Updated September 2026: CompTIA PenTest+ V3 (PT0-003) is the current exam. It launched December 17, 2024, the previous PT0-002 exam retired June 17, 2025, and CompTIA estimates PT0-003 will retire in 2027. Study PT0-003 objectives, not older V2 material.
PenTest+ is CompTIA’s penetration testing certification. It covers the whole engagement: scoping and rules of engagement, reconnaissance, vulnerability discovery, attacks against networks, hosts, web apps, cloud and even AI systems, post-exploitation, and the report that makes the work useful. It’s a multiple-choice and performance-based exam, not a 24-hour hands-on hack, and that difference matters when you compare it with OSCP.
This guide covers who PenTest+ is for, the exam facts, domain weights, cost, a lab-first study plan, career value, and how it compares with CEH, OSCP, CySA+ and Security+. If networking is still your weak spot, start with our Network+ guide.
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Who CompTIA PenTest+ is for
- Security analysts and SOC staff who want to move into offensive testing
- Junior penetration testers who want a vendor-neutral credential
- Vulnerability management staff who want to understand how findings get exploited, not just scored
- People aiming for OSCP who want a structured, lower-cost checkpoint first
CompTIA recommends 3 to 4 years in a penetration tester job role, with Network+ and Security+ or equivalent knowledge (CompTIA). That’s a recommendation, not a gate; you can register without it. But PenTest+ assumes you already know networking and security basics, so don’t use it as your first cert.
PenTest+ PT0-003 exam facts (2026)
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Exam code | PT0-003 (PenTest+ V3) |
| Launch date | December 17, 2024 |
| Previous exam | PT0-002 retired June 17, 2025 |
| Retirement | Usually three years after launch; CompTIA estimates 2027 |
| Number of questions | Maximum of 90, multiple-choice and performance-based |
| Time limit | 165 minutes |
| Passing score | 750 on a scale of 100 to 900 |
| Languages | English, French, Japanese and Portuguese |
| Recommended experience | 3 to 4 years in a penetration tester role, with Network+ and Security+ or equivalent knowledge |
| Exam price (US) | $439 retail since June 1, 2026 (was $425) |
| Renewal | Every three years: 60 CEUs plus a $150 CE fee, or another CompTIA renewal option |
Sources: CompTIA’s PenTest+ page, CompTIA’s continuing education pages on CEUs and fees, and the June 2026 price change as published by authorized CompTIA partner Total Seminars. Confirm the price at checkout.
The five PT0-003 domains and their weights
| Domain | Weight | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Engagement management | 13% | Scoping, rules of engagement, testing windows, authorization letters, legal and ethical requirements, stakeholder communication, and reports with executive summaries and remediation |
| 2. Reconnaissance and enumeration | 21% | Passive and active recon, OSINT, sniffing, DNS, service and directory enumeration, tools such as Nmap, Wireshark and Shodan, and modifying Python, PowerShell and Bash scripts |
| 3. Vulnerability discovery and analysis | 17% | Authenticated and unauthenticated scans, SAST and DAST, validating findings and weeding out false positives, tools such as Nessus, Nikto and OpenVAS |
| 4. Attacks and exploits | 35% | Network attacks (VLAN hopping, on-path), authentication attacks (brute force, pass-the-hash, credential stuffing), host attacks (privilege escalation, credential dumping), web attacks (SQL injection, XSS, directory traversal), cloud attacks (container escapes, metadata services, IAM misconfiguration) and AI attacks (prompt injection, model manipulation) |
| 5. Post-exploitation and lateral movement | 14% | Persistence, lateral movement, cleaning up artifacts, attack narratives and remediation recommendations |
Attacks and exploits is more than a third of the exam, but engagement management and reporting still add up to real points. Plenty of technically strong people lose marks on scoping and legal questions. Domain list and weights: CompTIA PenTest+ exam details.
What PenTest+ costs in 2026
- Exam voucher: $439 US retail after CompTIA’s June 1, 2026 price increase (up from $425), per authorized partner Total Seminars. That’s the same price as Security+ and CySA+.
- Discounts: Authorized partners resell vouchers below retail. Watch expiry dates on discounted vouchers.
- Labs: Your real cost. Budget for a practice-lab subscription or a home lab. Offensive skills come from reps, not reading.
- Renewal: $150 in CE fees over the three-year cycle if you renew with CEUs. Earning a higher-level CompTIA certification, such as SecurityX, also renews it.
A 12-week, lab-first PenTest+ study plan
- Weeks 1 to 2: objectives and rules. Read the PT0-003 objectives end to end. Write your own one-page scoping checklist: authorization, scope, out-of-scope assets, testing windows and escalation contacts.
- Weeks 3 to 4: recon and enumeration. Nmap scan types and output, DNS and service enumeration, OSINT. Practice in a legal lab environment only. Read and tweak small Python, PowerShell and Bash scripts until you can predict what they do.
- Weeks 5 to 6: vulnerability scanning. Run authenticated and unauthenticated scans in your lab, compare results, and practice proving or disproving findings.
