Free IT Certification Study Guides + Practice Questions

Cost & Value

Best Value IT Certification Prep (2026)

What practice exams really cost across every vendor: list price, billing term, auto-renewal and price per question, collected 4 September 2026. Plus every FigigExams pack size and its free paper.

Free Ebooks

Free Certification Ebooks (CCNA, CompTIA, AWS)

Six browser-ready study ebooks for CCNA, Security+, AWS CCP & SAA, CompTIA A+. No PDF download, no signup

Study Method

How to Stop Falling Asleep While Studying

The active-recall study system that keeps certification candidates awake, focused, and on track to pass faster

Path

Cisco Certification Path (2026)

CCST, CCNA, CCNP and CCIE, the February 2026 DevNet and CyberOps renames, exam fees and where to start.

Path

CompTIA Certification Path (2026)

Tech+, A+, Network+, Security+, CySA+, PenTest+ and SecurityX, with prices and how renewal stacks.

Compare

CCNA vs Network+

Cisco or vendor-neutral first: format, cost, what each tests and which to take.

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A+ vs Network+

Help desk or networking first: two exams or one, cost and which to take first.

Compare

Security+ vs CySA+

Foundation or analyst: SY0-701/801 and CS0-004 side by side.

Compare

CCNA vs CCNP

One exam or two, $300 or $700, and what changes at the professional level.

Start here

Best CCNA Study Resources (2026)

The full study stack: Jeremy's IT Lab, Odom's Official Cert Guide, Packet Tracer, Boson and a free full-length exam, with prices and a study order.

Books

Best CCNA Books (2026)

Odom's Official Cert Guide, Lammle's Study Guide and 31 Days Before Your CCNA Exam: which to read, and when.

Exam facts

CCNA Exam Cost, Format and Passing Score

$300, 120 minutes, about 100-120 questions, no going back, 5-day retakes, and the v2.0 switch on 3 February 2027.

Difficulty

How Hard Is the CCNA?

Study hours by background, and where candidates lose marks, measured on 4,188 practice answers.

Compare

Best CCNA Practice Exams (2026)

An honest, ranked comparison of Boson ExSim-Max ($99/yr, 370 questions), FigigExams ($39 once, 510 questions), Jeremy's IT Lab, Cisco U. and Pearson Test Prep. Includes the best free options and the cheapest route.

Hands-on

CCNA Troubleshooting Labs

9 live networks, each broken on purpose. Find the fault from an IOS command line, fix it, and the network grades the repair. Mapped to the v1.1 and v2.0 blueprints; one lab free.

Hands-on

CCNA Home Lab: Do You Need Real Gear?

Packet Tracer, CML Free or used Cisco switches and routers: what each teaches, and when hardware is worth it.

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Best CCNA Lab Simulators (2026)

Packet Tracer vs GNS3 vs CML vs Boson NetSim vs EVE-NG, ranked: 2026 prices, what each needs to run, and what it tells you when you get it wrong.

Compare

Boson NetSim Alternative for CCNA

NetSim is $179 a year for 85 guided labs. What it does better, and graded advanced labs plus 5 practice exams for $39 once.

Cheat Sheet

CCNA Troubleshooting Commands

Symptom to show command, with the line of real output that gives the fault away - interfaces, VLANs, trunks, STP, OSPF, NAT and ACLs.

2027 Update

CCNA v2.0: What Changes on 3 February 2027

Six domains become five and troubleshooting returns after five years. The real weights from Cisco's blueprint, side by side with v1.1, and whether to sit v1.1 first

Blueprint

CCNA Exam Topics: Every Domain and Weight

The complete v1.1 and v2.0 blueprints, topic by topic, with the verb Cisco used on each - and what to study first

CCNA

CCNA Practice Exam (Free Full Test)

Full-length 200-301 practice exam, free, with an explanation and Exam Tip on every item and a coach that names your weak domains

Free · No signup

Free CCNA Practice Questions

Five real 200-301 questions answerable right here with no account - subnetting, STP root election, OSPF DR, native VLAN mismatch and DHCP relay, each with a full explanation

CCNA

OSPF Configuration

Areas, neighbor adjacency, DR/BDR election, cost calculation

CCNA

VLANs & Trunking

802.1Q, access vs trunk ports, inter-VLAN routing, DTP

CCNA

Spanning Tree Protocol

STP vs RSTP, root bridge election, PortFast, BPDU Guard

CCNA

Subnetting & VLSM

IPv4 subnetting, CIDR notation, subnet calculations, VLSM design

Study Group

CCNA Study Group: Take a Practice Exam Together

The CCNA platform where you take the same practice exam as a group, then compare weak topics. Stop studying alone.

