CompTIA Network+ in 2026: Exam Guide, Cost and Study Plan

Updated September 2026: CompTIA Network+ V9 (N10-009) is the current exam. It launched June 20, 2024, and CompTIA says exams usually retire about three years after launch, with N10-009 estimated to retire in 2027. CompTIA hasn’t posted a successor launch date on its Network+ page, so if you’re studying now, study N10-009.

Network+ proves you understand how traffic actually moves: IP addressing, switching, routing, wireless, cloud networking, and how to troubleshoot when something breaks. It isn’t a security certification, but almost everything in security sits on top of it. If subnet masks, VLANs and DNS still feel fuzzy, this is the cert that fixes that.

This guide covers who Network+ is for, the exam facts, the five domains and their weights, what it costs in 2026, a study plan, and how it compares with Security+, PenTest+ and CEH. If you’re changing careers, pair it with How to Transition to a Cybersecurity Career at Any Age. For the wider map, see Best Cybersecurity Certifications in 2026.

Who CompTIA Network+ is for

• Help desk and desktop support staff who want to move into network or systems administration
• Junior network admins and NOC technicians who want a vendor-neutral credential
• Career changers heading for security who need the networking base before Security+
• Anyone planning to take PenTest+ later: CompTIA lists Network+ and Security+ (or equivalent knowledge) as recommended experience for it

CompTIA recommends having A+ plus 9 to 12 months of hands-on experience in a junior network administrator or network support technician role. That’s a recommendation, not a requirement. CompTIA maps Network+ to the NICE and DoD 8140 work roles of technical support specialist, network operations specialist and system administrator (CompTIA).

Network+ N10-009 exam facts (2026)

Sources: CompTIA’s Network+ page and Network+ overview, CompTIA’s continuing education pages on CEUs and fees, and the June 2026 price change as published by authorized CompTIA partner Total Seminars. Prices change, so confirm at checkout.

The five N10-009 domains and their weights

Troubleshooting is the single biggest domain, and it’s where performance-based questions hurt people who only memorized port numbers. Domain list and weights: CompTIA Network+ exam details.

What Network+ costs in 2026

• Exam voucher: $399 US retail after CompTIA’s June 1, 2026 price increase (up from $390), per authorized partner Total Seminars. One voucher covers one attempt.
• Discounts: Authorized partners resell vouchers below retail, and CompTIA offers student pricing to U.S. students with a valid student ID and .edu email.
• Training: Optional. CompTIA’s own CertMaster products range from practice-only to full courses with labs; plenty of people pass with a book, a video course, a lab and one good practice bank.
• Renewal: $150 in CE fees over the three-year cycle if you renew by uploading CEUs. You can pay it all at once or spread it out, as long as it’s paid before your expiration date.

A 10-week Network+ study plan

This assumes about six to eight hours a week. Shorten it if you already work in IT; stretch it if subnetting is brand new.

• Weeks 1 to 2: the map. Read the official objectives end to end. Learn the OSI layers well enough to place any protocol or device on them. Start ten minutes of subnetting practice every day and keep it up until exam day.
• Weeks 3 to 4: addressing and switching. IPv4 and IPv6 basics, CIDR, VLANs, trunking and spanning tree. Build a small virtual lab (Packet Tracer, GNS3 or a couple of VMs) and break it on purpose.
• Weeks 5 to 6: routing, wireless and cloud. Static vs dynamic routing, NAT, wireless standards and security, and how VPCs and security groups map to what you already know.
• Week 7: operations and security. Monitoring, documentation, DR terms (RPO, RTO, MTTR, MTBF), plus the attacks and defenses in domain 4. This is where Network+ starts to overlap with Security+.
• Week 8: troubleshooting. Walk the troubleshooting methodology on real problems. Use ping, traceroute, nslookup or dig, ipconfig or ip, and a packet capture in Wireshark until you can explain what each output tells you.
• Weeks 9 to 10: timed practice. Take full practice exams, review every miss by objective, and drill performance-based questions. Book the exam when your scores are stable, not when you finish a book.

Is Network+ worth it? Jobs and salary

Network+ fits roles such as network support specialist, NOC technician, junior network administrator and systems administrator. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) doesn’t track pay by certification, but it does publish pay for the jobs Network+ targets:

• Network and computer systems administrators: median pay of $99,130 in May 2025. The lowest 10% earned less than $62,640 and the top 10% more than $155,050. BLS projects employment to decline 4% from 2025 to 2035, but still expects about 13,400 openings a year from replacement demand (BLS).
• Computer network support specialists: median pay of $76,220 in May 2025 (BLS).
• Information security analysts, where many Network+ holders head next: median pay of $129,180 in May 2025, with 21% projected growth from 2025 to 2035 (BLS).

A certification alone won’t set your salary. Experience, location, clearance and the rest of your résumé matter more. What Network+ does well is get you past HR filters for support and junior admin jobs and give you the vocabulary to keep up in security interviews.

Network+ vs A+, Security+, PenTest+ and CEH

• A+ vs Network+: A+ covers hardware, operating systems and end-user support. Network+ is the next step, and CompTIA recommends A+ before it.
• Network+ vs Security+: Security+ is the baseline security cert. Network+ teaches how networks work; Security+ teaches how to defend them. If you already work with networks every day, you can often go straight to Security+. If you don’t, Network+ first makes Security+ much easier.
• Network+ vs PenTest+ and CEH: Both are offensive-security certs, and both assume networking knowledge. CompTIA recommends Network+ and Security+ (or equivalent) before PenTest+, and EC-Council’s CEH course says it won’t teach you what a port is.
• Where it leads: Many people go Network+ → Security+ → CySA+ for SOC work, or → PenTest+ for offensive work, and consider CISSP much later, once they have the experience it requires.

Planning your next certification? See the full certification roadmap for the order to take them by career goal.

What I would tell a friend starting Network+

Do subnetting every day, even for ten minutes. Build a lab you can break. Learn to read a packet capture like a story. And once you pass, keep up with what attackers are doing to the networks you now understand: edge devices, VPN appliances and routers show up in the news almost every week.

Subnets don’t change. The attacks on networks do. The CyberExperts Daily Brief covers what changed in security and why it matters, in five minutes, weekday mornings. Get tomorrow’s brief.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• CompTIA, Network+ certification and N10-009 exam details: comptia.org
• CompTIA, Is CompTIA Network+ worth it? (delivery options): comptia.org
• CompTIA, Earn continuing education units (CEU requirements): comptia.org
• CompTIA, Continuing education renewal fees: comptia.org
• CompTIA Help, How do I pay CE fees? (renewal options): help.comptia.org
• CompTIA, How much does the CompTIA Network+ certification cost? (student discounts): comptia.org
• Total Seminars (authorized CompTIA partner), CompTIA exam price increase June 2026: totalsem.com
• BLS, Network and computer systems administrators: bls.gov
• BLS, Computer support specialists: bls.gov
• BLS, Information security analysts: bls.gov

Donald Korinchak, MBA, PMP, CISSP, SecurityX, ITILv3

Donald Korinchak is a Cybersecurity Professional in the Washington DC area. Donald holds an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh Katz School of Business. Donald is considered a thought leader in business, leadership, and cybersecurity issues.