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CISSP vs Security+: What Is the Difference?
They both have "security" in the name and both show up on job postings, but they sit at opposite ends of a security career. Here's how CompTIA Security+ and the CISSP actually compare, and why the real question usually isn't "which one" but "which one first."
CompTIA Security+ and the CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) get compared constantly because they're both widely recognized, both vendor-neutral, and both appear on DoD 8570/8140 baseline lists and countless job descriptions. That surface-level similarity leads a lot of newer candidates to ask which one is "better," as if they're competing for the same role.
They aren't. Security+ is an entry-level credential built for people starting a career in IT security, typically with 0-2 years of experience. The CISSP is an advanced, experience-gated credential built for people already working as security practitioners who are moving into management and leadership. One opens the door. The other proves you've been doing the job for years and can think like the person running the program.
This guide breaks down exactly how the two compare, and why for almost everyone the right question isn't CISSP vs Security+, it's "when do I move from one to the other."
Quick Answer
- Get Security+ if you're new to IT security, don't yet have the hands-on experience the CISSP requires, or need a recognized baseline credential to land your first security role.
- Get the CISSP once you have several years of hands-on security experience and are ready for a credential that signals management-level judgment, not entry-level foundations.
- Security+ is a stepping stone, not a substitute. Most experienced CISSP holders either passed through Security+ years earlier or skipped it entirely because they already had equivalent on-the-job experience. Neither path is wrong, but you cannot treat Security+ as a finish line if your goal is a management-track security career.
What Is CompTIA Security+?
Security+ is CompTIA's foundational, vendor-neutral security certification. It covers five domains: General Security Concepts, Threats Vulnerabilities and Mitigations, Security Architecture, Security Operations, and Security Program Management and Oversight. The exam blends multiple-choice questions with performance-based questions (simulated tasks, not just recall), runs up to 90 minutes, and covers roughly 90 questions.
There is no formal experience requirement to sit for Security+. CompTIA recommends, but does not require, around two years of IT experience with a security focus beforehand (often satisfied by a prior credential like Network+). The certification is valid for three years and renewed through CompTIA's Continuing Education (CE) program.
Security+ is explicitly built as an entry point. It establishes foundational knowledge: core cryptography concepts, common attack types, basic risk terminology, and operational security practices, the vocabulary and mental models you need before you can reason about security at a higher level.
What Is the CISSP?
The CISSP is ISC2's flagship, advanced security certification and the industry's most widely recognized benchmark for security leadership. It covers eight domains under the Common Body of Knowledge (CBK): Security and Risk Management, Asset Security, Security Architecture and Engineering, Communication and Network Security, Identity and Access Management, Security Assessment and Testing, Security Operations, and Software Development Security.
The English exam uses ISC2's Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) format: 100-150 questions, up to 3 hours, adjusting difficulty in real time based on your performance. Passing requires a scaled score of 700 out of 1000. Certification requires 5 years of cumulative, paid, full-time work experience in at least two of the eight domains, or 4 years with an approved four-year college degree or an ISC2-approved credential (a one-year experience waiver). Candidates who pass the exam without the required experience become an Associate of ISC2, with up to 6 years to complete it.
For the full mechanics of the adaptive format, see our CISSP CAT format guide, and for the experience requirement in detail, see our CISSP experience requirement guide.
Head-to-Head Comparison
| Factor | Security+ | CISSP |
|---|---|---|
| Issuing body | CompTIA | ISC2 |
| Career stage | Entry-level | Advanced / management track |
| Domains | 5 | 8 |
| Focus | Foundational security concepts, threats, operations | Broad security management and technical CBK |
| Exam format | Up to 90 questions, up to 90 minutes, multiple-choice plus performance-based | CAT, 100-150 questions, up to 3 hours |
| Experience required | None required; ~2 years recommended | 5 years (2+ domains), or 4 years with a waiver |
| Renewal cycle | 3 years (CompTIA CE) | 3 years (120 CPE credits), plus annual AMF |
| Best fit | IT professionals entering security, help desk/sysadmin moving into security roles | Experienced practitioners moving into security management, architecture, or leadership |
Both exams carry fees that change periodically, so treat any dollar figure you see, including here, as a starting point and confirm current pricing directly with CompTIA and ISC2 before budgeting. For what the CISSP costs beyond the exam fee itself, see our CISSP cost breakdown.
Where the Real Difference Lies: Depth, Not Just Topics
On paper, both certifications touch similar territory, cryptography basics, access control, risk concepts, incident response. The difference isn't the topic list, it's the altitude at which each exam tests you on it.
Security+ asks you to recognize and apply foundational concepts correctly: identify an attack type, pick the right control for a described scenario, know what a term means. The CISSP asks you to reason like the person accountable for the whole security program: weigh business risk against technical risk, decide what a manager would do first in an incident, choose the policy answer over the technical one when the root cause is a process problem. That shift in perspective, often called "thinking like a manager," is the single biggest adjustment candidates face moving from Security+ (or any entry-level credential) to the CISSP. See our guide to thinking like a manager on the CISSP exam for worked examples of exactly what that shift looks like.
