SSCP vs Security+: Which Entry-Level Security Cert Wins in 2026?

The SSCP costs $249 to take. Security+ costs $439. That $190 gap is real, but it isn’t the whole story: the SSCP needs a year of security work experience and costs more to keep, while Security+ has no experience requirement and shows up on far more job postings. If you’re new or job hunting, get Security+. If you already do security work and want a deeper, cheaper exam, the SSCP is a good pick.

How much does the SSCP cost compared with Security+?

The SSCP exam is $249 and Security+ is $439, which CompTIA has charged since its June 2026 price increase. Over a full three-year cycle the order flips, because ISC2 charges an annual fee and CompTIA charges once per cycle.

Cost (US)	SSCP	Security+
Exam	$249	$439
Maintenance over three years	$405 ($135 a year)	$150 (once per cycle)
First three years, total	$654	$589
Continuing education	60 CPE credits per cycle	50 CEUs per cycle

Two details change the math for some people. ISC2 charges one $135 fee no matter how many ISC2 certifications you hold, so if a CISSP is in your future, that fee eventually covers both. And CompTIA renews Security+ automatically when you pass a higher CompTIA exam like CySA+, which can save you the CE work entirely. If you want the longer story on CompTIA’s pricing, I covered why CompTIA exams cost what they do.

What’s the difference between the SSCP and Security+?

Security+ is broad and built for people breaking into security; the SSCP is narrower, more operational and built for people already doing the work. Both are vendor neutral and both are approved for DoD 8140 work roles, but they’re written for different points in a career.

Security+ covers five areas: general security concepts, threats and vulnerabilities, security architecture, security operations, and security program management. It’s a survey course with a test at the end, and that breadth is exactly why employers use it as a baseline.

The SSCP, from ISC2 (the same organization behind the CISSP), covers seven: security concepts and practices, access controls, risk identification and monitoring, incident response and recovery, cryptography, network and communications security, and systems and application security. It assumes you’ve been in the room when something went wrong and asks how you’d handle it.

Which exam is harder?

They’re hard in different ways. Security+ punishes speed and the SSCP punishes shallow knowledge.

Exam	SSCP	Security+ (SY0-701)
Questions	100 to 125, adaptive	Up to 90, including performance-based
Time	2 hours	90 minutes
Passing score	700 of 1,000	750 on a 100 to 900 scale
Experience required	One year	None (two years recommended)

Security+ gives you about a minute per question, and the performance-based questions, where you work through a simulated task, can eat several minutes each. The SSCP has been a computerized adaptive test since October 1, 2025, which means the questions adjust to how you’re doing and the exam can end anywhere from 100 to 125 items. Adaptive exams feel harder than they are, because they keep pushing you toward the edge of what you know.

Timing matters for Security+ too. CompTIA launches Security+ V8 (SY0-801) around November 17, 2026, and the current SY0-701 retires in English on June 11, 2027. Both lead to the same credential, so take whichever version your study material matches. My guide to how long Security+ takes has realistic study timelines.

Does the SSCP’s experience requirement matter?

Yes, and for most people it decides the question. The SSCP requires one year of full-time work in one or more of its seven domains, and a related IT degree can stand in for that year. Pass without the experience and you become an Associate of ISC2, with two years to earn it before you’re fully certified.

That’s workable, but if you’ve never had an IT job it leaves you holding a certification you can’t quite call your own yet. Security+ has no requirement at all: study, pass, done. If you’re starting from zero, read where to start with no experience first.

Which one do employers actually ask for?

Security+, by a wide margin. It shows up on more job postings and more HR filters, and the old DoD “IAT Level II” language that still lives in government contracts usually translates to Security+. If you’re aiming at government or defense contracting work, don’t overthink it.

The SSCP’s advantage is that fewer people have it. On a stack of resumes that all say Security+, an SSCP gives a technical hiring manager something to ask about, and it signals operational experience because you needed some to earn it. Just don’t count on HR knowing what it is. I was in HR once, hiring installation technicians, and I wrote about how little HR knows about most certifications. A screener with a keyword list is looking for the name on the posting, and that name is usually Security+.

Do you need the SSCP before the CISSP?

No. Neither the SSCP nor Security+ is a prerequisite for the CISSP. What the CISSP does require is five years of experience to certify; pass it without that and you’re an Associate of ISC2 until the experience catches up. The CISSP exam itself is adaptive, 100 to 150 questions in three hours.

The SSCP gets you into the ISC2 system early and covers ground the CISSP builds on, but it doesn’t open any door on its own, and starting with Security+ doesn’t close the CISSP door. If the only reason you’re leaning toward the SSCP is that it “leads to” the CISSP, that isn’t a reason.

So which should you get?

Get Security+ if you’re new to IT, job hunting, or anywhere near government work. It costs more to take, less to keep, and it’s the name on the postings. Get the SSCP if you’ve already got a year or more of security-flavored work behind you and want a cheaper exam that goes deeper on operations, or if you already pay the ISC2 fee for another certification.

You can hold both, and plenty of people eventually do. But if the budget only covers one this year, match it to the job you want next, not the one you want in five years.