From CompTIA’s own pages · 2026-09-24
The entry-level IT path, wired up
- A+ Core 1220-1201
- A+ Core 2220-1202
- Network+N10-009
- Security+the step after
- Exam feenot published
Bays 1 and 2 are the two exams that make one A+. Bay 5 has no lead in it because CompTIA publishes no price.
CompTIA A+ is two exams, not one, and the pass mark is different on each half. Everything on this site about an exam was copied off the certifying body's own page and carries the day it was copied. Where that page says nothing, this one says nothing.
Four places to start
Two exams, what each one contains, what each one scores, and the one number CompTIA will not print.
Practice questionsPractice tests you are allowed to useWhich practice questions are legitimate, which sites get people banned, and what the candidate agreement actually says.
Before you commitWhich certificate firstA+ is not automatically the right first move. The three other doors, compared on what their issuers publish.
The unpatched portWhat A+ costsA page with no price on it, and the record of every CompTIA page we opened looking for one.
Why a site about one certificate needs a rule about numbers
Search for an exam fee and you will find a hundred pages that print one. Almost none of them say where the figure came from, and the ones that do point at a training company with a voucher to sell. So this site works to a single rule: an exam fact appears here only if it was read on the certifying body's own page, and it appears with the date it was read beside it.
The rule has teeth. On 24 September 2026 it meant publishing an A+ page with no price on it, because CompTIA does not put one anywhere this site could reach — not on the certification pages, not on the shop, and not in its own article headed How Much Does the CompTIA A+ Certification Cost?, which promises a table and then does not carry one. That search is written out in full in what A+ costs, and the pages that would not say.
The shape of the thing
A+ is earned by passing two exams, Core 1 and Core 2. CompTIA's Core 1 page states that both must come from the same version — V15 with V15, no mixing — and its A+ page says you can take them in any order. Each exam runs to a maximum of 90 questions in 90 minutes. Core 1 passes at 675 and Core 2 at 700, both on a scale that ends at 900. Read 24 September 2026.
- A+ Core 1 passes at675
- A+ Core 2 passes at700
Two different pass marks inside one certification is the detail that catches people out, and it is the reason the full A+ page opens with the scale rather than with study advice. After that, the honest next question is not how do I pass but should this be the first certificate you take at all — there are three other doors and one of them is free to walk through.
Every guide
The whole index →Two exams of identical length with different pass marks, different subject matter and different failure modes — and the version rule that binds them together.
Which IT certificate to take firstFour doors into IT support, compared on what their issuers publish rather than on what they promise: CompTIA Tech+, A+, Network+ and the Google IT Support certificate.
What A+ costs, and the pages that would not saySix CompTIA pages, one delivery partner and a search that ended with no exam fee. The record of what was opened, what redirected and what was empty — plus the two money figures CompTIA does publish.
The A+ passing score, and what it does not mean675 for Core 1, 700 for Core 2, on a scale of 900. What a scaled score is, why it is not a percentage, and why nobody can tell you how many questions you need right.
Yes, A+ expires — and the cheapest way to stop itThree years from the day you earn it, four single activities that renew it, a $75 fee that only applies to one of them, and the rule that makes A+ maintenance-free once you go further.
Google IT Support certificate against CompTIA A+One is a certificate of completion from a course provider, the other a certification from a certifying body. That distinction decides most of the comparison, and it is the one both marketing pages blur.
Asked before anyone reads a page
Is CompTIA A+ one exam or two?
Two. CompTIA A+ is earned by passing Core 1 and Core 2, and CompTIA's own Core 1 page states that both must be taken from the same version — V15 with V15, no mixing. You may sit them in either order. Read 2026-09-24.
Why is there no exam price anywhere on this site?
Because CompTIA does not publish one where we could read it. Its store product links redirect to a certification index, its shop URLs return 404, and its own article How Much Does the CompTIA A+ Certification Cost? says "see the cost in the table below" and then carries no table and no figure. The whole search is written out in what A+ costs.
What score do you need to pass?
CompTIA publishes both: Core 1 passes at 675 and Core 2 at 700, each on a scale that runs to 900. The two halves of the same certification do not use the same mark, which surprises most people. Read 2026-09-24.
Can I study for free?
Yes, and it is the route this site names first. Professor Messer's A+ video courses are free to watch — 63 videos for Core 1 and 74 for Core 2 — and CompTIA gives away the exam objectives as a PDF in exchange for an email address. Neither pays this site anything.
Are dump sites really that risky?
CompTIA's candidate agreement names "brain dump material" as unauthorised access to examination materials, and the sanctions it lists are revocation of the certification, revocation of every other CompTIA certification you hold, and at least six months of ineligibility. It also makes reporting exposure your obligation. Read 2026-09-24.