In this article, we are going to talk about CISSP or Certified Information Systems Security Professional certification cost and its components. But first, let’s understand what CISSP is. CISSP certification is one of the most sought-after certifications in the IT world. The CISSP certification is targeted at IT professionals who are interested in learning skills in information security.
There are three components of the CISSP certification cost and these are mentioned below:
- Course fee: US$ 300 to US$ 3200
- Exam fee: US$ 699
- Preparation time (Hidden cost): 50 to 70 hours
Among some of the certifications on information security available today, CISSP is more technical and deep. It covers a broad range of security topics like asset security management, risk management, access management, security testing, security engineering, network security, etc.
So, once you have earned the CISSP credential, you will be expecting to get the job titles of security consultant, security auditor, security consultant, or security system engineer. Being a CISSP, you will be creating procedures and methods at work for securing the information security networks. You will be incorporating into the IT networks the mechanisms required to secure the assets from the outside world’s threats.
After helping thousands of professionals in more than 180 countries with a 99.6% first attempt pass rate, we have prepared a seven-step CISSP study guide. Read this CISSP study guide and create your own CISSP prep plan accordingly.
CISSP is in fact a practical and interesting certification for IT professionals. Once you have got it, you will have confidence that you have gained the credibility and approval of possessing the skills for effective information security management. You will then be able to improve your career and even earn better.
However, the certification comes with a cost. The work cost actually may not be the very appropriate word to use. You will basically be investing money into something that would create new and higher career paths for you.
Continue reading and below we will go over these three components of CISSP certification cost one by one, in detail.
CISSP Certification Cost: Course Fee
Let’s start with the course fee component of the CISSP certification cost. Once you have decided to earn your CISSP credential, the first thing you will do is attend a CISSP certification course. You must take the course, as the self-studying option is neither recommended nor will it actually help you pass the CISSP exam. Unlike many other IT certifications, the CISSP course material is different. It covers the topics that are not usually talked about or dealt with in usual day-to-day IT operations.
Learn more in our Free CISSP Training.
So, you must take the CISSP certification course and make sure that the course is comprehensive. That means the course should cover all the prescribed topics in detail. Moreover, along with that, you should get access to practice material such as CISSP practice exams, study guides and other useful documents to help you in your exam preparation.
The CISSP certification course fee varies from country to country, and often from city to city. Even, if you find a CISSP course fee in your local area, you will find that there may be many training providers and they have different price offerings.
We have researched the CISSP certification course fee in a few countries and our findings are mentioned below. The table below shows the low and high fees for the CISSP course in these countries.
Classroom CISSP Courses
| Location | CISSP course fee |
| USA / Canada | US$ 2000 – US$ 2800 |
| India / Pakistan | US$ 300 – US$ 600 |
| EU | US$ 2600 – US$ 3200 |
| UAE / Saudi Arabia | US$ 800 – US$ 1300 |
| New Zealand / Australia | US$ 2000 – US$ 2600 |
If you like to take a course physically, in the classroom-based setup, you will find several course providers in your area offering CISSP courses. They may be running the CISSP course on a regular basis and some may also be offering customized one-on-one training. You can check these options with them and choose whichever is the most suitable for you. The price of classroom-based CISSP courses is high though. Compared to live online and online self-paced learning options, the classroom-based courses cost much high hence this method of training may increase the total CISSP certification cost for you.
Online, Self-paced learning
In addition to classroom training, CISSP courses are also available online, for self-paced learning. This is in fact a very good option for those who have limited availability during the day and have a busy work schedule. In self-paced online learning, you have the option to go through the video lectures at any time you desire. You do not have to be present at the training facility either. You can see our CISSP Certification Training.
Many people prefer the self-paced learning option these days due to the reason that it allows them to take the course at any time they want, day or night. They do not have to compromise their already scheduled activities in order to take the course. Moreover, the low price of this option is also another main reason why many people choose to take online self-paced courses these days.
