Who should choose CompTIA Security+?

Entry-level security professional. Need DoD 8570 compliance. Want broad security foundation. Government or defense contractor roles.

Who should choose CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)?

Already have foundational security knowledge. Want to specialize in penetration testing. Targeting red team or offensive security. Interested in hands-on hacking techniques.

CompTIA Security+ vs CEH

Security+ is foundational and DoD-approved, while CEH focuses specifically on penetration testing and ethical hacking techniques.

CompTIA Security+

CompTIA

CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)

EC-Council

CompTIA

Provider

EC-Council

$392

Cost

$950-$1199

Medium

Difficulty

Hard

~70%

Pass Rate

~60%

3 years

Validity

3 years

$65k-$95k

Salary Impact

$80k-$130k

The Verdict

Choose Security+ as your first security cert - it's broader and DoD 8570 compliant. Choose CEH after Security+ if targeting pentesting roles.

Choose CompTIA Security+ if you:

Entry-level security professional
Need DoD 8570 compliance
Want broad security foundation
Government or defense contractor roles

Choose CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) if you:

Already have foundational security knowledge
Want to specialize in penetration testing
Targeting red team or offensive security
Interested in hands-on hacking techniques

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