CCNA vs CompTIA: which CompTIA exam competes, and which should you take?

Which CompTIA certification competes with the CCNA?

Network+ is the nearest match: like the CCNA, it is a networking certification for the start of a networking career. The other CompTIA exams sit below or above it. CompTIA does not publish a numbered ladder. Its renewal rules, though, rank the certifications from high to low (Security+ above Network+, Network+ above A+), and the Security+ and Network+ pages each recommend the exam below them. In that order, with the CCNA alongside:

Source: CompTIA A+, Network+ and Security+ pages; Cisco CCNA certification page (links in Sources).

A+ is CompTIA's entry-level IT-support certification; CompTIA says it prepares you for roles like IT support specialist and help-desk technician. Network+, in CompTIA's words, prepares you "for jobs in technical support, network operation, and system administration." Security+ is CompTIA's "early-career, vendor-neutral" security certification, meaning it is not tied to one maker's equipment.

Vendor-neutral points to one difference. CompTIA says Network+ "covers a broad range of skills beyond vendor-specific products." The CCNA exam is titled Implementing and Administering Cisco Solutions. Cisco says the CCNA "validates a broad range of fundamentals for all IT careers."

Which should you take: the CCNA or a CompTIA certification?

Choose by the job you want next. The vendor matters less than whether ads for that job name the credential.

• No IT job and no target yet: open 20 junior IT ads in your area for help desk (the team that fixes staff computer problems), network technician (installs and fixes office networks) and security analyst (watches for attacks). Write down every credential they name. Take the one that appears for the job you could start soonest. If that is help desk, A+ is the CompTIA exam for that job; our A+ vs Network+ comparison covers the next step. For the other two jobs, see the bullets below.
• Working on a help desk, networks next: take the CCNA if the network team you want to join runs Cisco equipment or local network-engineer ads name it; take Network+ if you plan to stay in support for now.
• Aiming for a network-engineer job: take the CCNA. Our CCNA vs Network+ comparison sets out the exams, costs and order in detail.
• Aiming for security work: take Security+, the CompTIA exam we count in security-analyst ads; CompTIA recommends Network+ and two years of experience first. Our CCNA vs Security+ comparison explains when the CCNA still helps.
• Halfway through CCNA study: finish it. Neither vendor requires Network+ first, and switching would mean starting a second course.
• Already passed the CCNA: add Network+ only if ads for the job you want name it.

Which do network-engineer ads name: the CCNA or Network+?

These are the only CCNA head-to-head counts on this page: we searched the same network-engineer ads for both credentials.

Source: Adzuna API, job ads with the title network engineer collected in October 2026, searched for the phrases ccna and comptia network. Analysis: CertWorthIt.

An ad counts when its text contains the phrase anywhere, whether the employer lists the credential as required, preferred or one option among several. An ad that writes only "Net+" (short for Network+) is missed, so read the Network+ column as a minimum. Our methodology page explains how we build each count, and our network-engineer role page lists the other credentials and skills these ads name.

Where do A+ and Security+ appear in job ads?

In other jobs. We count A+ in IT-support ads and Security+ in security-analyst ads, and we do not count the CCNA in either, so these counts are not head-to-head with the CCNA. Read each one against the job it describes.

Source: Adzuna API, job ads with the title it support collected in October 2026, searched for the phrases comptia a and comptia network. Analysis: CertWorthIt. The phrase comptia a can also match other text, so read the A+ column as approximate.

Source: Adzuna API, job ads with the title security analyst collected in October 2026, searched for the phrase comptia security. Analysis: CertWorthIt.

Our IT-support role page and cybersecurity-analyst role page list everything else those ads name.

Do you need A+ or Network+ before the CCNA?

No. Cisco's CCNA page states "Prerequisites: None," and CompTIA's lines are recommendations: the Network+ page has a recommended-experience line and no prerequisite line at all.

The CompTIA order is still useful. If computers and networks are both new to you, A+ and then Network+ build the background step by step, and a help-desk job gives you the hands-on months CompTIA has in mind. If you already work in IT, you can go straight to the CCNA or to Security+; what you skip is that recommended background, not a rule.

Going back for A+ after a higher exam makes sense only if you are applying for IT-support jobs whose ads name it. Our Security+ page covers that exam on its own.

How do the exams compare on cost?

In the US, the CCNA exam costs $300 (Cisco's listed price). Network+ costs $399 as a voucher (a prepaid code you use to book the exam) at CompTIA's US store.

A+ takes two exams; before you budget, check on CompTIA's A+ page whether one voucher covers both. For Security+, see the cost section of our CCNA vs Security+ comparison or CompTIA's page. Our CCNA page, Network+ page and A+ page cover each credential on its own.

Do the CCNA and CompTIA A+, Network+ and Security+ expire?

Yes. The CCNA is valid for three years, and for these three CompTIA says you must meet its renewal requirements "within three years of earning or renewing your certification."

Source: Cisco recertification and CE qualifying-options pages; CompTIA CEU, renewal-fee and continuing-education FAQ pages (links in Sources). Fees are CompTIA's US-site prices; each covers one three-year cycle.

CompTIA states that its "certifications can be renewed if a higher-level CompTIA certification is earned." By that ranking, earning Security+ renews Network+ and A+, so A+, Network+ and Security+ need only one renewal between them. Cisco works upward too: advancing to the next Cisco level is one of its three renewal routes, so a higher Cisco certification can keep the CCNA current.

What comes after this choice?

After the CCNA, our CCNA vs CCNP comparison explains when to move up to the CCNP. If you plan a long-term move into security, our CCNA vs CISSP comparison covers the senior security certification and the work years it requires. On the CompTIA side, the step after Network+ is Security+.

What we did not check

• Prices outside the US; A+ and Security+ voucher prices, and whether an A+ voucher covers one exam or both.
• How many CE credits renew the CCNA without an exam; the Cisco pages we read do not state the total.
• Pass rates. Neither Cisco nor CompTIA publishes one on the pages we read.
• Salaries. We found no dated official source that compares pay for CCNA and CompTIA holders.
• A vendor-made ladder. CompTIA does not publish one; the order on this page comes from its renewal ranking and each exam's recommended experience.

Sources

All pages below were read October 8, 2026. An archived copy is a saved copy of a page from the date given.

• Cisco: CCNA certification and CCNA exam, archived copies of October 5, 2026; recertification, archived copy of July 12, 2026; CE qualifying options, archived copy of June 23, 2026.
• CompTIA: A+ (V15), Network+, Security+ V7, earning CEUs, renewal fees, continuing-education FAQ.
• Job ads: Adzuna API, October 2026, network-engineer, IT-support and security-analyst ads; phrases ccna, comptia network, comptia a and comptia security. Analysis: CertWorthIt. Method.