The fee for online, self-paced CISSP courses varies a lot. You can find a CISSP course for US$ 300 and you will also find this course selling for US$ 900. Did you notice the price difference? The online self-paced courses are cheaper than the classroom training and even the live online training, thus your CISSP certification cost in total will be less if you opt for this option. So, if you think this learning format is suitable for you, it’s also worth the price that you will pay.
Live Online Course
Live online CISSP courses are also being offered by many training providers. In the live course format, you may be attending the course alone or there may be more participants online with you. It will be interactive training and you will have the opportunity to ask questions and get answers right there.
The price for the live online courses also varies a lot. You will find an online CISSP course from anywhere between US$ 600 to US$ 1500.
So, you see you have several options to take the CISSP course and the course fee also varies a lot. In your investment for the CISSP certification cost, the CISSP course fee is the largest amount that you will have to spend. However, do not take this as a burden though. When you invest in this certification, be confident enough that the certification will reward you for a lifetime, as long as you will be working
How Should You Choose a Best CISSP Course Provider?
When choosing a course provider for your CISSP course, do not only consider one on the basis of the course price only. Also, look at the other factors too. For instance, you should check out their sample training material before enrolling in their course. You can also read testimonials of past students. Their testimonials will give you the best picture of the quality of the training offered.
Moreover, find out what is included in their course fee. Are they providing materials like cheat sheets, practice questions, an exam simulator, or any other helpful material? Know about the trainer also. Find out how many courses they have conducted and what is the level of their work experience.
By looking at these things, you can then know whether the price of the course is really worth it or not and you should choose that course provider or look for another one.
CISSP Certification Cost: Exam Fee
The second component of the CISSP certification cost is the exam fee. CISSP certification exam fee is currently set at US$ 699. This fee is going to be revised from 1st May 2021. The new CISSP exam fee after this date will be increased from US$ 699 to US$ 749.
This exam fee would be the same doesn’t matter which country you will be applying for the exam. All the ISC2 exams are available through the authorized ISC2 testing center PearsonVue. When you want to register for your exam, you have the option to pay to PearsonVUE either online at their website or, at one of their franchise located in your area.
CISSP Certification Cost: Preparation Time
The CISSP exam preparation time is not a component of the CISSP certification cost that you have to pay from your wallet. However, the time you will spend on exam preparation does have a cost. The time is money and maybe you will require to spend up to 70 hours to fully complete your CISSP exam preparation. If you are an IT professional, you may need 50-60 hours but someone without a full IT background can easily take 60 to 70 hours to be fully ready for the exam.
How many months will it take to complete the preparation, you may ask. Well, in terms of months, it depends! It really depends on how much time you can spare every day or every week for the CISSP exam preparation. People have completed their preparation in one-month time and many have even taken up to 6 months to conclude this task.
How much time you need to complete your study also depends on some other factors. Such as your past work experience, your competency level and your need to get certified at the earliest. So, you will be taking out a lot of time to give to your CISSP exam preparation. Count that time as one of the components of the CISSP certification cost.
If you don’t know where to start your CISPP journey check out or 7-step CISSP study guide.
CISSP Certification Renewal Fee
Although the CISSP certification renewal fee is not the direct CISSP certification cost, this is also there and you need to factor that in. This fee is only payable after every three years, so it won’t be a burden on your shoulder right away.
Once you have earned your CISSP credential, you must then maintain it. Being a CISSP must earn a minimum number of CPE credits in every cycle of three years. CPE stands for Continuing Professional Education. The CPE credits are earned by participating in certain activities. For instance, you can attend a course, a webinar, or a conference about security engineering, network security, and risk management. You can even participate in non-technical learning activities, for instance, you can take a course on team development skills, interpersonal skills, project management, programming, etc.
