CompTIA A+ guideStart here
How Hard Is CompTIA A+? Core 1 and Core 2 Difficulty
A+ gets hard in specific places: breadth on Core 1, command-line and security depth on Core 2. Find out which one is your problem with a ten-item self-check.
Short answer
How hard A+ feels depends mostly on how close you are to the job it was written for: CompTIA recommends 12 months of hands-on work in an IT support role, and it does not publish pass rates. Core 1 (220-1201) is hard because of breadth: connectors, memory, storage, networking, and symptom-based troubleshooting. Core 2 (220-1202) is hard because of depth: Windows tools and commands, Linux and macOS, permissions, and security procedures. Each exam has up to 90 questions in 90 minutes and its own scaled passing score, 675 and 700 on a 100–900 scale.
The gap between you and the job role is the real difficulty
CompTIA writes A+ for someone with about a year of help desk or desktop support work. Both V15 exam pages list "12 months of hands-on experience in an IT support specialist job role" as recommended experience. It is not a booking requirement, but it tells you who the questions assume you are. If you have reset passwords, swapped RAM, and mapped network drives for real users, most stems will describe situations you recognize. If you have not, the same stems read like a foreign language until you build that experience in a lab.
There is no official difficulty number to lean on. CompTIA's testing policies say it "does not publish exam passing rates," because questions and passing rates change without notice. Any pass rate you see quoted for A+ did not come from CompTIA.
Core 1 is wide
Core 1 (220-1201) asks you to recognize a lot of things on sight and connect a symptom to a part. The difficulty is volume, not depth.
| Domain (weight) | Why it feels hard |
|---|---|
| Hardware (25%) | The cable and connector objective alone names 13 connector types, plus copper, fiber, video, peripheral, and drive cables. Add RAM, storage with RAID, motherboards, firmware settings, power supplies, and printers |
| Networking (23%) | A fixed list of 14 port entries, wireless bands and channels, DNS record types, DHCP terms, and SOHO configuration |
| Hardware and Network Troubleshooting (28%) | Long symptom lists for power, drives and RAID, displays, mobile devices, networks, and printers. You must pick the likely cause or next check, not recite a definition |
| Mobile Devices (13%) | Replacement parts, connection methods, MDM, and sync. Easy to underestimate because it is small |
| Virtualization and Cloud Computing (11%) | Fewer terms, but cloud models and hypervisor types are easy to mix up |
The troubleshooting domain is the largest, yet the six-step troubleshooting methodology is not a formal 220-1201 objective. The objectives say so directly, and the troubleshooting methodology guide explains how to use the steps anyway.
Core 2 is deep
Core 2 (220-1202) has fewer things to recognize and more things to do. Many of its objectives start with "Given a scenario," which means apply a tool or procedure, not define it.
| Domain (weight) | Why it feels hard |
|---|---|
| Operating Systems (28%) | 22 Windows commands plus the /? help switch, 8 MMC snap-ins and 6 other Windows tools, Windows editions, macOS features, and 27 Linux commands with 5 configuration files |
| Security (28%) | Eleven objectives, including NTFS versus share permissions, wireless security, a ten-step malware removal procedure, and SOHO router settings |
| Software Troubleshooting (23%) | Windows, mobile, and security symptoms where two answers look reasonable and only one fits the evidence |
| Operational Procedures (21%) | Change management, backups, safety, licensing, remote access, scripting, and AI basics. Wide, but mostly judgment calls |
The counts come from the 220-1202 objectives. CompTIA also notes that the bulleted examples are not exhaustive, so knowing the listed items is a floor, not a ceiling.
The format adds pressure on both exams
Each core has a maximum of 90 questions in 90 minutes, and the mix includes simulation PBQs as well as multiple-choice and drag-and-drop items. The difficulty is less the count than the switch: a simulation asks you to do a task, and it runs on the same clock as everything else. CompTIA does not publish how many PBQs you will see. The exam format guide has a pacing method, and the PBQ guide shows how simulations behave.
There is also no safe "number of questions I can miss." The passing scores, 675 for Core 1 and 700 for Core 2 on a 100–900 scale, are scaled scores, and the passing score guide explains why they do not convert to percentages.
Which core will feel harder for you
| Your background | Likely harder core | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| You build or repair PCs as a hobby but have never supported users | Core 2 | Windows tools, permissions, and the malware procedure |
| You work a help desk queue of password, email, and profile tickets | Core 1 | Connectors, RAID, printers, and network symptoms |
| You use Linux or macOS daily and rarely touch Windows administration | Core 2 | Windows commands and MMC tools |
| You are new to IT entirely | Both, equally | Core 1 networking basics first, because Core 2 assumes them |
Core 1 and Core 2 can be taken in any order from the same version. The study guide helps you choose which to book first, and the Core 1 vs Core 2 comparison lays out both blueprints side by side.
A ten-item self-check
Answer from memory, then read the notes. This is not a score and it does not predict a result. It shows which core needs the most work.
- A desk phone works, but a PC on the same switch shows an address starting with 169.254. What did the PC fail to reach?
- Four 2 TB drives are configured as RAID 5. How much usable space is there?
- A memory module from a laptop will not fit a desktop board. What is the most likely reason?
- A user cannot open a mapped network drive. Which protocol and port do you check?
- Which hypervisor type runs directly on the hardware without a host operating system?
- Which Windows command shows the account you are signed in as?
- On Linux, which file holds the hashed passwords: /etc/passwd or /etc/shadow?
- A user has Full Control in NTFS and Read on the share. What can they do when they open the folder over the network?
- During malware removal on a Windows Home PC, what do you turn off before you remediate?
- Which backup type needs only the last full backup and the newest backup of its own type to restore?
Notes. (1) A DHCP server. Windows assigns an APIPA address when it gets no DHCP response. (2) 6 TB, because one drive's worth of space holds parity. (3) Laptops use SODIMM modules and desktops use DIMMs. (4) SMB on TCP 445. (5) Type 1. (6) whoami. (7) /etc/shadow. (8) Read only. Over the network the more restrictive of the two results applies. (9) System Restore. (10) Differential.
If most of your misses were in items 1 to 5, Core 1 is your harder exam. If they were in items 6 to 10, Core 2 is. Either way, the next step is to turn the misses into study sessions, and how long to study for A+ shows how to size that work.
When you want more scenarios at this level, work through original A+ practice questions with Passy and note the domain of each miss. The free A+ practice set is multiple choice, so it will not reproduce a simulation PBQ, and its percentage is not a 675 or a 700.
Trust the source
Official sources
Exam policies can change. Use these primary sources for the most current details.