A+ Core 1 vs Core 2: What Each Exam Tests and Which to Take First

The short answer on A+ Core 1 vs Core 2: Core 1 (220-1201) is the hardware exam: devices, cables, networks, printers, virtualization, and fixing all of them when they break. A+ Core 2 (220-1202) is the software and process exam: operating systems, security, software troubleshooting, and the operational procedures of a support desk. Both have a maximum of 90 questions in 90 minutes. Core 1 passes at 675 and Core 2 at 700, both on a 100 to 900 scale, and you need both to hold the CompTIA A+.

CompTIA lets you take them "in any order." Our view is that most people should take Core 1 first, for reasons laid out below, with one clear exception for people who already live in Windows support. Below are the two exams side by side, the reasoning behind that order, and how to space and pay for both. If you want the basics of Core 1 on its own first, start with what CompTIA A+ Core 1 is.

A+ Core 1 vs Core 2: how do they compare at a glance?

The format is the same. The content barely overlaps.

Both exams mix multiple-choice (single and multiple response), drag-and-drop, and performance-based questions. Both are delivered at a Pearson VUE test center or online through OnVUE. Both carry the same recommended 12 months of hands-on experience in an IT support specialist role. CompTIA's retirement guidance for V15 is "usually three years after launch (estimated 2028)," with no successor announced.

So the decision between them is not about format. It is about what you study, in what order, and how the two halves of the material support each other.

What does each exam actually test?

The cleanest way to see the split is to put the weights next to each other.

Core 1 is about physical things and the connections between them. You are choosing a motherboard form factor that fits a case, matching a port number to a protocol, picking the right Wi-Fi band for a crowded office, setting up a small office router, or working out why a printer keeps jamming. Its largest single domain, at 28%, is troubleshooting hardware and networks. Its smallest, Virtualization and Cloud Computing at 11%, stays deliberately shallow. The Core 1 domains post goes through all five in plain English.

Core 2 is about what runs on that hardware and how a support team behaves. Operating Systems and Security share the top spot at 28% each. Software Troubleshooting is 23%, and Operational Procedures at 21% covers the working habits of a help desk: documentation, change management, safety, professional conduct, scripting, remote access, and an objective on basic artificial intelligence concepts. Windows 10 and Windows 11 are the Windows versions in scope.

A rough way to put it: Core 1 asks whether you can build and connect the machine. Core 2 asks whether you can run it, secure it, and support the person sitting at it.

Why is the Core 2 pass mark higher than Core 1?

Core 1 passes at 675 and Core 2 at 700. Both are scaled scores on a 100 to 900 range, which means they are not percentages. You cannot turn 700 into "78 percent correct," and CompTIA publishes no pass rate for either exam, so nobody outside CompTIA can tell you how many people clear each bar.

What the numbers do tell you is that CompTIA sets the Core 2 standard higher on the same scale. Whether that makes Core 2 harder for you depends far more on your background than on 25 scaled points. Someone who has spent a year resetting passwords and cleaning malware off laptops may find Core 2 the easier exam despite the higher mark. Someone who has built PCs since high school may find the opposite. For a closer look at the Core 1 side, see how hard A+ Core 1 is.

Which A+ exam should you take first?

Take Core 1 first, unless you already do Windows support for a living. Here is why.

Core 2 leans on Core 1 vocabulary more than the reverse. The security domain on Core 2 assumes you already know what a port is, what a VLAN does, and why a VPN exists. Core 1 introduces those ideas in its Networking domain and leaves the deeper security treatment to Core 2. The same pattern shows up with TPM and UEFI, which sit in Core 1's hardware material and then reappear in Core 2 as Windows 11 hardware requirements. Learning the foundation first means Core 2 study builds on it instead of explaining around it.

The first exam is also your first look at the testing experience. Performance-based questions, the clock, the check-in process, the feel of a scaled exam: all of that is new the first time. It is reasonable to meet it on the exam with the lower pass mark. You walk into Core 2 knowing how the session runs, and your attention goes to the content.

Core 1 rewards study that has a clear shape. Port numbers, Wi-Fi standards, cable and connector types, printer components and RAM characteristics are concrete and checkable. That makes Core 1 a good exam to build a study routine on. Once the habit is in place, Core 2's more judgment-based questions about procedures and security policy are easier to approach.

