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Is CompTIA Security+ worth it in 2026?

By SunTzu, founder of CertOwl • Published July 26, 2026 • 4 min read

Type the question into a search bar and you get a wall of pages answering yes, most of them written by companies that sell training. That does not make the answer wrong, but it does mean the question deserves a straighter treatment: what it costs you, what it actually buys, and the situations where it buys you nothing at all.

The real cost, time included

The voucher is $439 in 2026, following CompTIA's June price increase. Study material ranges from free to over a thousand dollars, and we broke the whole bill down in the Security+ cost article.

Then there is the part people leave out of the calculation. Most candidates with some IT background need six to ten weeks of steady study, which is covered in our difficulty guide. Call it two months of evenings. And the certification expires after three years, so keeping it alive costs 50 continuing education units plus a $50 annual fee.

Shop sensibly, study on inexpensive material and pass first time, and you land around $400 all in and a couple of months of your life. Pay list price, buy an official bundle and need a second sitting, and the same certification sails past $1,200. That is the number to weigh, not the voucher price on its own.

The salary figures are about the job, not the certificate

This is where most articles quietly mislead. You will see Security+ paired with a six figure salary, and the figure is usually real, but it belongs to the role, not to the exam.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median wage for information security analysts at $124,910 as of May 2024, with the field projected to grow 29 percent between 2024 and 2034 and around 16,000 openings a year. Those are strong numbers. They describe people who have been doing security work for years.

Look at the other end of the same data and the lowest ten percent earned under $69,660. That end is much closer to where someone lands the week after they pass an exam. Security+ is a filter you get through, not a raise that arrives in your account. Anyone presenting the median as your starting salary is selling something.

Where it genuinely pays for itself

Three situations, and they are worth being precise about.

Federal and defence work. Security+ sits on the Department of Defense approved baseline under directive 8140. For a lot of contractor and government roles it is not a preference on a wish list, it is a condition of holding the job. If that is the world you want to work in, the question stops being whether it is worth it and becomes how soon you can sit it.

Getting past the first screen. For a first security role, a SOC analyst seat or a move sideways out of help desk, Security+ is the credential hiring systems are most often set to look for. It will not get you hired on its own, but without it a lot of applications never reach a human.

Knowing what to study. This one gets underrated. The exam objectives give you a defined syllabus when the alternative is drowning in a field with no obvious starting point, and our SY0-701 guide sets out what they cover. Plenty of the value sits in the studying, not the certificate.

What the market actually looks like

CyberSeek, which tracks United States cybersecurity postings, counted roughly 514,000 open roles as of March 2026, with a supply to demand ratio near 74 percent. Around one in four advertised positions goes unfilled.

That gap is real, but read it carefully. Employers are short of people who can do the work, not short of people holding certificates. The shortage helps you. It does not carry you.

When it is not worth it

If you have no IT experience at all and expect the certificate alone to produce a job offer, you will be disappointed, and the disappointment will feel like the exam lied to you. It did not. It opens a door you still have to walk through, usually via a help desk or support role first.

If you already work in security with a few years behind you, employers are looking at what you have done, not at an entry level credential. Your money goes further on something specialised.

If your target is development, cloud engineering, or data work, this is simply the wrong exam. And if you are about to spend over $1,000 on a bundle for a $439 test, stop and price the pieces separately.

The verdict

Security+ is worth it if you are moving into security from another IT role, if you want federal or defence work, or if you need a structured path through a subject with no natural entry point. It is not worth it as a substitute for experience, and it is not a salary upgrade you can buy for $439.

Judged as what it is, an entry gate that a large number of employers have agreed to recognise, it remains one of the better value certifications in IT.

Frequently asked questions

Will Security+ alone get me a job?

Alone, rarely. Combined with IT experience, homelab work or another certification, it is often what moves an application past screening.

Is it worth it without any IT experience?

It can be, but expect a longer study runway and pair it with practical basics; employers look for evidence you can do the work.

What should come after Security+?

For analysts, the CySA+ is the natural next step; for offense minded people, the PenTest+. Both renew your Security+ when you pass.