SY0-701 or SY0-801: which Security+ to sit, and whether your prep still works

Which version to sit, by your exam date

Work backwards from the date you can realistically be ready, then pick the row that matches.

• You have a SY0-701 exam booked before 17 November 2026. Keep it. Nothing about your exam changes.
• You will be ready between December 2026 and mid-May 2027, studying from V7 material. Sit SY0-701. Both versions can be booked in that window, and your books, videos and practice tests match the exam you will see.
• You are starting from zero now and study part-time. Either works. If your plan runs past April 2027, study for SY0-801 so a slow month cannot push you past the retirement date.
• You want to test in Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish or Thai. SY0-701 is your only option for now. CompTIA lists English as the only language for SY0-801, and keeps the other four V7 languages until 13 August 2027.
• Your employer needs Security+ for a DoD 8140 work role. CompTIA's V7 page lists the 8140 work roles Security+ maps to. The V8 page did not list them when checked on 2 November 2026, so ask your security officer which version they will accept before you book.

Why mid-May and not early June for a V7 attempt? CompTIA lets you retake a failed first attempt with no waiting period, but you must wait 14 calendar days before a third attempt. A first sitting in mid-May leaves room for two retakes before 11 June. A first sitting on 5 June leaves room for one.

One date can still move. CompTIA describes the V8 launch as "on or around" 17 November 2026, so check the V8 page again in the week you book.

What changes in the SY0-801 objectives

CompTIA keeps the same five domain areas in V8 and moves weight between them. On a 90-question exam, every 1 percentage point is roughly one question.

• General security concepts rises from 12% to 16%. Controls, change management and cryptography now carry about four more questions.
• The threats domain rises from 22% to 24% and is renamed. V7 called it threats, vulnerabilities and mitigations. V8 calls it threats, vulnerabilities and attacks, and adds an objective titled "Explain the security risks associated with artificial intelligence (AI)", covering AI systems, models, prompts, privacy and data exposure.
• Security architecture moves from 18% to 19%. The V8 summary names cloud, hybrid, on-premises and operational technology environments, and keeps resilience and recovery.
• Security operations moves from 28% to 27%. It stays the largest domain. The automation objective now names AI-assisted workflows alongside integrations and scripting.
• Security program management and oversight falls from 20% to 14%. Governance, risk, third-party risk, compliance, audits and awareness are all still there, with about five fewer questions between them.

Put together, V8 shifts weight from governance paperwork towards threats and core concepts, and adds AI as named exam content. A candidate who was strong on policy and weak on attacks would find V8 slightly harder. The reverse also holds.

Read the objectives before you plan your weeks. CompTIA publishes the V8 summary on its Security+ V8 page and posts the final detailed objectives on its exam objectives page once development is complete.

Do your SY0-701 books, videos and practice tests still work

Mostly, yes. Compare the two objective summaries side by side and almost every V8 objective has a V7 twin: security controls, change management and cryptography in domain one; threat actors, threat vectors, indicators of malicious activity and vulnerabilities in domain two; architecture models, enterprise infrastructure, data protection and resilience in domain three; hardening, asset management, vulnerability management, monitoring, identity and access, automation, incident response and investigation data in domain four; governance, risk, third parties, compliance, audits and awareness in domain five.

The gaps to fill if you study V7 material for a V8 exam:

• The AI security risks objective in domain two. Cover risks to AI systems and models, prompt attacks such as prompt injection, the privacy of data sent to AI tools, and data exposure.
• AI-assisted automation in security operations.
• Extra depth on controls, change management and cryptography, since that domain gains about four questions.

Practice tests are where version matters most. A bank written for SY0-701 will drill the old weighting and will not test the AI objective. On 2 November 2026 Boson listed ExSim-Max for Security+ SY0-701 at $99 a year with auto-renew, three full exams and 270 questions, and no SY0-801 edition. Before you buy any bank for a V8 exam, check that the product title says SY0-801. Our comparison of Security+ practice tests tracks which vendors state V8 coverage, and Professor Messer vs Jason Dion covers the two most used course and practice-exam creators.

CompTIA's own CertMaster products are already listed on the V8 page. CompTIA estimates 25 to 40 hours for CertMaster Learn, 10 to 20 hours for CertMaster Practice, 15 to 25 hours for CertMaster Labs and 30 to 60 hours for CertMaster Perform. Use those hour ranges as a check on your own plan, whatever material you choose.

