How Much Does It Cost to Retake a Certification Exam?

A failed Security+ attempt in mid-2026 leaves you staring at a second bill of roughly $400–$440 — the full voucher price again, because CompTIA sells no discounted retakes. A failed PMP attempt, by contrast, comes back cheaper: PMI charges a reduced re-examination fee. Retake pricing is one of the least consistent policies in the certification industry, and knowing your provider's rules before attempt one changes how you should buy the first voucher.

This article prices attempt two provider by provider, then covers the legitimate ways to make it cheaper. If you are still processing the fail itself — what happened to the money you already spent and how soon you can rebook — that ground is covered in what happens to your exam fee if you fail.

Retake pricing by provider

Provider	Retake price vs first attempt	Discounted-retake option	Wait before retake
CompTIA	Full price every attempt	Voucher+retake bundle (bought upfront)	None for 2nd attempt; 14 days from 3rd
AWS	Full price every attempt	None for retakes (50% voucher applies only after a pass)	14 days
Microsoft	Full price every attempt	Exam Replay-type offers (bought upfront, availability varies)	24 hours, then 14 days
Cisco	Full price every attempt	None standard	5 days (written); 48h (700-series); 30 days (expert labs)
ISC2	Full price every attempt	None standard	30/60/90 days by attempt number
PMI	Reduced re-examination fee	Built into the fee structure	Rebooking within your eligibility year

Waiting periods are listed for budgeting context only — the timing rules and their strategy get full treatment elsewhere, including in the guide to how many attempts certification exams allow.

CompTIA: full price, unless you bought the bundle

CompTIA's retake policy is blunt: "CompTIA does not offer any free re-tests or discounts on retakes." Every attempt requires a fresh full-price voucher. With US retail prices as listed by CompTIA's authorized resellers in June 2026 sitting at $274 per A+ exam, $399 for Network+, and $439 for Security+ (roughly $400–$440 once reseller discounts are factored — check store.comptia.org, prices vary by country), a fail is an expensive event.

The one hedge CompTIA itself sells is the voucher+retake bundle: pay more upfront for a voucher that includes a second attempt if you need it. Whether that insurance is worth buying depends on your confidence going in — which is exactly the thing a full-length timed practice run can measure before you spend anything.

AWS: full fee again — and no, the 50% voucher does not apply

AWS retakes cost the same tiered fee as the first sitting: about $100 for Foundational exams, $150 for Associate, and $300 for Professional and Specialty (USD; varies by region — confirm at aws.amazon.com). A failed Solutions Architect Professional attempt therefore means another ~$300 outlay after a 14-day wait.

The common misunderstanding here is the AWS 50% discount voucher. That voucher exists — but it is a benefit granted after you pass an exam, sitting in the Benefits section of your certification account for use on a future or recertification exam. AWS explicitly does not make it available to discount a retake after a fail. Candidates who budgeted attempt two at half price on the strength of half-remembered forum posts get an unwelcome surprise at checkout.

Microsoft: country-based pricing, with retake insurance if you planned ahead

Microsoft does not publish a single global price — its policy is "price based on the country or region in which the exam is proctored," with third-party sources commonly citing around US$165 for associate and expert exams in the United States (treat that as indicative, not official). A retake is billed at the same local rate as the first attempt, bookable 24 hours after a first fail.

Microsoft's cost-softener is the Exam Replay style of offer listed on its deals pages: a bundle purchased before your first attempt that includes a retake (sometimes with a practice test). Availability varies over time and by market, so check learn.microsoft.com/credentials before booking rather than assuming the offer exists.

PMI: the rare discounted retake

PMI is the outlier that actually charges less the second time. PMP re-examination fees have historically run well below first-attempt fees — secondary sources reported roughly $275 for members and $375 for non-members before PMI's August 2026 price increase (which moved first-attempt fees to about $445 member / $675 non-member per training-provider reports). Post-increase retake fees were not yet confirmed at the time of writing, so verify the current figure in your PMI account before rebooking. The same $275/$375 retake structure is reported for some other PMI credentials, such as the PMI Construction Professional.

Note the constraint that comes with the discount: PMI allows up to three attempts within your one-year eligibility window. Exhaust all three and you wait a year before reapplying — so the cheap retake is not a licence to sit under-prepared.

ISC2 and Cisco: full price, plus friction

ISC2 retakes are full price against some of the steepest fees in the industry — CISSP is listed at $749 in the Americas — with escalating waits (30, then 60, then 90 test-free days) between attempts. Cisco likewise offers no standard retake discount; current exam fees vary by exam and country and are best confirmed on cisco.com before you budget.

Budgeting for a possible second attempt

A realistic exam budget prices the risk of a retake, not just the first voucher. Three approaches, in order of preference:

1. Reduce the risk instead of insuring it. The cheapest retake is the one you never book. Before spending your first voucher, benchmark honestly against the clock — a timed practice-test simulation that you review by domain tells you whether you are genuinely at passing standard or one weak area away from paying twice. Booking on hope is how people fund the retake economy.
2. Buy insurance only where it is sold and only when you need it. CompTIA's retake bundles and Microsoft's Replay-style offers must be purchased before attempt one. They make sense for borderline-ready candidates on expensive exams; they are wasted money for someone scoring comfortably in practice.
3. Hold a contingency line. If no bundle exists (AWS, ISC2, Cisco), earmark one full exam fee as contingency and treat not spending it as the win. For a $300 AWS Professional exam, that means planning $600 exposure and being pleased to spend $300.

A worked example: a candidate preparing for the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional faces a ~$300 fee, no retake discount, and a 14-day wait on a fail. Sensible budget: $300 committed, $300 contingency, and a readiness gate — no booking until timed practice scores sit comfortably above the passing standard across all domains, not just the average.

One further budgeting note: vouchers themselves are perishable money. A CompTIA voucher is typically valid for 12 months from purchase, so if you buy attempt-two's voucher immediately after a fail "to lock in the price," you have also started a countdown — an unused voucher that expires is simply forfeited. Buy the retake voucher when your revised preparation plan gives you a realistic exam date, not on the day the bad news arrives.

Common retake-cost mistakes

• Assuming the AWS 50% voucher covers a failed retake. It does not; it is a post-pass benefit.
• Buying a CompTIA retake bundle after failing. Bundles are an upfront purchase — after a fail, only a full-price voucher remains.
• Rebooking inside the waiting period window at full emotional speed. Paying again 24 hours after a Microsoft fail is allowed, but a same-week retake without addressing weak domains often just doubles the spend. Use the score report to target the gap first.
• Forgetting rescheduling economics. If you realise you are not ready, moving the appointment (usually free more than 24 hours out; PMI and ISC2 charge admin fees) is vastly cheaper than failing. The rules live in the guide to certification exam refund policies.
• Budgeting only the sticker price. Currency, taxes and regional pricing shift the real number; check the checkout price for your country, not a US blog figure.

What attempt two should actually cost you

For most candidates the honest answer is: the full first-attempt price again — roughly $400–$440 for Security+, $150–$300 for most AWS exams, your local associate-tier rate for Microsoft, and $749 for another CISSP sitting — unless you bought retake insurance upfront or you are in PMI's discounted re-examination system. Since no provider refunds a fail, the highest-return spending before any retake is diagnostic: understand exactly which domains sank attempt one, close those gaps, and verify the fix under timed conditions before handing over the second fee. Broader planning for the whole certification spend, first attempt included, is covered in how to budget for certification exams.