short version
For most people already working in IT, Security+ alone is the better spend: it is the certification named in postings, it satisfies DoD 8140, and it renews Network+ if you later want it.
For people new to networking, the order is Network+ then Security+, and it is worth the extra $369 and six weeks rather than trying to absorb both at once.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need Network+ before Security+?
No. CompTIA recommends it and does not enforce it. Whether you need it depends on whether you already understand addressing, routing and segmentation, because Security+ assumes those without teaching them.
Does Security+ renew Network+?
Yes. Passing a higher-level CompTIA certification renews the ones below it in the same cycle. Network+ does not renew Security+.
Which is harder?
Network+ is harder to pass without study because of subnetting. Security+ is broader and has more to memorise. People with IT backgrounds usually find Security+ easier; people without usually find it harder.
Answer a few from each.
Free sample questions for both, with the full explanation on every answer. Nothing tells you which exam suits you like sitting a few of its questions.