Pricing

How much does Boson ExSim cost?

The 2026 per-certification breakdown - $99 a year each, what auto-renewal really adds up to over two years, and where Boson is genuinely the better buy.

Compare

Boson Alternative for CCNA

Honest side-by-side: Boson ExSim vs FigigExams, $39 once for every exam, with a personal Exam Coach

Free + Labs

Free Full CCNA Exam + 3 Interactive Labs

Full 100+ question timed practice exam plus browser labs for subnetting, STP, and OSPF cost

v1.1 Plan

30 Days Before Your CCNA v1.1 Exam

Week-by-week last-month plan, anchored on a free readiness test that diagnoses your weakest concepts

Honest Take

Why CCNA Exam Dumps Fail in 2026

The technical, legal, and interview reasons dumps backfire - and a $39 legal alternative

JITL Pair

Finished Jeremy's IT Lab? Take This Practice Exam

JITL teaches theory. This shows you what you still don't know. Free 105-question readiness test that pairs with JITL.

Bombal Pair

Finished David Bombal's CCNA Labs? Test If You're Ready

Labs teach configuration. The exam tests recall under a clock - plus the two domains lab work barely touches, a quarter of the paper.

7 Days Out

CCNA Exam in One Week? The Final 7-Day Plan

Day-by-day last-week practice plan. Diagnose, drill the right concepts, retake, recover 10-15 points.

Readiness Test

Am I Ready for the CCNA?

A score isn't readiness. Take a free 105-question concept-level readiness test - in 90 minutes, know exactly what to study next.

$39 Stack

The CCNA Success Combo: $39 Complete Stack

Study guide + 500+ Boson-tier questions + per-question Exam Tips + Exam Coach. Stop piecing prep together for $200+.

Thor Pair

Finished Thor Pedersen's CISSP Course? Test On Unseen Questions

A bank you have already worked cannot measure you - and the real CAT exam gives you no reading either. One clean signal before you risk $749.

Hub

All CISSP guides, by domain

Every CISSP guide organised against the eight ISC2 domains and their weights - risk math, security models, flashcards, practice exams.

Blueprint

CISSP Domains and Weights

All eight domains with their ISC2 weights, the trap inside each one, and a straight answer on the 2027 refresh question - ISC2 has not announced one.

Free · No signup

Free CISSP Practice Questions

Five manager-perspective items answerable here with no account - the "what do you do FIRST" trap, risk math, data owner vs custodian, Bell-LaPadula and RTO vs MTD.

Practice exam

CISSP Practice Exam

A free full-length exam in the manager-perspective style, with an explanation on every item and a coach that names your weak domains.

Compare

Boson Alternative for CISSP

Honest side-by-side: Boson ExSim-Max for CISSP ($99/yr, 900 questions) vs FigigExams ($39 once for life, 3 exams + personal Exam Coach). Pass all three and you're ready.

Start here

Best CISSP Study Resources (2026)

The Official Study Guide, manager-mindset videos, the Official Practice Tests and full-length practice exams.

Books

Best CISSP Books (2026)

Official Study Guide (10th ed.), Official Practice Tests (4th ed.) and the All-in-One, against the 2024 outline.

Exam facts

CISSP Exam Cost, Format and Requirements

$749, 100-150 adaptive questions in 3 hours, 700/1000 to pass, five years' experience, the $135 annual fee.

Difficulty

How Hard Is the CISSP?

Eight domains, manager-level judgement and CAT: what trips experienced people up, and study hours by background.

Compare

Best CISSP Practice Exams (2026)

An honest, ranked comparison of the real options - Boson, LearnZapp, Pocket Prep, Thor/Destination, QuantumExams and FigigExams. What each is best for, and which to actually buy.

Readiness

Am I Ready for the CISSP?

The honest score thresholds and the four readiness signals that matter, plus a free full-length readiness test with a concept-level map across all eight CBK domains.

CISSP

Security Models Explained

Biba vs Bell-LaPadula vs Clark-Wilson, made simple - the mirror table, mnemonics, and 5 free practice questions.

CISSP

Risk Math: SLE, ALE, ARO

The quantitative risk formulas with worked examples and the safeguard cost-benefit calculation. Free points once they click.

CISSP

Free Interactive CISSP Flashcards

Flip, shuffle, and self-test a sample deck across all domains - then build your own cards from real exam explanations.

Start here

Best Security+ Study Resources (2026)

The full study stack: Professor Messer, the Sybex guide, PBQ practice, Jason Dion, Boson and a free full-length exam, with prices and a study order.

