Entry-Level IT Certifications Ranked
We rank 12 entry-level IT certifications by salary, difficulty, and time-to-hire. Real 2025 data on CompTIA, AWS, Azure, Google, and Cisco beginner credentials.
What is this page about?
A ranked, ROI-focused list of 12 entry-level IT certifications scored on salary, employer recognition, study time, and three-year cost, using 2025 data from Payscale, Glassdoor, and others. It orders them from AWS Cloud Practitioner and Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) at the top through Security+, A+, Network+, Google Cloud Digital Leader, Cisco CCST Networking, Google IT Support, ITIL 4 Foundation, MS-900, ITF+, and LPI Linux Essentials, and adds cost-adjusted rankings, stacking strategies (such as A+ plus AWS Cloud Practitioner), and what employers actually look for.
What has been corrected on this page?
Every accepted correction to this page is recorded with the exact change, so readers can see how the page improved over time.
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3 flagged issues verified: a claimed 'hiring managers we surveyed... roughly doubles interview callback rates' finding had no verifiable methodology and was softened; an unverified-precision '$720 per dollar spent' ROI ratio had no verifiable dataset and was softened; a Network+ exam-fee figure ($369) was checked against current 2026 CompTIA pricing and found stale (now ~$399) and was removed in favor of a pointer to check current pricing, while confirming the passing score (720/900) is accurate and left unchanged.
Before1) "Most hiring managers we surveyed expect one solid foundational certification before considering a candidate for an interview. Two stacked certifications such as CompTIA A+ plus AWS Cloud Practitioner roughly doubles interview callback rates in our sampled data compared to one certification alone." 2) "For every dollar spent on the exam, holders in our dataset earned roughly $720 in their first-year salary above the non-certified help desk baseline. No other certification on this list approaches that ratio." 3) Network+ exam fee listed as $369 in 3 places (rank table, detail section, ROI table).
After1) "Most hiring managers expect at least one solid foundational certification before considering a candidate for an interview. Stacking two complementary certifications, such as CompTIA A+ plus AWS Cloud Practitioner, tends to meaningfully improve interview callback rates compared to holding one certification alone." 2) "Relative to its low exam cost, holders tend to see a strong first-year salary lift above the non-certified help desk baseline, giving this certification one of the best cost-to-salary ratios on this list." 3) Network+ fee updated to ~$399 with a pointer to check CompTIA's current pricing, in all 3 places; passing score (720/900) verified accurate and left unchanged.
Why: Softened 2 unverified-precision proprietary-data claims (a hiring-manager callback-rate survey with no verifiable methodology, and a $720-per-dollar ROI ratio with no verifiable dataset) to qualitative statements. Corrected a stale Network+ exam fee ($369, now approximately $399 per current CompTIA pricing) in all 3 locations it appeared, while verifying and leaving unchanged the accurate 720/900 passing score.
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Who checked this page?
1 contributor has checked "Entry-Level IT Certifications Ranked" on Pass4Sure. Each name below links to that person's public CitePep profile, where every contribution they have made is listed with the exact change they proposed.