Our CompTIA A+ Core 1 220-1201 Study Guide is built around that first step: one short chapter per Core 1 objective, and cross-references that point ahead to where a topic picks up again on Core 2.

The exception. If you work a help desk and spend your days in Windows, account resets, malware cleanup, and ticket notes, Core 2 is closer to the job you already do. Taking it first can bank one pass quickly while you set aside proper time for the hardware and networking content you see less often. That is a sound plan. The order rule is genuinely open, and passing one exam early is worth something for motivation.

What does not work well is choosing the order by which exam sounds easier. Both exams have to be passed, and both have to be passed from the same version, so the one you put off does not go away.

What is the same-version rule?

CompTIA's wording is short: "Core 1 and Core 2 exams must be taken from the same version, no mixing allowed." Today that means 220-1201 and 220-1202, both V15.

For sequencing, the consequence is simple: your first pass is only useful while its version is live. V15's retirement is estimated for 2028, with no date fixed, so anyone starting now has plenty of room. It is still a reason not to let a Core 1 pass sit for years. The A+ Core 1 requirements post covers the rule in full, including what happens to an unfinished V14 pass.

How should you budget for both vouchers?

One A+ voucher covers one exam, Core 1 or Core 2, not both. At the U.S. list price of US$274 each, the credential costs US$548 in vouchers. CompTIA prices vary by country. With Retake Assurance on both, at US$359 per exam, the total is US$718.

The order you pick shapes the spending too. Each voucher is valid for 12 months from purchase, so if Core 1 comes first there is no reason to start the Core 2 voucher's clock until Core 1 is behind you. And the core further from your experience is the one where a retake option earns its price. What the A+ Core 1 exam costs covers that choice, the bundles and booking.

Further out, A+ lasts three years and can be renewed by earning a higher CompTIA certification. Network+ is one that fully renews it, and whether Network+ is worth it covers that path.

How far apart should you schedule Core 1 and Core 2?

Our suggestion: book the second exam within about two months of the first.

That gap is long enough to study Core 2 properly rather than cramming it alongside Core 1. It is short enough that the testing experience, your study routine, and the shared vocabulary are still fresh. It also keeps both vouchers well inside their 12-month window.

Sitting both exams in the same week is possible, and some people with strong experience do it. For most candidates it doubles the pressure without saving much. Leaving six months or more between them is the more common mistake: momentum fades, the Core 1 material that Core 2 relies on starts to slip, and life finds reasons to postpone.

A simple sequence that works for many people:

Weeks 1 onward: study Core 1 and book it once your practice scores are steady across all five domains.

Exam week: sit Core 1, then start Core 2 study within a few days while the routine is still running.

About six to eight weeks later: sit Core 2.

The A+ Core 1 study plan breaks the first half of that sequence into weeks.

FAQ

Can I take A+ Core 2 before Core 1?

Yes. CompTIA states that you can take the two exams in any order. Both must come from the same version, which today is V15 (220-1201 and 220-1202). We suggest Core 1 first for most people, but Core 2 first is a sensible choice if you already work in Windows support.

Is A+ Core 2 harder than Core 1?

Core 2 has the higher pass mark, 700 against 675, on the same 100 to 900 scale. CompTIA publishes no pass rate for either exam, so there is no data on which more people fail. In practice the harder exam is the one further from your own experience.

Do Core 1 and Core 2 overlap?

Very little. They share vocabulary rather than objectives: Core 2's security material assumes the ports and network basics from Core 1, and TPM and UEFI appear in Core 1 hardware before returning as Windows 11 requirements in Core 2. Each exam has its own objectives.

How long should I leave between Core 1 and Core 2?

CompTIA sets no gap. We suggest booking Core 2 within about two months of Core 1: long enough to study properly, short enough that your routine and the shared vocabulary are still fresh. The firm limit is that both must be passed on the same version.

Starting with Core 1? The CompTIA A+ Core 1 220-1201 Study Guide gives each of the 27 Core 1 objectives its own short chapter, with worked drills on scenarios such as SOHO network setup and a workstation build, and 133 practice questions with every answer and distractor explained. The companion CompTIA A+ Core 2 220-1202 Study Guide covers the second exam in the same format.

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