Books

Best Security+ Books (2026)

Sybex, Get Certified Get Ahead, Mike Meyers and the All-in-One for SY0-701: what each includes.

Exam facts

Security+ Exam Cost, Format and Passing Score

$439, up to 90 questions in 90 minutes, 750 to pass, PBQs, retake rules and renewal.

Difficulty

How Hard Is Security+?

Study hours by background, and where candidates lose marks, measured on 1,080 practice answers.

Compare

Best Security+ Practice Exams (2026)

Ranked: Boson ($99/yr, 270 questions), FigigExams ($39 once, 357 questions), Professor Messer's free course and $119 bundle, Jason Dion and CompTIA CertMaster. Prices checked 4 September 2026.

Dion Pair

Done Dion Training Security+? Test On a Fresh Bank

Once you have seen a bank, a rising score mixes learning with recall. An unseen SY0-701 paper is the only clean reading.

2027 Update

Security+ SY0-801 (V8): What Changes

What CompTIA has actually published versus what is only reported, when SY0-701 is likely to retire, and whether to sit it first

Blueprint

Security+ Exam Objectives, Weighted

All five SY0-701 domains and every sub-objective, with what each actually asks - and why Domain 4 deserves a third of your time

Security+

Types of Attacks & Threats

Social engineering, malware, network attacks, application attacks

Security+

Cryptography & PKI

Symmetric vs asymmetric encryption, hashing, digital certificates

Compare

Boson Alternative for Security+

Honest side-by-side: Boson ExSim vs FigigExams, $39 once for every exam, with PBQs and a personal Exam Coach

Compare

CertMaster Alternative for Security+

CompTIA CertMaster Learn is ~$300+. Get a free full SY0-701 practice exam with PBQs and an Exam Coach, then $39 once for the whole pack

PBQ Practice

Security+ PBQ Practice & Strategy

The performance-based questions candidates fear - formats, a 5-step answer strategy, and 5 free PBQ-style questions

Compare

Best Security+ PBQ Simulators (2026)

Dion's PBQ pack vs CertMaster Labs vs TotalSims vs Crucial Exams vs Boson vs FigigExams: format, grading, timing and 2026 prices.

Compare

Dion PBQ Practice Pack Alternative

Dion's $29.99 packs drill PBQs in sets of five. What that misses, and PBQs inside full timed exams instead.

Readiness Test

Am I Ready for the Security+?

A score isn't readiness. Take a free full-length SY0-701 readiness test and get a concept-level map of what to study next

Study Group

Security+ Study Group: Take a Practice Exam Together

Take the same SY0-701 practice exam as a group, then compare weak topics. Stop studying alone.

30-Day Plan

30 Days Before Your Security+ Exam

Week-by-week last-month plan, anchored on a free readiness test that diagnoses your weakest concepts

7 Days Out

Security+ Exam in One Week? The Final 7-Day Plan

Day-by-day last-week plan. Diagnose, drill the right concepts, retake, recover 10-15 points.

Free Questions

Free Security+ Practice Questions

100+ free SY0-701 questions with explanations - try 5 now, no signup, plus a free full practice exam

Flashcards

Free Interactive Security+ Flashcards

Flip, shuffle, and self-test ports, attacks, and crypto - then build your own cards from real exam explanations

Start here

Best CCNP ENCOR Study Resources (2026)

Course, Official Cert Guide, CML or EVE-NG labs and practice exams for v1.2, with prices and a study order.

Books

Best CCNP ENCOR Books (2026)

The Cisco Press Official Cert Guide (2nd ed.) and what it misses for v1.2.

Exam facts

ENCOR Exam Cost, Format and What It Counts Toward

$400, 120 minutes, about 100 questions, v1.2 domains, and how ENCOR leads to CCNP Enterprise and the CCIE lab.

Difficulty

How Hard Is CCNP ENCOR?

What changes beyond the CCNA, study hours by background, and provisional data on where marks are lost.

Labs

Best CCNP ENCOR Lab Simulators (2026)

Cisco Modeling Labs vs EVE-NG vs GNS3 vs Boson NetSim, ranked for ENCOR.

Compare

Best CCNP ENCOR Practice Exams (2026)

The short list at professional level: Boson ($99/yr, 354 questions), FigigExams ($39 once, 305 questions), Cisco U. and Pearson. Why there is no large free ENCOR question bank.

Hands-on

CCNP ENCOR Labs

BGP, multi-area OSPF and HSRP, broken on purpose - topics 3.2.b, 3.2.c and 3.3.c as live networks you fix from the console. One lab free.

