Cybersecurity certifications for beginners split across a price range wider than most first-time\ncandidates expect. The ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity exam costs $199 and asks for no work\nexperience at all, CompTIA Security+ runs between $425 and $439, and EC-Council’s CEH lands near\n$1,050 for a self-study candidate once the eligibility fee is added. Prerequisites separate them\nmore sharply than price does, because four of the credentials in this comparison refuse to certify\nyou until you’ve logged one to five years on the job. Renewal fees then run for as long as you hold\nthe badge.<\/p>\n
This article prices each entry-level credential against its prerequisites, its renewal cost, and\nthe number of job postings that actually ask for it.<\/p>\n
Worth setting the frame first. In its 2025 workforce study, ISC2 declined to publish a global\ncybersecurity workforce gap number for the first time in the report’s history, on the reasoning\nthat skills shortfalls, not headcount, are now the binding constraint. The same study found that\n59% of organisations report critical or significant skills needs, up from 44% a year earlier.<\/p>\n
That’s a real reversal. The 2024 edition of the same study sized the global cybersecurity workforce\nat 5.5 million and the gap at 4.8 million, and those two figures have carried a decade of “the\nindustry needs more people” messaging. The 2025 position is different: employers say they need\nspecific capabilities, and a certificate on its own doesn’t supply one.<\/p>\n
Here’s the number that should shape how you read every price below. Only 6% of the surveyed\ncybersecurity workforce entered the field through certifications, though 67% of those who took that\nroute would recommend it. A certificate is a real door. It’s a narrow one, and it costs money every\nyear you keep it open.<\/p>\n
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