The total number of CPE credits required in three years is 120. However, in each year, you must earn a minimum of 40 CISSP CPE credits. You can submit the CPEs to CS2 even after the three-year renewing cycle if you couldn’t complete this task earlier. However, make sure that you submit the CPE credits no later than 90 days after. If you delay further, your certification will suspend.
The CISSP certification renewal fee is US$ 85 for a year and US$ 255 for a three-year period. This fee is not too much if you think about the worth of the certification and the benefit you are getting out of it.
CISSP Training at Master of Project Academy
We, at Master of Project Academy, have developed an online self-paced CISSP course. Before we detail its cost and the content of our offering, we would like our readers to know the advantages of enrolling in a self-paced course.
The primary advantage of this type of learning is that you decide your own days and timing when you want to learn. There are no fixed days and timing to take the course. Moreover, unlike classroom training where you have only one opportunity to listen to the lecture, in self-paced learning, you can listen to the lectures as many times as you want.
In the self-paced course, you also have the option to stop the lecture where you want and do your exam practice or involve in any other task. So, you are in much more control of how you want to learn the course material. In the online course, you also don’t have to be present at any location to attend the course. You can take the course from the comfort of your home. So, these are the many advantages of enrolling in a self-paced course.
What is included in our self-paced online CISSP course?
Our self-paced CISSP course includes many theoretical concepts which are explained with real-world project examples. The online CISSP course includes 100+ video lectures. These video lectures will give you 30+ hours of CISSP training.
The course package also contains more than 1700 practice questions that you can use to assess your preparation. You will get the option to practice the questions by the eight CISSP domains. At the end of the training, you will also receive a course completion certificate from the Master of Project Academy.
In addition to all these course features, we have an online CISSP forum where you can participate in active discussions with other CISSP aspirants and certified CISSP professionals. If you want to download some material to get benefits from while offline, you can also do so. We will give you access to downloadable high-quality CISSP study material, including cheat sheets and handouts.
In addition to the paid comprehensive CISSP course, we also offer free CISSP training. When you enroll in it, you will get access to three lectures, comprised of 20 minutes lectures. Besides, you will also get free CISSP study material and tips & tricks from our recent CISSP exam takers. This free CISSP training will help you determine the quality of our paid CISSP training, before paying and enrolling in it.
Master of Project Academy CISSP Certification Course Cost
We offer our CISSP self-paced online course on a monthly, yearly, and lifetime subscription. You can choose the subscription that best suits your availability and the time you require to complete your learning.
The monthly subscription costs US$ 87 and it is suitable if you want to complete the course fast. The annual subscription costs US$ 470 and this is the best option if you want to go at a slow pace and without taking any pressure of finishing it quickly. Our lifetime subscription to the online CISSP course costs US$ 770 and it lets you access the course for the entire lifetime.
We do not compromise on quality. More than 200,000 professionals, from over 180 countries have enrolled in our courses and they passed their exams successfully with ease. So the price you will pay for our self-paced CISSP course is definitely going to be worth your investment. Moreover, if you compare our prices with other course providers, you will come to know that our prices are much lower than their course prices. Hence we aim to lower the CISSP certification cost you pay without compromising on quality.
CISSP Certification Cost: Summary
CISSP is an internationally recognized certification in information security. In today’s technological era, there is a great demand for professionals who have a broad and in-depth knowledge of how to secure IT assets, applications, and information from threats. And, the CISSPs are the professionals who are the best candidates to deal with information security concerns.
At the beginning of this post, we mentioned the three components of the CISSP certification cost. And, among those three, the CISSP certification course is the first CISSP certification cost item that you will incur. The CISSP certification course that you will take will put you on the CISSP certification journey and finally, you will reach the destination.
In the post, we have also explained the different CISSP course options and also mentioned the prices. You can take the CISSP course in a classroom, live online and you can enroll in self-paced online training if you prefer. It wouldn’t much matter which course delivery option you choose, as long as you have the motivation and are ready to commit yourself to earning your CISSP certification, you can complete your course through any option.