- Weeks 7 to 9: attacks. Web (SQL injection, XSS, traversal), password and hash attacks, Windows and Linux privilege escalation, and cloud misconfigurations. Learn the AI attack concepts in the objectives, such as prompt injection.
- Week 10: post-exploitation and reporting. Persistence, lateral movement and cleanup. Write one full sample report with an executive summary a manager could read in two minutes.
- Weeks 11 to 12: timed practice. Full practice exams at 165 minutes, performance-based question drills, and a review of every miss by objective.
Is PenTest+ worth it? Jobs and salary
CompTIA positions PenTest+ for penetration tester and security consultant roles. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook doesn’t publish a separate category for penetration testers. The closest large BLS category, information security analysts, had median pay of $129,180 in May 2025; the lowest 10% earned less than $75,090 and the top 10% more than $199,850. BLS projects 21% employment growth for the category from 2025 to 2035 (BLS).
Offensive roles hire on proof. PenTest+ helps you pass résumé filters and shows you know the process end to end. Pair it with lab write-ups, a sample report and, later, a hands-on cert if you want senior testing work.
PenTest+ vs CEH vs OSCP (and CySA+)
| PenTest+ (PT0-003) | CEH v13 (312-50) | OSCP+ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Format | Up to 90 multiple-choice and performance-based questions | 125 multiple-choice questions (optional 6-hour practical for CEH Master) | 24-hour proctored hands-on exam |
| Time | 165 minutes | 4 hours | 24 hours |
| Eligibility | None required | Official training, or an approved application with 2 years of infosec experience and a $100 fee | None required |
| Exam price | $439 (US retail) | $950 remote-proctored voucher from EC-Council, plus the $100 application fee if self-study | $1,699 standalone exam attempt |
| Renewal | 3 years (60 CEUs, $150) | 3 years (120 ECE credits, $80 a year) | OSCP+ expires after 3 years; the OSCP title itself doesn’t expire |
Sources: CompTIA, EC-Council’s CEH page and exam voucher, and OffSec’s PEN-200/OSCP page.
- PenTest+ vs CEH: Both test knowledge more than hands-on hacking. PenTest+ is cheaper, has no eligibility process and adds performance-based questions. CEH is broader, well known, and recognized under DoD 8140 for several cyber defense work roles. See our CEH guide for details.
- PenTest+ vs OSCP: OSCP is the hands-on proof: OffSec’s exam gives you 24 hours to compromise three standalone machines (60% of the points) and an Active Directory set (40%). Many people take PenTest+ or CEH first for the structured knowledge, then OSCP when they can already root lab boxes comfortably.
- PenTest+ vs CySA+: Same CompTIA tier, opposite sides. CySA+ is detection and response; PenTest+ is attack and report. Pick the one that matches the job you want next.
- Before PenTest+: Network+ and Security+ (or equivalent knowledge), per CompTIA. Much later: CISSP if you move toward security leadership.
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 PenTest+
Don’t collect tools; learn a process. Scope it, enumerate it, prove it, write it up. Keep every lab write-up, because that folder becomes your portfolio. And once you pass, stay current: the techniques on your exam are yesterday’s, and real engagements use whatever was published this week.
Exploits age fast. Your pentest notes shouldn’t. The CyberExperts Daily Brief covers new vulnerabilities, exploited bugs and why they matter, in five minutes, weekday mornings. Get tomorrow’s brief.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are on the PenTest+ PT0-003 exam?
A maximum of 90 multiple-choice and performance-based questions, with 165 minutes to finish.
What is the passing score for PenTest+?
750 on a scale of 100 to 900.
How much does PenTest+ cost in 2026?
$439 at U.S. retail since CompTIA’s June 1, 2026 price increase. Authorized partners often sell vouchers for less. Confirm the price at checkout.
Is PT0-002 still available?
No. PT0-002 retired June 17, 2025. PT0-003, launched December 17, 2024, is the only current PenTest+ exam.
Should I take PenTest+ or OSCP first?
If you’re new to offensive work, PenTest+ gives you a structured, lower-cost checkpoint across the whole engagement process. OSCP is a 24-hour hands-on exam and makes more sense once you can already compromise lab machines on your own.
Is PenTest+ harder than Security+?
For most people, yes. CompTIA recommends Network+ and Security+ (or equivalent knowledge) plus 3 to 4 years in a penetration tester role, and more than a third of the exam is attacks and exploits.
How do I renew PenTest+?
Every three years. Earn 60 continuing education units and pay $150 in CE fees during the cycle, or earn a higher-level CompTIA certification such as SecurityX.
Sources
- CompTIA, PenTest+ certification and PT0-003 exam details: comptia.org
- CompTIA, Earn continuing education units (CEU requirements): comptia.org
- CompTIA, Continuing education renewal fees: comptia.org
- CompTIA, Continuing education program FAQ (renewal by higher-level certification): comptia.org
- Total Seminars (authorized CompTIA partner), CompTIA exam price increase June 2026: totalsem.com
- BLS, Information security analysts: bls.gov
- EC-Council, Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) v13: eccouncil.org
- EC-Council Store, CEH exam voucher (remote proctored): store.eccouncil.org
- OffSec, PEN-200 and the OSCP+ exam: offsec.com
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