Almost every “is Security+ worth it” page prices the exam once, quotes a salary figure from a jobs site, and calls that an answer. Both halves of that are shaky. CompTIA does not publish the voucher price on its certification page, and no salary figure comes from CompTIA at all. What CompTIA does publish is the part nobody costs in: Security+ is valid for three years from your certification date, and keeping it is an obligation that starts the day you pass.
This page works from CompTIA’s own certification, retake and renewal policy pages, and says plainly where CompTIA publishes nothing. Every figure below was verified on 12 September 2026. Where a number is not CompTIA’s, we do not print it.
What you are actually buying
| Exam code | SY0-701 (version V7), launched 7 November 2023 |
| Questions | Maximum of 90 — multiple-choice and performance-based |
| Time limit | 90 minutes |
| Passing score | 750 on a 100–900 scale |
| Validity | Three years from the certification date |
| Renewal | Continuing education units, without retaking the exam. A 30-day grace period applies for submitting CEUs from the cycle |
| Renewal by re-passing the same exam | Not permitted by CompTIA |
| Exam price | Not published on the certification page — it varies by region and store |
| CEUs required to renew Security+ | Not published as a per-certification figure on the renewal policy page |
| Salary uplift | Not published by CompTIA — every figure you have seen comes from somewhere else |
| Retirement | English 11 June 2027; Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai 13 August 2027 |
Security+ is a three-year subscription, not a purchase
This is the part that changes the arithmetic, and it is the part that gets left out. Your certification is valid for three years from the date you certify. After that it lapses unless you have renewed it, and CompTIA’s renewal route is continuing education — you submit CEUs across the cycle rather than sitting the exam again.
There is a detail inside that which surprises people. You cannot simply re-pass Security+ to renew it. CompTIA does not permit renewal by re-passing the same exam code, and once you have passed SY0-701 you cannot take it again until a new version has been released. So the fallback plan a lot of candidates assume they have — “I will just sit it again in three years” — is not available to them.
None of that makes Security+ a bad purchase. It makes it a different kind of purchase. The honest question is not “can I afford the exam” but “will I still be in a role where keeping this current is worth the effort in three years’ time”.
Can you answer a SY0-701 question in 60 seconds?
Timed practice tests built to CompTIA’s published domain weights, with a written explanation for every answer — so the questions you get wrong are the ones you learn from.
- Full-length timed tests that hold you to the real 90-minute limit
- An explanation for every answer, right and wrong
- Weighted to the official blueprint — 12 / 22 / 18 / 28 / 20% across the five domains, matching CompTIA exactly
On Udemy · lifetime access · 30-day refund policy applies
Starting further back? ISC2 CC practice questions. Filling the networking gap first? Network+ N10-009 practice exams.
Why there is no salary figure on this page
You will have seen pages confidently attaching a salary to Security+. Those numbers come from job boards, salary aggregators and survey panels, not from CompTIA, and they vary enormously by country, sector and how the sample was drawn. Presenting one of them next to CompTIA’s exam facts implies a precision that does not exist.
The useful version of that question is local: search your own market for the roles you want and count how many name Security+ in the requirements. A national average from another continent tells you nothing.
Who it genuinely is worth it for
Security+ does one thing very well: it clears a filter. It is widely written into job descriptions as a baseline requirement, so its value is mostly in getting an application read. That makes it worth it in three situations:
- You are moving into security from adjacent IT work — help desk, networking, systems administration — and need something that signals the switch is deliberate.
- Your employer or a contract requires it. Then the question is not whether it is worth it but when you sit it.
- You want the vocabulary before a specialism. Security+ is broad by design, and that breadth is useful before you narrow into monitoring, cloud or audit work.
Who it is not worth it for
A worth-it page that cannot name anyone it is not worth for is a sales page. Three honest cases:
- You already hold a broader, current security certification and are working in the field. Security+ sits below it, and you would be adding a second three-year renewal cycle for a credential your CV does not need.
- You want a hands-on technical role and nothing else. Security+ is assessed with multiple-choice and performance-based questions, and it is not a substitute for demonstrable practical work.
- You are certain you will leave security within three years. The certification lapses, the renewal obligation does not pay you back, and the money is better spent on whatever the next field wants.
Where practice questions fit
Practice questions are a diagnostic, not a syllabus. Their job is to find the domain you are weak in and to train you to decide inside a minute. Used that way — timed, reviewed, weighted to the published blueprint — they are the most efficient preparation available in the last few weeks before the exam.
A caution that matters more than it appears to. Sites offering “real exam questions”, brain dumps or leaked SY0-701 content are selling you a violation of the CompTIA Candidate Agreement, and CompTIA can revoke certifications over it. They are also usually stale. Original questions written from the published blueprint teach you to reason; memorised answers teach you to recognise a question you will not be asked.
Find your weak domain before the exam does.
The verdict
Worth it if you need to clear a hiring filter and intend to stay in security long enough to renew it at least once. Not worth it as a trophy, and not worth it if you are already past it. On timing, CompTIA publishes that English SY0-701 retires on 11 June 2027 and has published nothing about a successor’s launch, so there is nothing to wait for. If you want the exam parameters themselves rather than the decision, our CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) exam guide sets out every published figure, including the ones CompTIA does not publish at all.
Frequently asked questions
How long does Security+ last?
Three years from your certification date. It is renewed through continuing education units rather than by sitting the exam again, and a 30-day grace period applies for submitting CEUs from the cycle.
Can I renew Security+ by taking the exam again?
No. CompTIA does not permit renewal by re-passing the same exam, and once you have passed SY0-701 you cannot retake it until a new version has been released. Renewal is through continuing education.
How much does the Security+ exam cost?
CompTIA does not publish the voucher price on its certification page, and pricing varies by region and store. Check CompTIA’s own store for your country rather than relying on a figure quoted on a third-party page.
Does Security+ increase your salary?
CompTIA publishes no salary figure for Security+, so any specific number you see comes from a job board or survey rather than from the vendor. The more reliable test is how often the roles you want in your own market name Security+ as a requirement.
Is Security+ worth it if I already work in security?
Often not. If you already hold a broader current security certification and are working in the field, Security+ adds a second three-year renewal cycle for a credential that sits below what you have. It is most valuable to people moving into security rather than those already in it.
Sources. All exam and policy parameters above come from CompTIA’s own Security+ certification page, its certification retake policy and its certification renewal policy, accessed 12 September 2026. No salary or price figure is quoted because CompTIA publishes none. Exam parameters change; if you spot a discrepancy, check CompTIA’s page and tell us so we can correct it.
Disclosure and disclaimer. FoxMedium publishes independent study material. Our practice tests are not official CompTIA content and are not endorsed by, affiliated with, or representative of CompTIA or the official certification examination. All questions are original and written from publicly published exam blueprints. We do not host or distribute real exam content. Links to our courses earn us revenue if you enrol. CompTIA, Security+ and all related trademarks belong to their respective owners.
