Best CCNA Study Resources in 2026: Courses, Books, Labs and Practice Exams
To pass the CCNA 200-301 in 2026 you need four kinds of resource, and the strongest pick for each is well established. Learn with Jeremy's IT Lab, a complete free video course. Read Wendell Odom's Official Cert Guide from Cisco Press. Lab in Cisco Packet Tracer, free with a Networking Academy account. Test on full-length timed papers: FigigExams gives a complete 103-question exam free, with interactive troubleshooting labs in the $39 lifetime pack, and Boson ExSim-Max ($99 a year) has the hardest questions. Plan around the version change: CCNA v2.0 replaces v1.1 on 3 February 2027.Compiled 6 October 2026 by FigigExams. Prices and counts are dated in the comparison table; exam dates from Cisco's published v2.0 exam topics.
Start with the free full-length paper
A complete CCNA 200-301 practice exam: 103 questions, every question type, an Exam Tip on every item and an Exam Coach report at the end. One troubleshooting scenario is included with the same code.
CCNA-EXAM-FULL
Try a free CCNA exam
Already have an account? Log in to redeem
In this guide
The four jobs a CCNA 200-301 study stack has to do
Every resource below does one of four jobs. Candidates who stall have usually doubled up on one job, often two video courses, and skipped another, most often full-length timed practice.
A course that covers every topic in order
- Jeremy's IT Lab, free, the default starting point
- Cisco Networking Academy, the official route, usually through a school
- Paid video: Udemy instructors, CBT Nuggets
A book for depth and gaps
- Wendell Odom, CCNA 200-301 Official Cert Guide (Cisco Press, two volumes)
- Todd Lammle, CCNA Certification Study Guide (Sybex), a friendlier read
- Every book compared: best CCNA books
Hands on the command line
- Cisco Packet Tracer, free with a Networking Academy account
- Cisco Modeling Labs Free, real IOS images, up to 5 nodes
- Boson NetSim, 85 guided labs; FigigExams Troubleshooting Practice, 9 broken networks to fix. Hardware or virtual? CCNA home lab
Full-length timed papers
- FigigExams, a complete 103-question exam free, 5 exams in the pack
- Boson ExSim-Max, the hardest questions available
- Cisco U. practice exams, official items, subscription
Every CCNA resource worth knowing, side by side
Prices carry the date they were checked. Products that renew automatically are marked, because a licence that renews mid-preparation is a cost most lists leave out.
| Resource | Job | Price | Free option | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy's IT Lab | Learn | Free | All of it | Learning every topic from zero, with labs and flashcards |
| Cisco Networking Academy | Learn | Varies by course | Intro courses | Official, structured courses built around Packet Tracer |
| Odom, Official Cert Guide | Read | Paid book, two volumes | No | Depth, plus the Pearson Test Prep questions bundled with it |
| Lammle, CCNA Study Guide | Read | Paid book | No | A more conversational alternative to the OCG |
| Cisco Packet Tracer | Lab | Free | Yes | Switching and routing labs at CCNA scale |
| Cisco Modeling Labs Free | Lab | Free, up to 5 nodes | Yes | Real IOS behaviour in small topologies |
| Boson NetSim for CCNA | Lab | $179 a year or $59 for 3 months, auto-renews | No | 85 guided configuration labs |
| FigigExams CCNA | Test + Lab | $39 once, lifetime | Full exam + 1 scenario | 5 exams, 510 questions, Exam Coach, 9 troubleshooting scenarios |
| Boson ExSim-Max for CCNA | Test | $99 a year, auto-renews | No | The hardest, most exam-like questions: 5 exams, 370 questions |
| Cisco U. practice exams | Test | Subscription | Limited | Official-source items |
Boson ExSim-Max checked 4 September 2026; Boson NetSim and Cisco Modeling Labs checked 3 October 2026; FigigExams counts read from the live question banks 6 October 2026. If anything here is out of date, email [email protected] and we will correct it and re-date the page.
The CCNA stack that costs nothing
You can prepare for the whole exam without paying anything:
- Jeremy's IT Lab for the course: the full 200-301 video series with free flashcards, quizzes and Packet Tracer labs.
- Cisco's exam topics PDF as the checklist. Every question maps to a line in it.
- Packet Tracer and Cisco Modeling Labs Free for hands-on practice.
- A full-length FigigExams paper (103 questions, 120 minutes, every question type) plus one troubleshooting scenario, both free with code
CCNA-EXAM-FULL. - The free CCNA study guide, readable online with no email wall, for revision.
What free does not give you is more unseen full-length papers once you have used the free one, and a large lab library. That is where the paid options below come in.
