Calculator
What a certification really costs you
The exam price is the door, not the bill. Pick a certification and a horizon and get the itemized total: exam, an optional failed-attempt cushion, and renewal computed only from the vendor's published fees. Where a cheaper path exists that has no published price, we say so instead of inventing one.
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Horizon
The reference table behind the calculator
Exam price and renewal terms, verified at each vendor.
| Certification | Exam | Renewal terms (verified) |
|---|---|---|
| AWS Certified AI Practitioner | $100 | Valid 3 years; recertify by retaking the exam or by passing AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer - Associate |
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner | $100 | Valid 3 years; recertify by retaking the latest Cloud Practitioner exam or by passing any Associate- or Professional-level AWS exam |
| AWS CloudOps Engineer Associate | $150 | Valid 3 years; recertify by passing the latest exam, by earning AWS DevOps Engineer Professional (auto-recertifies), or extend 1 year at a time via the paid AWS Skill Builder maintain path |
| AWS Developer Associate | $150 | Valid 3 years; recertify by passing the latest exam, by earning AWS DevOps Engineer Professional (auto-recertifies), or extend 1 year at a time via the paid AWS Skill Builder maintain path |
| AWS Machine Learning Engineer Associate | $150 | Valid 3 years; recertify by passing the latest exam version |
| AWS Security Specialty | $300 | Valid 3 years; recertify by passing the latest version of this exam (no auto-recertification path is published for this credential) |
| AWS Solutions Architect Associate | $150 | Valid 3 years; recertify by retaking the latest SAA exam or by earning AWS Solutions Architect Professional (auto-recertifies this credential) |
| AWS Solutions Architect Professional | $300 | Valid 3 years; recertify by passing the latest version of this exam, or extend 1 year at a time via the paid AWS Skill Builder maintain path (no annual fee; 50% recert voucher) |
| Certified Kubernetes Administrator | $445 | Valid 2 years; retake the exam to recertify (3 years if earned before April 2024) |
| Certified Kubernetes Application Developer | $445 | Valid 2 years; retake the exam to recertify (3 years if earned before April 2024) |
| Cisco CCNA | $300 | Valid 3 years; renew with 30 CE credits, a retake, or a qualifying higher-level exam |
| Cisco CyberOps Associate | $300 | Valid 3 years; renew with 30 CE credits, a retake, or a qualifying higher-level exam |
| CompTIA A+ | $548 | Valid 3 years; renew with 20 CEUs or retake |
| CompTIA Cloud+ | $399 | Valid 3 years; renew with 50 CEUs or retake |
| CompTIA CySA+ | $439 | Valid 3 years; renew with 60 CEUs or retake |
| CompTIA Linux+ | $399 | Valid 3 years; renew with 50 CEUs or retake |
| CompTIA Network+ | $399 | Valid 3 years; renew with 30 CEUs or retake |
| CompTIA PenTest+ | $439 | Valid 3 years; renew with 60 CEUs or retake |
| CompTIA SecAI+ | $298 | Valid 3 years under the CompTIA Continuing Education program; renew with CEUs or a qualifying higher-level CompTIA exam, plus $75 in CE fees per 3-year cycle |
| CompTIA Security+ | $439 | Valid 3 years; renew with 50 CEUs or retake |
| CompTIA SecurityX | $529 | Valid 3 years; renew with 75 CEUs (the highest CompTIA CEU requirement) or retake |
| Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate | $200 | Valid 2 years; recertify only by retaking the then-current version of the exam |
| Databricks Generative AI Engineer Associate | $200 | Valid 2 years; recertify by taking the current version of the exam |
| EC-Council CEH | $1,199 | Valid 3 years; 120 ECE credits per cycle plus an $80/year EC-Council membership fee |
| GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC) | $999 | Valid 4 years; renew with 36 CPE credits plus a $499 renewal fee (additional renewals within 2 years of a full renewal are $249), or retake the exam |
| Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer | $125 | Valid 3 years; renew via a $75, 1-hour renewal exam (or the full exam) starting 180 days before expiration |
| Google Cloud Generative AI Leader | $99 | Valid 3 years; renew by recertifying within Google's renewal eligibility window |
| Google Professional Cloud Architect | $200 | Valid 2 years; renew via a $100, 1-hour renewal exam (25 questions, 1 case study) or the full exam, in the window from 60 days before to 30 days after expiry |
| HashiCorp Terraform Associate | $71 | Valid 2 years; renew by retaking the current exam or passing the Terraform Professional exam |
| ISACA CISA | $760 | Valid 3 years; 120 CPE hours (20 minimum per year) plus a mandatory Annual Maintenance Fee ($45/year members, $85/year nonmembers) |
| ISACA CISM | $760 | Valid 3 years; 120 CPE hours (20 minimum per year) plus a mandatory Annual Maintenance Fee ($45/year members, $85/year nonmembers) |
| ISC2 CCSP | $599 | Valid 3 years; 90 CPE credits (60 minimum Group A, 20/year minimum) plus a mandatory $135/year Annual Maintenance Fee shared across all ISC2 certifications |
| ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity | $199 | Valid 3 years; 45 CPE credits plus a mandatory $50/year Annual Maintenance Fee |
| ISC2 CISSP | $749 | Valid 3 years; 120 CPE credits (90 minimum Group A) plus a mandatory $135/year Annual Maintenance Fee |
| ITIL 4 Foundation | $690 | Valid 3 years; renew by logging CPD points through paid PeopleCert Plus membership, taking another qualifying course, or re-sitting the exam |
| Microsoft Azure Administrator | $165 | Valid 1 year; renew free via an online, open-book renewal assessment on Microsoft Learn, available in the 6 months before expiry |
| Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals | $99 | Never expires; Microsoft Fundamentals certifications have no renewal requirement at all |
| Microsoft Azure Fundamentals | $99 | Never expires; Microsoft Fundamentals certifications have no renewal requirement at all |
| Microsoft Azure Security Engineer Associate | $165 | Valid 1 year with a free online renewal assessment, but the certification, exam, and renewals all retire August 31, 2026, after which it can no longer be earned or renewed |
| Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert | $165 | Valid 1 year; renew free via an online, open-book renewal assessment on Microsoft Learn, available in the 6 months before expiry |
| Microsoft Fabric Data Engineer Associate | $165 | Valid 1 year; renew free via an online renewal assessment on Microsoft Learn |
| NVIDIA NCA Generative AI LLMs | $125 | Valid 2 years from issuance; recertify by retaking the exam |
| OffSec OSCP | $1,749 | OSCP+ expires 3 years from issuance; the OSCP awarded alongside it does not expire |
| PMP | $405 | Valid 3 years; 60 PDUs per cycle plus a renewal fee ($60 members, $150 non-members) |
| Red Hat RHCSA | $500 | Valid 3 years; recertify by retaking EX200 or passing a higher Red Hat exam |
| Salesforce Platform Administrator | $200 | Does not expire while maintained; complete one free maintenance module on Trailhead each year by the release deadline |
| SnowPro Core | $175 | Valid 2 years; recertify by re-sitting the exam, passing a higher SnowPro certification, or completing a qualifying Snowflake instructor-led course |
Assumptions, stated plainly: exam prices are each vendor's published registration fee; renewal figures use only published fees (continuing-education credits are assumed earned through free activities, which is realistic but not guaranteed); prices change, and each certification's profile carries its verification date. Nothing here is a salary claim, and prep costs are not included. By Mario Bailey, Editor.