CCNA Exam Cost: The $300 Fee, Exam Safeguard Options, Retakes, and Renewal

The exam fee is the one fixed number in a CCNA budget. The rest depends on choices you make before you book: whether to prepay a second attempt, which practice you use, and what you'd do if the first attempt doesn't go your way.

The CCNA exam fee and how you can pay

Cisco's CCNA page and exam page, checked October 27, 2026, list the price as $US300, or Cisco Learning Credits. The v2.0 exam topics page lists the same price, so nothing on Cisco's pages signals a change on February 3, 2027.

You pay by credit card when you register with Pearson VUE, or you redeem a voucher. Outside the U.S., Cisco's exams page points to Pearson VUE for the list of countries, currencies and exam prices, so the amount in your currency can differ from a straight conversion.

CCNA Exam Safeguard and Safeguard Plus

Cisco sells two prepaid options that build in a second attempt. Both appear on Cisco's Exam Safeguard page for CCNA, CCNA Cybersecurity, CCNA Automation and some Professional core exams.

Read the dates before you buy. Cisco's CCNA FAQ says Safeguard Plus gives a second chance "if you do not pass the first attempt within 90 days." Cisco's March 2026 blog post describes Exam Safeguard's free retake as "within 90 days," and both product pages list 90-day access. The pages checked don't say how a second attempt works if it falls after February 2, 2027, when v1.1 ends, so ask Cisco if your first attempt would be in late January.

What the CCNA costs over one, two or three attempts

Exam spend only, before tax. Associate Exam Safeguard isn't in the table because Cisco U. shows its current dollar price only after sign-in. At the $375 example from Cisco's blog, it would cost $75 more than one attempt and $225 less than two, without the practice exam.

The arithmetic is simple: Safeguard Plus costs $150 more than a single attempt and $150 less than two separate attempts. Whether that's worth it depends on how confident you are going in and whether you'd want Cisco's practice exam anyway. Confidence is easier to judge from a domain-by-domain record, which is what practice by domain across all five CCNA domains, planned for launch, is built to give you. Cisco's recertification FAQ confirms the baseline: you can retake the exam "for the same cost," unless you purchased CCNA Exam Safeguard. The CCNA retake guide covers the waiting period.

Other CCNA costs: training, labs and practice

Cisco lists no prerequisites, so no course is required. What you spend beyond the exam is your choice:

• Official training. Cisco offers Cisco U. learning paths, instructor-led classes through Learning Partners, and Cisco Press books. Prices vary and aren't on the exam pages.
• Free starting points. Cisco's exams FAQ points to free introductory courses through Cisco Networking Academy at Skillsforall.com, which it describes as preparation for entry-level networking certifications.
• Labs. Cisco's CCNA FAQ points to Cisco Packet Tracer and Cisco Modeling Labs. The exam page says you can get started with Modeling Labs for free.
• Student codes. If your Networking Academy gives you a voucher or promotion code, Pearson VUE's Cisco page says your Networking Academy ID must be in your profile or the code won't work. Passy didn't find a public student price on the Cisco pages checked.

Practice question banks are the other common cost. You can compare the planned 30-, 90- and 180-day access options for CCNA prep, priced at $19.99, $34.99 and $49.99 as one-time payments with no auto-renewal. Checkout isn't open yet, and the 20 free CCNA practice questions work now.

Buying CCNA vouchers safely

Cisco's policies are strict about where vouchers come from:

• Neither Cisco nor Pearson VUE guarantees vouchers or promotion codes obtained from anyone other than Pearson VUE.
• Using a fraudulent or unauthorized voucher, including trying to reuse a legitimate one, can bring penalties up to a lifetime ban on future exams and the nullification of earlier certifications.
• Cisco will not compensate candidates for fraudulent vouchers.

A cheap code from a reseller can cost far more than $300 if it turns out to be invalid.

What CCNA renewal costs every three years

The CCNA is valid for three years. Cisco's recertification policy and CCNA FAQ give two routes:

Cisco does not grant extensions. If the certification expires, you meet the full requirements again, which for the CCNA means paying for and passing the exam.

Planning your CCNA budget

Decide on Safeguard before you book: the Cisco U. Associate Exam Safeguard page has you enter the voucher code at checkout when you schedule the exam. Set aside tax for your location, and build your study around the version your date requires: the CCNA v1.1 vs v2.0 guide explains the dates. If you want a large bank of original practice, full CCNA prep is planned with 800 questions and 480 flashcards. The steps to get CCNA certified walk through booking.