Google IT Support certificate against CompTIA A+
These two are compared constantly and they are not the same kind of thing. Getting that straight first makes the rest of the comparison short.
The distinction that decides everything
CompTIA A+ is a certification. A body that does not teach you tests you under proctored conditions, against published objectives, to a published pass mark. You accept a candidate agreement. The body can revoke the award. It expires after three years unless you renew it.
The Google IT Support Professional Certificate is a certificate of completion. Coursera issues it when you finish a six-course series, at your own pace, with no proctored exam and no independent pass mark. It does not expire, because nothing is being certified — it records that you completed a course.
This is not a ranking. A course you complete is proof you did the work; an exam you pass is proof somebody independent checked. Employers weigh those differently and different employers weigh them differently again.
What each one publishes about itself
| CompTIA A+ (V15) | Google IT Support Professional Certificate | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A certification | A certificate of completion |
| Who assesses you | CompTIA, via a proctored exam at Pearson VUE or online | The course itself, on Coursera |
| Structure | Two exams: 220-1201 and 220-1202 | Six courses in a series |
| Pass standard | 675 for Core 1, 700 for Core 2, on a scale of 900 | Set within the course; no published independent pass mark |
| Expected time | CompTIA recommends 12 months hands-on in IT support | Coursera suggests "3 months at 10 hours a week" |
| Prior experience | 12 months recommended, nothing required | "No prior experience required" on Coursera's page |
| Validity | Three years, then renewal | Does not expire |
| Published price | None found on comptia.org on 2026-09-24 | Subscription; no figure in the page text we read. Financial aid stated to be available |
The numbers on Coursera's page that are not on this one
Coursera's certificate page carries two footnoted claims about outcomes. One concerns the number of open IT support jobs and a median entry-level salary in the United States; the other states a proportion of certificate graduates reporting a positive career outcome within six months, footnoted to a graduate survey conducted in 2022.
Neither figure appears on this page, and the reason is a rule rather than a judgement about Coursera. This site prints outcome and pay figures from the certifying body, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, or a school's own audited report credited as its claim. The first footnote cites a labour-market figure whose source we could not check — the Bureau's site refused our automated requests on 24 September 2026 — and the second is a survey of a provider's own graduates, self-selected and self-reported.
So: the claims exist, they are on Coursera's page, and you can read them there. What this site will not do is repeat them stripped of their footnotes, where they would read as findings. The same rule, applied to A+.
What each one is actually evidence of
Strip the marketing off both and they are evidence of different things, which is why arguing about which is "better" produces no answer.
The Google certificate is evidence that you worked through a structured curriculum to its end. That is a real signal — persistence over months is not nothing, and the material is genuinely introductory-to-competent. What it cannot be evidence of is independent verification, because the organisation that taught you is the organisation that signed it off.
A+ is evidence that an organisation with no stake in your success tested you against published objectives under proctored conditions and you cleared a published threshold. What it cannot be evidence of is that you can do the job: CompTIA's own recommended experience line asks for 12 months in an IT support role, which is an acknowledgement that the exam tests knowledge rather than practice.
Which suits which person
The Google certificate suits you if
- You want to be taught rather than to self-study against a syllabus.
- Sitting a timed, proctored exam is itself the obstacle.
- You want a structured on-ramp before deciding whether this field is for you — the material overlaps heavily with A+ territory even though the credential is different.
- Cost matters and the financial-aid route is open to you. Coursera states aid is available; that route pays this site nothing.
A+ suits you if
- You want an independent body's verification rather than a provider's record of attendance.
- You are aiming at work that references CompTIA credentials — A+ is listed by CompTIA against three DoD 8140 work roles.
- You intend to continue: CompTIA names A+ in its own recommended experience for Network+, so it is the first rung of a published ladder.
- You would rather pay for an exam than for teaching. The objectives are free and a complete video course for A+ V15 is free.
Two practical differences nobody mentions
The first is what happens if you stop. A+ has a three-year clock: stop engaging with the field and it lapses, and what you are left with is the knowledge and no current credential. The Google certificate does not lapse, because it is recording that you completed a course and that fact does not stop being true. For somebody unsure whether they will stay in IT, that asymmetry is worth weighing.
The second is what happens if you continue. CompTIA names A+ inside its own recommended experience for Network+, and passing a higher CompTIA certification renews the lower ones automatically — so A+ is the first rung of a ladder that gets cheaper to maintain as you climb. The Google certificate is not a rung in anybody's published ladder; it is a standalone course credential.
Doing both, and in what order
Plenty of people take the course and then the exams, and the order makes sense: months of structured teaching followed by an independent test of what stuck. What should not be assumed is that the first prepares you for the second.
Coursera's page for the Google certificate does not claim it prepares you for A+, and this site is not going to claim it on Coursera's behalf. The subject areas overlap substantially. The formats do not: A+ includes drag-and-drop and performance-based questions inside a 90-minute limit, which is not a thing a self-paced course series trains.
Paid link. Coursera pays this site a share of a first subscription transaction, and pays nothing at all on the financial-aid route named above — which is named anyway, because for some readers it is the right answer.
The cost comparison nobody can complete
It would be useful to end with a price for each. Neither is available from a source worth citing. CompTIA published no A+ exam price on any page this site could read on 24 September 2026 — the search is written out in what A+ costs — and Coursera's certificate page did not state a subscription figure in the text we read, though it does state that financial aid is available.
What can be said about cost is structural. The Google certificate is a subscription, so its price is a function of how long you take: finish faster and it costs less. A+ is a pair of one-off exam fees, so its price is fixed unless you fail, at which point the candidate agreement is blunt — full price on every attempt, no free re-tests, no retake discounts. Slow learners pay more for the course; unlucky candidates pay more for the exams.
The short answer
If you need somebody independent to vouch for you, take the certification. If you need to be taught, take the course. If you have the time and the money for both, take the course first and the exams second, and do not expect the first to do the second's preparation for you.
What each A+ exam contains and what it scores is on the CompTIA A+ page. If you have not yet settled on either, the four entry routes compared puts both beside Tech+ and Network+.
Certificate against certification
Is the Google IT Support certificate the same as A+?
No. A+ is a certification awarded by CompTIA for passing two proctored exams against published objectives and pass marks. The Google certificate is a certificate of completion issued by Coursera for finishing a six-course series. Different objects, different claims.
Does the Google certificate prepare me for the A+ exams?
Coursera's page does not say it does, so neither does this one. The subject areas overlap; the assessment formats do not.
Which is cheaper?
Not answerable from published sources. CompTIA published no A+ exam price on any page we could read on 2026-09-24, and Coursera's certificate page did not state a subscription figure in the text we read. Coursera does state that financial aid is available.
Does the Google certificate expire?
No, and that is a consequence of what it is rather than a feature. A certificate of completion records that you completed something, so there is nothing to keep current. A+ expires after three years because it is asserting current knowledge.
The exams themselves are laid out bay by bay on the CompTIA A+ page, and every other guide is on the index. Figures here are quoted from the certifying body’s own pages on the day shown; they are not advice about whether to sit an exam.