CISSP Cost Breakdown, Line by Line
USD, from ISC2's own exam pricing and maintenance fee pages as of September 2026. Bootcamp prices vary by provider.
| Line item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Exam registration | $749 | Americas and Asia Pacific. About €719 in EMEA, £607 in the UK. |
| Retake | $749 | Full fee. Wait 30, then 60, then 90 days. Max four attempts in 12 months. |
| Reschedule | $50 | Charged by Pearson VUE. Not allowed inside 24 hours of the exam. |
| Cancellation | $100 | Unused exams expire 365 days after purchase. |
| Annual maintenance fee (AMF) | $135 per year | First one due at certification. Covers all ISC2 certs you hold. |
| Associate of ISC2 AMF | $50 per year | Only if you pass before you have five years of experience. |
| Bootcamp or live course | $3,000 to $5,000 | Optional. The single biggest variable in the total. |
| First-year minimum | $884 | Exam plus first AMF, one attempt, before any study materials. |
What Does the $749 Buy?
One attempt at a computerized adaptive test. ISC2 lists the CISSP at 100 to 150 items with a maximum of three hours, and the exam adjusts difficulty to your answers as you go. It covers eight domains: security and risk management, asset security, security architecture and engineering, communication and network security, identity and access management, security assessment and testing, security operations, and software development security.
You have 365 days from purchase to sit the exam. Miss that window and the fee is gone, so buy the voucher when you have a study plan, not before.
The Cost Nobody Budgets For: Five Years of Experience
Passing does not make you a CISSP. ISC2 requires five years of cumulative, full-time experience in two or more of the eight domains. A relevant bachelor's or master's degree, or one approved credential from ISC2's list, waives one year.
Without the experience, a pass makes you an Associate of ISC2 at $50 a year, with six years to earn the five. That is a long runway of fees before you can use the title. If you are early in your career, a credential you can hold this year often does more for you. See the best GRC certifications for beginners and what Security+ costs.
Is CISSP More Expensive Than Other Security Certifications?
At $749, CISSP costs about the same as a non-member CISA exam and more than CCSP or CGRC, and its $135 annual fee is higher than ISACA's per-cert maintenance. It is still below CEH and GIAC exam fees. Fees below are as of September 2026.
| Certification | Exam fee | Renewal | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| CISSP | $749 | $135 per year AMF, 120 CPE every 3 years | Senior security roles and management |
| CCSP | $599 | $135 per year AMF | Cloud security architecture |
| CGRC (formerly CAP) | $599 | $135 per year AMF (one fee covers all ISC2 certs) | Federal authorization and RMF work |
| CISA | $575 member, $760 non-member | $45 per year member, $85 non-member, 120 CPE every 3 years | IT audit, and the credential auditors and hiring managers recognize first |
| CISM | $575 member, $760 non-member | $45 per year member, $85 non-member | Security management and the road to CISO |
| CEH | $950 to $1,199 | $80 per year, 120 ECE credits every 3 years | HR filters that name it, and DoD 8140 roles |
The comparison that matters most is fit, not fee. CISSP is a broad security management credential. If your target is IT audit, compare it with CISA's costs; if it is federal GRC, read is CGRC worth it.
How Can You Pay Less for CISSP?
Ask your employer first
Many security employers reimburse certification exams. Get the policy in writing, including whether it covers a retake and the annual fee, before you register.
Skip the bootcamp if you can
A bootcamp can be most of your total. Self-study with an official study guide, a practice test book, and a question bank costs a fraction of that.
Protect against a retake
The retake is the most expensive surprise at $749. Book the exam only after you are scoring consistently on full-length practice tests, and never reschedule inside the 24-hour window.
Stack ISC2 certs
The $135 AMF covers every ISC2 certification you hold. If you also want CCSP or CGRC, the ongoing cost of the second cert is zero.
Cover your CPE for free
The 120 CPE credits every three years do not have to cost anything. Free webinars, local chapter meetings, and self-reported learning hours from communities like the GRC Engineering Club keep renewal at the $135 fee alone.
What $70 a Year Buys if GRC Is Your Goal
CISSP proves broad security knowledge and management judgment. It does not prove you can automate evidence collection or audit controls that live in Terraform. The GRC Engineering Club includes the CGE-P, CGE-AUD, and CGE-AZ certifications in one membership, with hands-on labs in AWS and Azure. They are newer credentials without CISSP's decades of name recognition, so treat them as the hands-on complement to CISSP, or as the credential you earn while you build toward the five years.
What $70 a year gets you, CISSP candidate or not
Club membership is $70 per year, or $9.99 a month. Every certification in the Training Academy is included. Bought one at a time, the three current certifications are $350 each, so $1,050 of credentials come with a membership that costs less than most single exam vouchers.
- CGE-P, CGE-AUD, CGE-AZ: training, labs, exam, and certificate, no exam fee
- Hands-on AWS and Azure compliance labs you build in your own account
- Weekly private podcast and live Q&A with working GRC engineers
- Mock interviews, playbooks, and live builder sessions
- Local chapters and a Slack of 1,300+ GRC professionals
- Self-reported CPE hours for ISACA, ISC2, and IAPP renewals
For every other certification's price, see how much cybersecurity certifications cost. For GRC-specific options, see the cheapest GRC certifications.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the CISSP exam cost?
The CISSP exam costs $749 in the Americas and Asia Pacific as of September 2026. European candidates pay about €719 and UK candidates about £607. The fee covers one attempt, and a retake costs the full $749 again.
What is the total cost of CISSP certification?
The minimum first-year cost is about $884: the $749 exam plus the first $135 annual maintenance fee, which ISC2 collects when you are certified. Add study books and practice tests for a typical self-study total a little above $900. With a bootcamp, the first year runs $3,000 to $5,000.
How much does it cost to maintain CISSP?
CISSP maintenance costs $135 a year, and that single ISC2 annual maintenance fee covers every ISC2 certification you hold. You also need 120 CPE credits every three years. Free webinars, chapter meetings, and self-reported learning hours from communities like the GRC Engineering Club can cover the CPE without extra spend.
How much is a CISSP retake?
A CISSP retake costs the full $749 exam fee. ISC2 requires 30 days before a second attempt, 60 days before a third, and 90 days before any attempt after that, with a maximum of four attempts in 12 months. Rescheduling a booked exam costs $50 and cancelling costs $100.
Can I take the CISSP without five years of experience?
Yes. You can sit the exam without the experience and become an Associate of ISC2, which costs $50 a year. You then have six years to earn the five years of cumulative, full-time experience in two or more of the eight CISSP domains. A relevant degree or an approved credential can waive one year.
Is CISSP worth the cost for GRC roles?
For senior security and security management roles, yes: CISSP is widely recognized and often listed in senior security job posts. For GRC specifically, it is broad and management-focused, so many practitioners pair it with a GRC-specific or hands-on credential. The GRC Engineering Club includes three hands-on GRC certifications in a $70 a year membership.