ENCOR

Why Is the Wrong HSRP Router Active?

Priority, preempt and interface tracking read from real show standby brief output, plus HSRP vs VRRP. 5 free questions.

Bombal Pair

Stepping Up to CCNP ENCOR After Bombal?

ENCOR v1.2 removed wireless in March 2026 - pre-2026 course material teaches a section that is no longer on the exam.

Hub

All CCNP ENCOR guides, by domain

Every ENCOR guide mapped to the v1.2 blueprint and its domain weights - wireless removed, so nothing here is wasted study.

Blueprint

ENCOR Exam Topics: Every Domain and Weight

The full v1.2 blueprint topic by topic, tagged with the verb Cisco used - plus why Security at 20% across only four topics is the most under-studied domain on the exam.

Domain 6.0 · Automation

NETCONF vs RESTCONF vs gNMI

Three ways to program the same YANG model - transports, ports, encodings, and which one can actually lock a datastore.

Compare

Boson Alternative for CCNP ENCOR

Honest side-by-side: Boson ExSim vs FigigExams, $39 once for every exam, with a personal Exam Coach

CCNP

CCNP ENCOR Practice Exam

Full-length 350-401 practice exam, free, with a concept-level Exam Coach

Readiness Test

Am I Ready for CCNP ENCOR?

A score isn't readiness. Take a free 350-401 readiness test and get a concept-level map across all six domains

2026 Update

ENCOR v1.2: What Changed (Wireless Removed)

As of March 2026, wireless is out of ENCOR (now CCNP Wireless / WLCOR). What to stop studying and what to prioritize now.

ENCOR

LISP vs VXLAN in SD-Access

Control plane vs data plane, cleared up - EID/RLOC, VNI/SGT, and the BGP EVPN distinction. 5 free questions.

ENCOR

SD-WAN vs SD-Access

Two fabrics, two problems - controllers, planes, and the vManage/vSmart/vBond components. 5 free questions.

Honest Take

Why CCNP ENCOR Exam Dumps Fail

The technical, policy, and interview reasons dumps backfire - and a $39 legal alternative

Study Group

CCNP ENCOR Study Group: Take a Practice Exam Together

Take the same 350-401 practice exam as a group, then compare weak topics. Stop studying alone.

30-Day Plan

30 Days Before Your CCNP ENCOR Exam

Week-by-week plan for working engineers - target the domains your day job skipped, anchored on a free readiness test

7 Days Out

CCNP ENCOR in One Week? The Final 7-Day Plan

Day-by-day last-week plan. Diagnose, drill the day-job-gap domains, retake, recover 10-15 points.

Free Questions

Free CCNP ENCOR Practice Questions

Free 350-401 questions with explanations - try 5 now across the ENCOR domains, plus a free full practice exam

Hub

All CCNP Security guides, by domain

The six SCOR v1.1 domains with Cisco's own weights, so you can see what each topic is actually worth before you study it.

Domain 6.0 · 15%

802.1X & Cisco ISE

Supplicant, authenticator, authentication server; EAP method choice; ISE personas and policy sets; MAB, WebAuth and CoA. 5 free questions.

AWS SAA

S3 Storage Classes

Storage tiers, lifecycle policies, S3 vs EBS vs EFS, encryption

Start here

Best A+ Study Resources (2026)

Professor Messer, Sybex, PBQ practice and a free full-length exam per core, with prices and a study order.

Books

Best A+ Books (2026)

The Sybex 6th edition, the Certification Kit, the All-in-One 12th edition, and the edition trap to avoid.

Exam facts

A+ Exam Cost, Format and Passing Scores

$274 per core, up to 90 questions in 90 minutes, 675 and 700 to pass, retakes and renewal.

Compare

Best CompTIA A+ Practice Exams (2026)

Both cores ranked separately: Professor Messer (best free), FigigExams ($39 once per core), Mike Meyers, Jason Dion and CertMaster. Core 1 passes at 675/900, Core 2 at 700/900.

Meyers Pair

Worked Mike Meyers' A+ All-in-One? Test If It Stuck

Comprehensive coverage builds recognition, not recall under a clock - and it hides the usual signal that you are not ready.

Dion Pair

Done Dion Training A+? Test Both Cores On Fresh Questions

A+ is two exams, which doubles the cost of re-using a bank you have already seen.

