Am I Ready for the CCNA? Take a Free 105-Question Readiness Test
Stop guessing whether you're ready. Get a concept-level answer in 90 minutes.
A full 105-question CCNA 200-301 practice exam, six question types, mixed across all six domains. At the end you get a readiness map - not just a score, but a domain-by-domain, concept-by-concept breakdown of what's strong, what's shaky, and what to study next. No credit card.
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In this guide
Why "am I ready?" is harder to answer than it looks
If you've searched for this page, you already feel the problem. You've studied. You've watched the videos. You've maybe taken a chapter quiz or two. And yet, somewhere between "I think I know this stuff" and "I'm walking into a $300 exam," there's a gap of confidence nobody is filling.
Most candidates resolve it by guessing. They look at their study log, eyeball their familiarity with the topics, take one practice test, see a 72% and either book the exam (often too soon) or postpone (often unnecessarily). Both decisions cost money and time.
The honest answer is that readiness is a measurement problem, not a vibe. There is a specific, repeatable way to find out, and once you've done it, you stop having to ask. This page is that way.
Score vs. readiness: not the same thing
The mistake almost everyone makes is treating their practice-exam score as a readiness number. It isn't. Two candidates can both score 78% and have completely different readiness:
- Candidate A misses 22 random questions sprinkled across all six domains. Their misses don't cluster. Their next attempt could land anywhere from 72% to 84% depending on which questions appear. Their variance is high. They're not actually ready, even though the score looks borderline.
- Candidate B misses the same 22 questions, but they're concentrated in three concept clusters: OSPF LSA types, STP port roles, and EtherChannel. Eight focused study hours later, those three clusters are green and they're a stable 88%. Their score looked the same as Candidate A but their readiness was much closer.
This is why a domain-level score (the kind most practice exams give you) misleads you. "You scored 52% on IP Connectivity" doesn't tell you whether you're 4 hours or 40 hours from passing. Concept-level diagnosis does.
The 4 readiness signals you should actually track
"Am I ready" decomposes into four measurable signals. Track them honestly and the answer becomes obvious. Track them lazily and you'll be surprised at the test center.
Consistent score above the threshold
Not one good practice exam - two consecutive in the 82%+ range, on different exam versions, taken at least 3 days apart. One spike means little. A pattern means you're ready.
Even distribution across domains
No single domain below 70%. Pass scores can hide a domain at 45% if other domains compensate, but Cisco's adaptive scoring will catch it.
Concept-level coverage
You can correctly distinguish concepts that look similar: OSPF LSA types, STP port roles vs. states, ACL implicit deny placement, native VLAN behavior. These are where the test gets you.
Time on exam format
You can finish 105 questions in 120 minutes including refer-to-exhibit, drag-and-drop, and multi-select items. Test pacing under format pressure, not just on flashcards.
If all four are green, you are ready. If two or more are amber or red, you have a real, measurable distance left to cover - and the readiness test below tells you exactly where to spend it.
The honest score thresholds
Practice exams are typically a little easier than the real CCNA, so giving yourself a 5-7 point margin above the real cut score is sensible. Here's the rubric I use when mentoring candidates:
| Practice exam score | Verdict | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 85%+ | Ready | Book the exam. Light review only between now and exam day. Don't add new material. |
| 78-84% | Almost ready | 1-2 weeks of targeted concept drilling. Use the readiness map to spend that time on the right things. |
| 65-77% | Close but not yet | 3-4 weeks of structured prep. The 30-day v1.1 plan is sized for this scenario. |
| Below 65% | Not yet | Don't book the exam. Finish foundational study. Re-test in 6-8 weeks. |
These are calibrated against the 105-question FigigExams readiness test specifically. Different tools use different difficulty calibrations, so applying these thresholds to another practice product won't be reliable.
What your readiness map looks like
Here's a static preview of the report a candidate receives after the 105-question readiness test. This is the candidate from the "78-84% almost ready" row above - close to the line, with three specific concepts to close out.
Solid across the board. No action needed.
One concept cluster explains most misses: LSA types. Drill with the OSPF configuration guide, ~3 focused hours.
ACL concept gaps. Re-read implicit deny and standard vs extended placement rules. ~2 hours.
QoS marking points (DSCP vs CoS) are the only miss cluster. 90 minutes of focused reading clears it.
Notice the report doesn't just say "study more" - it names three specific things, links them to focused guides, and estimates how long each takes. That's the difference between a score and a readiness answer.
What to do based on your result
The verdict from your readiness test maps cleanly to one of three plans. Pick the one that matches your score, follow it, and don't second-guess.
What a real CCNA candidate said
"the free test is way better than boson imo and its free and 105 questions and it shows you the result and what you had wrong in the end, you can use a mock email to create the account idk why you guys hate so much, I have my ccna on tuesday and got 96% on this practice test which really boosted my confidence"
This is the readiness test doing its actual job - delivering a measurable answer to "am I ready?" in 90 minutes, free, with enough detail to act on. The candidate walked in confident not because the score was high, but because the breakdown of what they got wrong matched their own self-assessment. That's calibration.
Take the free readiness test now
105 questions across all six CCNA 200-301 domains. Concept-level map at the end. 90 minutes. No credit card.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What score on a practice test means I'm ready for the CCNA?
On a well-calibrated practice exam, a consistent 82%+ across at least two attempts is the conservative readiness threshold. The Cisco CCNA cut score is around 825/1000, and practice exams are typically a touch easier than the real one - so giving yourself a 5-7 point margin is the prudent move. But the score is only part of readiness - see the four signals above.
Why isn't a score enough to measure readiness?
Two candidates can both score 78% and have completely different readiness. One misses random questions across all domains - their next attempt's variance is huge. The other has three concentrated weak concepts - they're a focused 8 hours from 88%. Same score, different distance from passing. The Exam Coach measures the second thing: concept-level distribution, not just total points.
How long does the free readiness test take?
About 90 minutes for the 105-question exam under timed conditions, plus 10-15 minutes to read the Exam Coach report at the end. You can pause the exam if needed, but the most accurate readiness signal comes from doing it in one timed sitting.
Is the readiness test actually free? What's the catch?
Yes. Use the code CCNA-EXAM-FULL at checkout. No credit card. The "catch" is that you create a free account so your result, concept map, and study plan are saved between sessions and the Exam Coach can personalize follow-up. That's the same account you'd use later if you bought a paid practice exam ($18), which is what funds the free tier.
What if I'm not ready - what should I do next?
The Exam Coach builds a personalized study plan ranked by score impact, with direct links to the specific concept guides you need. You don't have to figure out what to study next - the report tells you in priority order. If you have a date booked already, the next prep page is either the 7-day final-week plan or the 30-day v1.1 plan, depending on how much time you have.
Should I take the readiness test more than once?
Yes - that's exactly what the readiness signal is for. Take it once to diagnose, drill the weak concepts for 1-2 weeks, then re-take a different version to confirm your concept map turned green. Two consecutive 82%+ attempts on different versions is the conservative ready signal.