Career Paths: Who Should Get Which
The right certification tracks your actual experience level far more than your ambition does.
- New to IT security, 0-2 years of experience, coming from help desk, networking, or general IT: Security+ is the right starting point. It's recognized broadly enough to open junior security analyst and SOC roles, and it builds the vocabulary you'll need for everything after it.
- 3-5+ years of hands-on security experience, ready to move into management, architecture, or a senior practitioner role: the CISSP is the credential that signals you're ready, assuming you meet or can document the experience requirement.
- Somewhere in between, with real security experience but not yet 4-5 years: you can sit for the CISSP exam now and become an Associate of ISC2 while you finish accumulating qualifying experience (up to 6 years), rather than waiting to start studying.
- Unsure whether your current experience counts toward the CISSP requirement: see our CISSP experience requirement guide before assuming you need to wait longer than you actually do.
Salary data for both certifications varies widely by region, industry, and role, and any specific figure you see quoted, including vendor marketing, should be treated as a rough range rather than a guarantee. Industry surveys from sources like the ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study and general compensation aggregators such as Payscale and Glassdoor consistently show a meaningful salary gap between entry-level security roles typically associated with Security+ and the management and senior-practitioner roles associated with the CISSP, reflecting the difference in required experience and responsibility far more than any inherent difference in exam difficulty. Our CISSP salary and career guide covers that data for the CISSP side in more detail.
Can Security+ Substitute for Part of the CISSP Requirement?
Not directly as a waiver of work experience, but it does help in one specific way. ISC2 maintains a list of approved credentials that satisfy the CISSP's one-year experience waiver (reducing the requirement from 5 years to 4). Security+ is on that approved list. That means holding Security+ can shave a year off the CISSP's experience requirement, it just doesn't replace the hands-on security work itself, which still has to come from real paid, full-time experience in at least two of the eight CISSP domains.
In other words: Security+ doesn't let you skip the CISSP's experience bar, but it is one of the recognized ways to lower it slightly. The bigger value of holding Security+ first is rarely the waiver, it's that the years you spend in a Security+-level role are exactly the years that build the qualifying experience the CISSP requires later.
🎯 Don't rush the CISSP before you have the experience to back it
Passing the CISSP exam without the required experience is possible (you become an Associate of ISC2), but the certification itself, and the judgment it's supposed to certify, depends on having actually done the work. If you're newly Security+ certified, plan on several years of hands-on security experience before the CISSP makes sense, not because the exam requires it on day one, but because the material genuinely tests judgment that's hard to fake.
Should You Skip Security+ and Go Straight for the CISSP?
If you already have the qualifying experience, meaning you've spent years doing hands-on security work even without a credential to show for it, you don't need Security+ as a prerequisite. ISC2 doesn't require it, and plenty of CISSP holders never earned it. Security+ makes the most sense for people who need a recognized credential now, to get hired into their first security role, not for people who are already past that stage and are simply deciding which advanced certification to pursue next.
If you're choosing between two advanced, experience-gated certifications instead, like deciding between the CISSP and a governance-focused credential, that's a different comparison entirely. See our CISSP vs CISM guide or CISSP vs CCSP guide for that decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Security+ a prerequisite for the CISSP?
No. ISC2 does not require Security+, or any specific prior certification, to sit for the CISSP exam. Security+ is simply one of several credentials on ISC2's approved list that can satisfy the CISSP's one-year experience waiver, reducing the requirement from 5 years to 4.
Is the CISSP harder than Security+?
Generally yes, both in content depth and in the type of reasoning tested. Security+ tests foundational knowledge and recognition. The CISSP tests advanced, scenario-based judgment across eight broad domains, and requires years of real experience to pass comfortably, not just study time.
Can I get the CISSP with no experience if I have Security+?
Security+ doesn't remove the CISSP's experience requirement, it only helps satisfy the one-year waiver (5 years down to 4). You can still take and pass the CISSP exam without the required experience and become an Associate of ISC2, with up to 6 years to document qualifying experience and complete certification.
Which certification do employers prefer for an entry-level security analyst role?
Security+ is far more commonly listed for entry-level and junior analyst roles, since those positions typically don't require the years of experience the CISSP assumes. The CISSP becomes more common as a requirement or preference once a posting moves into senior analyst, management, or architect-level roles.
How long does it typically take to go from Security+ to CISSP-eligible?
It depends entirely on your role and how directly it builds CISSP-qualifying experience, but most practitioners spend somewhere in the range of 3-5+ years in hands-on security roles between the two, which lines up closely with the CISSP's own 4-5 year experience requirement.
The Bottom Line
CISSP and Security+ aren't competing for the same candidate. Security+ proves you understand security fundamentals well enough to start doing the work. The CISSP proves you've done that work long enough, and at a high enough level, to be trusted leading it. Treating them as rivals misses the point, the useful question is almost never "which one," it's "where am I right now, and which credential matches it."
If you're early in your security career, Security+ is the right move today, and the experience you build afterward is what makes the CISSP possible later. If you're already past that stage with years of hands-on security work behind you, the CISSP is the credential that actually matches where you are, whether or not Security+ was ever part of your path.
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