Core 1 · 220-1201

Free A+ Core 1 Practice Test

Mobile, networking, hardware, cloud, and troubleshooting - 5 free questions + a full free exam

Core 2 · 220-1202

Free A+ Core 2 Practice Test

Operating systems, security, software troubleshooting, and procedures

PBQ Practice

A+ Performance-Based Questions

The PBQ formats, a strategy to answer them, and 5 free PBQ-style questions

Compare

Best A+ PBQ Simulators (2026)

Core 1 and Core 2: Dion's PBQ packs, TotalSims, CertMaster Labs, Crucial Exams, Boson and FigigExams, compared on format, grading and price.

Readiness Test

Am I Ready for the A+?

The readiness rubric plus a free full test for each core with a concept-level map

Compare

CertMaster Alternative for A+

Honest side-by-side: $39 once vs CertMaster's ~$300+ for both cores

A+

Hardware Troubleshooting

Motherboard components, RAM, storage, PSU, troubleshooting methodology

Blueprint · Core 1

Core 1 Exam Objectives

All five domains weighted, all 27 sub-objectives, and where the marks actually are

Blueprint · Core 2

Core 2 Exam Objectives

All four domains weighted, all 36 sub-objectives, plus the new AI objective

Both cores

A+ Practice Exam

Full-length papers for both cores, scored against the real 675 and 700 pass marks

Reference

Command Line Cheat Sheet

Every Windows and Linux command in objectives 1.5 and 1.9, plus a free quiz

Flashcards

A+ Flashcards

Interactive cards for the recall half of both cores - RAID, ports, laser process

Study Plan

30-Day A+ Plan

One core in a month, week by week, sequenced by the official domain weights

Read First

A+ Exam Dumps

Why they fail harder on A+ than any other CompTIA exam, and what to use instead

Report v1

Where Candidates Actually Lose Marks

Across 6,690 domain-tagged answers from 32 candidates: in CCNA, Security+ and CCNP ENCOR alike, the domain you score worst on is never the one costing you the most marks.

Report v2

What Is a Normal Practice Exam Score?

50.6% counting every attempt, 68.9% counting only attempts actually worked. A third of "completed" papers were opened and submitted, never sat.

Reference

I Failed. When Can I Retake It?

Every vendor's waiting period in one table. CompTIA: same day. Cisco: 5 days. AWS: 14. ISC2: 30 days and 4 attempts a year.

The Lab

All Reports and Definitions

Weighted shortfall, domain accuracy, costliest domain - and the four rules the Lab holds itself to when publishing a number.

Method

What a Study Path Is

The arithmetic behind blueprint-weighted readiness, worked through on a real CCNA paper

CCNA

The CCNA Study Path

Cisco's six domain weights applied to your own answers, and why IP Connectivity dominates

Security+

The Security+ Study Path

CompTIA's five domain weights applied, and why Security Operations takes the top slot

Method

Comparing Your Attempts

Why a higher second score usually is not progress, and the rules that tell the difference

AWS CLF

AWS Services Overview

EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda, VPC, IAM, and core AWS services

Start here

Best Network+ Study Resources (2026)

Professor Messer, the Sybex guide, Packet Tracer labs and a free full-length N10-009 exam.

Books

Best Network+ Books (2026)

The Sybex 6th edition, Mike Meyers' All-in-One 9th edition and Sequeira's Cert Guide, compared.

Exam facts

Network+ Exam Cost, Format and Passing Score

$399, up to 90 questions in 90 minutes, 720 to pass, the five domains and when N10-009 retires.

Meyers Pair

Worked Mike Meyers' Network+ Guide? Test If It Stuck

Subnetting is a speed problem, not a knowledge problem. Correct but slow is a finding, not a pass.

Dion Pair

Done Dion Training Network+? Test On a Fresh Bank

Your Network+ depth decides how hard Security+ feels later - its Architecture domain assumes networking fluency.

Network+

OSI Model

All 7 layers, protocols, encapsulation, OSI vs TCP/IP, troubleshooting

Hot

Best IT Certifications 2026

Which certs are worth getting? Ranked by ROI, salary, and demand

Critical

AI-Powered Cyber Threats

Deepfakes, AI phishing, automated exploitation - the 2026 threat landscape

Trending

AI & IT Careers

How AI is reshaping IT jobs, new roles, and skills to learn now

Essential

Zero Trust Architecture

Never trust, always verify - microsegmentation, ZTNA, implementation

AWS + Security

Cloud Security Fundamentals

Shared responsibility, IAM, encryption, securing cloud workloads

New

Best AI Tools for Networking

Cisco AI, Juniper Marvis, Claude, ChatGPT - compared for network engineers

New

Claude for Network Automation

Hands-on tutorial: lab to production with AI-powered automation

New

Claude Code Network Lab - Deep Dive

Full lab: Claude Code configures routers, switches, Palo Alto in GNS3/EVE-NG