Let’s face it, CompTIA A+ exam certifications aren’t cheap. One exam costs $219. Since you need to pass both the Core 1 and Core 2 exams to get your certification, that comes out to a total of $438. And then what if you don’t pass the exams on your first try? That means more money down the drain.
So below are some tips to help you get discounts so that you don’t have to pay the full price if you don’t need to.
Tip 1: Student Discounts
If you’re currently enrolled in school, you’re eligible to purchase an exam voucher through the CompTIA academic store: https://academic-store.comptia.org. The Academic store has discounted prices on exam vouchers. Currently, the exam voucher for the A+ exam is $100 on the Academic store versus the $219 price on the standard CompTIA website.
In order to purchase the exam voucher from the Academic store you don’t need to have a .edu email, but you must be able to validate your enrollment in a school.
Tip 2: CompTIA A+ Preparation Classes with Included Exam Vouchers
If you’re not currently a student, consider becoming one. Not just to get the above student discount, but if you take certain exam preparation classes, they will also include a free exam voucher. Check your local community colleges to see if they offer CompTIA A+ prep courses with included exam vouchers. If you were planning to take a certification prep course anyway, you might as well take advantage of the exam voucher, if offered.
For example, Global Knowledge provides a CompTIA A+ Certification Prep Course at: https://www.globalknowledge.com/us-en/course/177256/comptia-aplus-certification-prep-course/ which includes an exam voucher.
Paying to take an in person or online course also gives you extra incentive to put in the time and effort to actually studying for the test to ensure the best results.
Tip 3: Discounts with Study Books
As a cheaper alternative to purchasing a full blown preparation class, you might opt to buy a preparation book that includes discounted exam vouchers. For example, the CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide: Exam Core 1 220-1001 and Exam Core 2 220-1002 4th Edition (affiliate link) book comes with an offer for a 10% discount on an exam voucher. (Check out our recommendation for the best CompTIA A+ Study books.)
Tip 4: Use the Library
The above tips focused on getting discounts on the exam vouchers. But now let’s take a step back, and focus on how to save money on actually studying. If you want to save money on purchasing study materials, consider using your local library to check out books. Nowadays, you can use the Libby app linked to your library card to borrow ebooks. You can then read the books from your Kindle or other e-reader without having to make an actual trip to the library or having to deal with germs from other people handling a physical book.
Tip 5: Free Resources
It’s totally possible to get your CompTIA A+ certification without spending any money besides the actual cost of the exam. The Internet is your best friend for free resources. You can download the exam objectives and do your own independent research on each of the topics listed in the objectives. This method may be the most time consuming, but it is the cheapest. Some great free resources that follow along the objectives include this website (of course) but also check out Professor Messer’s free Youtube training