CompTIA A+ guides

The CompTIA A+ is the entry point of CompTIA's core three and the certification that entry level IT job listings name more often than any other. It is vendor neutral, and it certifies that you can set up, secure and troubleshoot the machines, phones and small networks an ordinary office runs on. The detail that catches almost everyone out is structural: the A+ is not one exam but two, Core 1 (220-1201) and Core 2 (220-1202), each with its own voucher, study block and exam day. That one fact drives the budget, the calendar and most of the mistakes people make. This page is the map, not the lesson.

The exam at a glance

Passing one core earns you nothing you can put on a resume, so the real unit is the pair: roughly $548 in vouchers and two exam days. Core 2's higher pass mark hints at its style rather than its difficulty, since scoring is weighted and 675 is not 75 percent. Both passes must also come from the same series: the current one launched in March 2025 and the older 220-1101 retired in September 2025, so an old Core 1 pass cannot pair with a new 220-1202.

Who should take it, and who should skip it

Take it if you have no IT background and want your first tech job. That is the whole audience. For that person the A+ clears the automated keyword screen, proves you sat two proctored exams rather than calling yourself good with computers, and hands you the vocabulary that makes interviews survivable. Help desk, desktop support, field technician, IT support specialist. It also sits at the Basic level under US Department of Defense rules, mapped to help desk and technical support seats.

Skip it if you already work in IT. A year on a help desk teaches most of what the A+ certifies, and paying $548 to document what your work history proves is an expensive souvenir. Skip it if you are aiming at networking, where the Network+ or CCNA is the better first purchase, or if you have security background and can go straight at Security+. Nobody checks the order. Two caveats: entry level listings name the A+ far more often than the Network+, so career changers who need work this year often get more from the easier cert, and the A+ alone gets interviews rather than offers. Is the A+ worth it in 2026 works through the money side, and do you need the A+ before the Network+ settles the sequencing.

What is actually on the exam

CompTIA publishes exact weightings in the free objectives PDF, your study checklist, so we will not reprint percentages that move between revisions. The shape stays stable. On Core 1, hardware and network troubleshooting is the largest slice and rewards understanding over memorised flashcards, while networking is the domain beginners fear, because ports and protocols are raw memorisation. Core 2 trades connectors for scenarios: Windows tools and command line, macOS and Linux basics, malware removal, plus the unglamorous procedures half of ticketing, documentation and handling a frustrated user.

Both papers mix multiple choice, multiple response, drag and drop and performance based questions. The PBQs land at the start, can eat five minutes each, and are the most common reason a prepared candidate runs out of time. Most people see fewer than 90 questions, typically low to mid 80s, and there is no penalty for guessing, so leave nothing blank. Our format guide covers pacing and the Core 1 exam guide goes domain by domain. Ports and acronyms are what the glossary is for.

How long it takes

Study one core at a time, because the material barely overlaps and splitting attention slows both halves. Consistency beats total hours here more than on any other CompTIA exam, since so much of the A+ is recall that decays within days. A 40 day run of 20 minute sessions is about 13 hours, distributed the way memorisation wants it, and beats the same hours packed into weekends. Our timeline article turns each window into an eight week plan, and Core 1 vs Core 2 covers which to sit first.

What it really costs

The voucher went from $265 to about $274 in CompTIA's June 1, 2026 price increase, and you need two, so $548 is the floor. Vouchers stay valid roughly twelve months, so buy close to your booked date, not on day one. Study materials are the line you control: $0 to $100 is realistic, since the objectives are free and spending more does not buy a better result. Typical all in total, $548 to $720.

What moves that number is whether you sit each exam once or twice. There are no free or discounted retakes, so a failed core adds another $274. The rules are mild: no waiting period after a first fail, a 14 day gap from the third attempt onward. Our retake guide explains them plus how to read your score report. Ways to pay less: academic pricing for students, authorized resellers, the voucher plus retake bundle at around $359 per exam, and employer or workforce budgets that go unclaimed because nobody asks. Put your figures into the cost calculator and read the full breakdown for where each line comes from.

Where to start reading

Not alphabetical. This order works.

1. Is the CompTIA A+ worth it in 2026. Start here, while walking away still costs nothing.
2. Core 1 vs Core 2. Second, because it turns two exams into one project with an order.
3. The Core 1 exam guide. The shape of your first study block.
4. How hard is the A+. Early enough to avoid the classic failure, passive video watching instead of practice.
5. How long to study for the A+. Turn the plan into dates, then book before you feel ready.
6. A+ exam cost in 2026. The week you buy the voucher, not the week you start.

The A+ punishes cramming and rewards short daily contact, which is why it fits a phone better than a textbook. The complete A+ track in CertOwl is free, both cores, with no trial and no paywall halfway through: five minute lessons, spaced repetition that returns your mistakes, original questions written from the published objectives, and full 90 question timed simulations. It works offline, which is the only reason most people keep the habit.