CompTIA A+ vs Network+: Which Certification Should You Get First?

CompTIA built A+ and Network+ as consecutive rungs on the same ladder, not two competing options for the same job, which makes this one of the more straightforward pairings on this site. The real question most people bring to this comparison is not which one to pick in the abstract, but whether they can skip A+ and start at Network+ instead.

Who should get A+

Get A+ if you have little or no paid IT experience and want the fastest recognized path into help desk, desktop support, or field technician work. The certification requires two separate exams, Core 1 and Core 2, and both are mandatory: passing only one earns you nothing. Combined, the two vouchers run $548, and CompTIA recommends roughly 12 months of hands-on IT support experience going in, though nothing in the requirements stops you from sitting either exam without it. A+ maps to the computer user support specialist occupation this site tracks under BLS code 15-1232, and it is the exact credential Network+ itself lists as recommended background, which tells you where CompTIA expects most candidates to actually start.

Who should get Network+

Get Network+ if you already have some hands-on exposure to routers, switches, and basic troubleshooting, and your goal is to specialize into a networking-focused role rather than stay in general support. The single exam voucher costs $399, less than the combined A+ price despite testing a narrower and deeper subject. CompTIA recommends A+ plus nine to 12 months in a junior network administrator or support role before attempting it, and the exam itself leans hard on troubleshooting: that domain alone carries 24 percent of the exam weight, the single largest slice. Network+ maps to the network and computer systems administrator occupation under BLS code 15-1244, a different occupation from A+‘s support-specialist mapping, which is the clearest sign that these two certifications open different doors rather than the same door at two difficulty levels.

The honest sequencing answer

“Both, in order” is the honest answer here, and it is close to the only honest answer for someone starting from zero. A+ builds the hardware, operating system, and general troubleshooting foundation that Network+‘s questions assume you already have, and skipping straight to Network+ without that background means learning two sets of fundamentals at once instead of one at a time, which tends to slow both down.

The real exception is someone who already has a year or more of paid, verifiable IT support work, hands already on switches and subnets, with no formal A+ credential to show for it. That person can reasonably start at Network+ directly, since the experience A+ would certify already exists on their resume in a form a hiring manager can check without a credential attached to it.

What each dollar buys, against what each field pays

The two certs open doors into two different pay distributions, and the entry prices sit against them unevenly. A+ maps to computer user support specialists, whose national median is $61,860 a year; Network+ maps to network and computer systems administrators at $99,130 (both BLS OEWS national medians, May 2025). Measured against one month’s median pay in its own occupation, A+‘s $548 two-exam price is about 10.6 percent of a support specialist’s month, the steepest relative entry ticket of the pair, while Network+‘s $399 is about 4.8 percent of an administrator’s month. Read the roughly $37,000 gap between those medians as what the ladder these two rungs climb actually looks like, not a raise either exam pays out; the credential gets you into the occupation’s pay distribution, and experience moves you through it.

Cost adds up if you skip the decision

Buying both vouchers up front because you are unsure which role you want is not a real shortcut. $548 for A+ plus $399 for Network+ is $947 before any prep materials, and neither certification refunds a failed attempt: each retake costs the same voucher price again. If your near-term goal is genuinely unclear, earning A+ first is the cheaper way to buy yourself time to decide. It is the less expensive of the two exams, it keeps every later CompTIA path open, whether that is Network+, Security+, or eventually a jump toward Cisco’s CCNA, and its own renewal is the lightest of any CompTIA certification at $75 per three-year cycle in the worst case, against $150 for Network+ over the same span.

That renewal gap compounds the longer you hold both certifications. Nine years of A+ alone tops out near $225 in dedicated CE spend, while Network+ can run closer to $450 over the same span if you never move on to a higher CompTIA credential that would renew it for free instead.

Common mistake

Treating a computer science degree as a substitute for either credential is the more expensive version of this mistake. A degree does not cover the hands-on troubleshooting skills A+ and Network+ specifically test, and support and networking hiring pipelines are frequently built around these exact exam names regardless of what a transcript shows. If your resume has to clear an applicant tracking system searching for “A+” or “Network+” as a literal keyword, no amount of unrelated coursework substitutes for that, so sit the exam that matches the job you actually want next, not the one that looks more impressive on paper.

The bottom line, by who you are

No paid IT experience yet: A+ first, no debate; it is the credential the first hiring filter you meet is built around, and the cheapest CompTIA cert to keep alive while you decide what comes next. A year or more of verifiable support work with hands already on switches and subnets: start at Network+ directly and let your resume cover what A+ would have certified. Genuinely unsure whether networking is the direction: earn A+ and decide from inside a support seat rather than pre-paying $947 for both answers. Degree in hand but no help-desk history: the transcript does not clear the “A+” keyword filter; sit the exam the posting actually names.