Which Security+ to book: SY0-701 or SY0-801

If you are choosing a CompTIA Security+ voucher right now, the useful question is not "which version sounds newer." It is which exam you will actually sit — and what practice can honestly claim today.

SY0-701 is the live exam. SY0-801 launches on 17 November 2026. Both use up to 90 questions, 90 minutes, and a 750 pass mark on a 100–900 scale. The domain names stay in the same family; the weights change. Full SY0-801 objectives are not published yet.

Product context: Why we're building CompTIA Security+. Timed practice shape: Security+ SY0-701 timed practice.

The short answer#

Other-language retirement for SY0-701 is 13 August 2027. Always confirm dates on CompTIA's site before you pay; they own the calendar.

A learner booking today should book SY0-701 unless they deliberately plan a sit after V8 is live and they have a V8 study path.

What stays the same#

• Maximum of 90 questions
• 90 minutes
• Multiple-choice and performance-based mix
• Scale 100–900, pass 750
• Credential validity 3 years (as CompTIA publishes for Security+)

CompTIA still does not publish how many items you must get right to hit 750, or how PBQs are weighted versus MCQs. Anyone who claims those numbers is inventing them.

What changes (published domain weights)#

Operations stays the largest slice on both. Program Management drops; Concepts and Threats rise. Practice volume should follow the version you booked — not a generic "security quiz" mix.

What we will not claim about V8#

Until CompTIA publishes full SY0-801 objectives:

• We do not call a bank "V8-aligned" or "SY0-801 practice" as if every objective were mapped.
• Blueprint work that uses published V8 domain weights stays labelled for what it is.
• Questions mapped to SY0-701 objectives get remapped when CompTIA ships the V8 objective set.

Honest labelling beats a marketing date. See the SY0-801 blueprint page and the live Security+ (SY0-701) page.

How to practice for the version you booked#

1. Match the code on the voucher — SY0-701 materials for a SY0-701 sit.
2. Weight your drill to that version's domains — Operations still dominates; do not ignore Concepts or Threats when their weight rises on V8.
3. Include performance-based shapes — skipping simulations is not a strategy.
4. Sit timed — readiness as a range against 750, labelled as Acedify's estimate.
5. Re-check CompTIA before you book if your sit is near a launch or retirement date.

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Related reading#

• Security+ SY0-701 timed practice: what good looks like
• Why we're building CompTIA Security+
• Know your score before test day