Vouchers, retakes and the retirement date

CompTIA's help centre states that exam vouchers are specific to the exam but not tied to a version, so a Security+ voucher can book SY0-701 or SY0-801. Four other rules matter near a switch:

1. Vouchers, including any retakes, expire 12 months from the date of purchase, and CompTIA will not extend them.
2. Retirement dates override voucher expiry. Once SY0-701 retires on 11 June 2027 in English, you cannot sit it, whatever your voucher says.
3. Special retake vouchers are exam specific and cannot be redeemed for other versions of the same exam. If you fail SY0-701 on a voucher with Retake Assurance, the retake has to be SY0-701, before the retirement date.
4. Voucher purchases are final. CompTIA does not refund or exchange them.

Rule 3 is the trap. Someone who buys a voucher-and-retake bundle in May 2027, fails V7 on 8 June, and plans to retake in July has lost the retake. If you are testing near the end, either sit V7 early enough to use the retake inside the window, or book V8 from the start.

CompTIA's retake policy adds two more facts. There is no waiting period between a first and second attempt, and a 14 calendar day wait before any third attempt. You pay the exam price every time, because CompTIA offers no free retests or retake discounts outside a bundle. For a retake plan after a fail, see what to do after failing Security+. Ways to pay less for the voucher itself, including bundles and student pricing, are in CompTIA voucher discounts.

Renewal: does the version on your certificate matter

Both versions lead to the same CompTIA Security+ certification, and the renewal clock works the same way. CompTIA's continuing education cycle runs three years from the date you certify. Pass SY0-701 on 15 February 2027 and your certification is current until 15 February 2030.

You can renew in one of three ways:

• Earn continuing education units and pay the Security+ CE fee, which CompTIA lists as $150 in total for the three-year period.
• Complete CompTIA CertMaster CE for Security+.
• Pass the latest release of the exam during your cycle. CompTIA waives the CE fee when you renew this way, and you cannot sit the same version again once you have passed it.

That third route is the useful one here. Pass SY0-701 now, and SY0-801 becomes a renewal option later in your cycle. You lose nothing by certifying on the older version. A pass on V7 in spring 2027 gives you exactly the same three years as a pass on V8 the same week.

Passing Security+ also renews a lower CompTIA certification you already hold, such as A+ or Network+, under CompTIA's rule that renewing a higher-level certification renews the lower ones. The CE fee is paid only on the highest one.

A study plan for each route

Split your hours in proportion to the domain weights of the version you will sit. Weighting is the single most useful planning fact on this exam, and it differs between versions.

• Security operations, 28%: about 22 hours.
• Threats, vulnerabilities and mitigations, 22%: about 18 hours.
• Security program management and oversight, 20%: about 16 hours.
• Security architecture, 18%: about 14 hours.
• General security concepts, 12%: about 10 hours.

• Security operations, 27%: about 22 hours.
• Threats, vulnerabilities and attacks, 24%: about 19 hours, at least 3 of them on the AI risk objective.
• Security architecture, 19%: about 15 hours.
• General security concepts, 16%: about 13 hours.
• Security program management and oversight, 14%: about 11 hours.

In both routes, keep the last 15 to 20 percent of your hours for timed practice exams and the performance-based questions, which take longer per item. If you work full-time and manage 8 hours a week, 80 hours is ten weeks; how long to study for Security+ has full-time and part-time schedules.

ExamTips Security+ Pro is one payment of $98. It gives you a week by week plan, which topics carry the most marks from the official objectives, practice questions, pacing and the score you need, and free updates if the exam changes. The Security+ exam guide has the format, domains and resources for free.

Why sit it this year rather than wait

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the 2025 median pay for information security analysts at $129,180 a year and projects 21 percent employment growth from 2025 to 2035, about 40,600 more jobs. CompTIA maps Security+ to DoD 8140 work roles such as cyber defense analyst and incident responder. The BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry education, so plan for the certification to be one part of your application. Is Security+ enough to get a job covers what else employers screen for.

The cost of waiting is concrete. If you are ready in January and hold off for V8 courses and practice banks to mature, you spend months without the credential on your CV, studying again for an AI objective your V7 material skipped. If you are not ready, rushing V7 before 11 June to beat the switch risks a full-price second voucher. Pick the version that matches your realistic date, book it, and study to the weights above.

If Security+ is your first certification and you are still deciding the order, the best cybersecurity certifications for beginners compares it with ISC2 CC and Google's certificate.