Where spending money actually helps
- More unseen papers. FigigExams is $39 once for 5 exams and 510 questions, with an Exam Coach report after every attempt and future exam versions included. Boson ExSim-Max is $99 a year for 5 exams and 370 questions; its hardest items are harder than ours, and the licence renews automatically.
- A book, if the videos leave gaps. The Official Cert Guide is the deepest single reference. Use it on the topics a course covers thinly rather than reading both volumes cover to cover.
- Guided labs, if you learn by doing. Boson NetSim has 85 guided configuration labs for $179 a year. The FigigExams pack includes 9 Troubleshooting Practice networks with 28 faults to find from the command line: fewer labs, built for the fault-finding the exam tests. See the lab simulator comparison.
Where CCNA candidates actually lose marks
Measured across 4,188 domain-tagged answers from 17 candidates on full-length FigigExams CCNA papers between 22 and 31 August 2026. Weighted shortfall is the domain's exam weight multiplied by the share of its questions answered wrong: the marks that domain costs on the real exam.
| Domain | Exam weight | Answers | Accuracy | Weighted shortfall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IP Connectivity | 25% | 987 | 60.0% | 10.0 pts |
| Network Access | 20% | 616 | 56.0% | 8.8 pts |
| Network Fundamentals | 20% | 926 | 56.3% | 8.8 pts |
| Security Fundamentals | 15% | 699 | 55.4% | 6.7 pts |
| Automation and Programmability | 10% | 473 | 58.6% | 4.1 pts |
| IP Services | 10% | 487 | 58.7% | 4.1 pts |
Security Fundamentals has the lowest accuracy, but IP Connectivity costs the most marks. Whatever course you choose, give routing the most lab time. Pace matters too: across 192 practice attempts measured 4 March to 31 August 2026, candidates who spent 45 to 60 seconds per question had a median score of 80.0%. Full method and limits: Which exam domains do candidates actually lose marks on?
A study order that works
- Work through one course in order, labbing each topic in Packet Tracer the day you watch it.
- Halfway through, sit a full-length paper as a diagnostic. It shows which domains are costing marks while there is still time to change course.
- Use the book on the weak domains, not on everything.
- Re-sit unseen full-length papers and fix the domain with the highest weighted shortfall first.
- Book the exam when you clear the pass mark on unseen papers with margin and no domain far behind. The readiness rubric and the 30-day plan cover the final month.
v1.1 now, v2.0 from 3 February 2027
The last day to sit CCNA v1.1 is 2 February 2027; v2.0 becomes available on 3 February 2027. The exam number stays 200-301, six domains become five, and troubleshooting returns across roughly a quarter of the exam topics. If you sit before the switch, study v1.1 with any resource above. If you sit after, check that each resource states which version it covers. A FigigExams pack includes future versions at no extra cost. Full breakdown: what changes in CCNA v2.0.
Test your stack on a full-length paper
103 questions, 120 minutes, an Exam Tip on every question and an Exam Coach report that ranks what to revise. Free, no credit card.
Try a free CCNA examThe full CCNA pack is $39 once: 5 exams, 510 questions and 9 troubleshooting scenarios, lifetime, future versions included.
Frequently asked questions about CCNA study resources
What resources do I need to pass the CCNA?
Four kinds: a course (Jeremy's IT Lab is free and complete), a book for depth (Wendell Odom's Official Cert Guide), a lab tool (Cisco Packet Tracer, free) and full-length timed practice exams (FigigExams gives a complete 103-question CCNA exam free; Boson ExSim-Max is the hardest paid option). Most candidates who stall have two of one kind and none of another.
Is Jeremy's IT Lab enough to pass the CCNA?
For learning the material, yes: it covers every exam topic with labs and flashcards, and many candidates pass on it. Its quizzes check one topic at a time, so add full-length timed practice exams to prove you can hold up across a 120-minute paper drawn from all six domains.
Do I need the CCNA Official Cert Guide?
Not strictly. It is the deepest single reference and bundles Pearson Test Prep questions. Use it on the topics your course covers thinly; reading both volumes cover to cover is the slowest route to the exam.
What is the best free CCNA practice exam?
A full-length, timed paper rather than a short quiz. FigigExams gives a complete 103-question CCNA 200-301 exam free with no credit card, with an explanation and an Exam Tip on every question and an Exam Coach report that ranks what to revise next.
How long does it take to prepare for the CCNA?
Commonly three to six months of part-time study, depending on how much networking you already do at work. The reliable signal is not time spent but passing unseen full-length papers with margin.
Should I wait for CCNA v2.0?
Only if you cannot sit before 2 February 2027, the last day of v1.1. v2.0 becomes available on 3 February 2027 with troubleshooting back across roughly a quarter of the exam topics. Resources for v1.1 are mature now; v2.0 material will take time to appear.