None of what follows is officially finalized by CompTIA. Everything here comes from draft version 1.2 objectives published on CompTIA’s own exam objectives under development page, combined with independent analysis comparing that draft directly against SY0-701’s current, official blueprint, plus SY0-701’s confirmed current pricing as the most reasonable working placeholder. Treat every domain-specific detail below as the best available estimate, not a locked specification, since CompTIA has explicitly noted that multiple draft revisions may appear before this exam actually launches.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Expected Value | Confidence |
| Exam code | SY0-801 | Inferred from naming pattern, not yet officially confirmed by CompTIA |
| Internal version name | Security+ V8 | Used directly in CompTIA’s own draft materials |
| Domain count | 5, unchanged from SY0-701 | Reported consistently across draft analysis |
| Question format | Multiple choice and performance-based questions, up to 90 questions | Assumed continuity with SY0-701 |
| Duration | 90 minutes | Assumed continuity with SY0-701 |
| Passing score | 750 out of 900, scaled | Assumed continuity with SY0-701 |
| Voucher price | $439 US, SY0-701’s current post-June 2026 price | Working placeholder, not confirmed for SY0-801 specifically |
| Target candidate | Security administrators with roughly 2 years of experience | Consistent with SY0-701’s positioning |
| Accreditation | ANSI-accredited, ISO 17024 compliant, DoD 8140/8570 approved | Consistent with SY0-701 |
How Much of This Is Actually New
This is the single most reassuring number in this entire preview: independent analysis comparing the SY0-801 draft directly against SY0-701’s official objectives estimates that roughly 75 to 80 percent of the content carries over unchanged. The genuinely new material concentrates specifically in the AI and LLM objectives inside Domain 2, plus a smaller addition of new procurement-related vocabulary in Domain 5. If you already have a working understanding of SY0-701, you are not starting from scratch when SY0-801 eventually becomes relevant to you, you’re adding a specific, identifiable layer on top of a foundation that stays largely intact.
Domain Weights: SY0-701 Today vs SY0-801
| Domain | SY0-701 Current Weight | SY0-801 Draft Weight |
| General Security Concepts | 12 percent | 16 percent |
| Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Attacks | 22 percent | 24 percent |
| Security Architecture | 18 percent | 19 percent |
| Security Operations | 28 percent | 27 percent |
| Security Program Management and Oversight | 20 percent | 14 percent |
Key point: Security Operations stays the heaviest domain in both versions, meaning the core study priority doesn’t change even as specific content shifts underneath it. The most notable movement is Security Program Management and Oversight dropping from 20 to a reported 14 percent, while General Security Concepts and Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Attacks both pick up weight, the latter being exactly where the new AI and LLM objectives live.
Domain 1: General Security Concepts (16 Percent, Draft)
This domain establishes the vocabulary and foundational thinking every other domain builds on. Based on the draft, it covers security controls and their categories, preventive, detective, corrective, and compensating, core security principles including confidentiality, integrity, and availability, change management processes for making system changes without introducing new risk, and cryptographic solutions including encryption types, hashing, and key management. Reported as largely unchanged from SY0-701’s version of this domain, making it the safest area to carry forward existing study material without modification. This domain is typically where candidates build the conceptual language they’ll apply everywhere else, and its stable, lower weight reflects that it’s foundational rather than the exam’s main focus.
Domain 2: Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Attacks (24 Percent, Draft)
This is where the most substantively new material lives, and it’s also the domain undergoing the clearest name change, dropping the word “Mitigations” that appeared in SY0-701’s equivalent domain title. That’s not cosmetic, mitigation content is reported to have been relocated into Security Operations instead, leaving this domain focused specifically on identifying and understanding threats and vulnerabilities rather than also covering how to fix them.
Beyond its existing SY0-701 content on attack types, social engineering, malware categories, and vulnerability assessment, this domain reportedly gains 2 entirely new objectives:
- Objective 2.4 covers Large Language Models specifically, how they function conceptually, prompt injection as a distinct attack vector, data leakage through model interactions, and basic defenses like input validation and output filtering.
- Objective 2.6 covers AI as a threat surface and as a weapon, model manipulation, data poisoning, jailbreaking, evasion, hallucinations, bias, explainability problems, alongside AI-generated phishing, deepfake-enabled social engineering, and AI-assisted malware development.
Also reportedly named explicitly in this domain for the first time: deepfake and quishing, QR-code-based phishing, as specific testable terms, along with fileless malware and a restructured grouping for credential attacks covering MFA bypass and user enumeration. For the complete breakdown of exactly what these new AI objectives cover, see our SY0-801 AI and LLM objectives guide.
Domain 3: Security Architecture (19 Percent, Draft)
This domain continues SY0-701’s emphasis on cloud, hybrid, and zero trust environments, with reported refinements around modern deployment patterns. The most notable structural change is Zero Trust becoming an explicit, separately named architecture block under Objective 3.2, with user authentication, device health and inventory, and application access control organized underneath it directly, rather than existing as a more scattered, implicit theme across the domain.
Identity management is also reportedly moving into this domain, bringing group managed service accounts, gMSA, in as a newly named acronym, along with privilege creep as a specific, testable concept. Security Service Edge, SSE, reportedly appears as new content here as well, reflecting how organizations are consolidating network security functions into cloud-delivered services. Notably, SD-WAN and SASE, both explicitly named topics in SY0-701, reportedly do not appear anywhere in the SY0-801 draft, a real omission worth knowing if you’ve specifically studied those terms already.
Domain 4: Security Operations (27 Percent, Draft)
This remains the largest single domain by weight in both versions, and it reportedly absorbs the mitigation techniques content that moved out of Domain 2, now organized under a new Objective 4.1. Beyond SY0-701’s existing coverage of incident response procedures, security monitoring, and operational hardening, this domain gets 2 reported additions:
- Strengthened identity and access management content, building on the gMSA and privilege creep concepts introduced architecturally in Domain 3.
- Objective 4.6 flips the AI conversation to the defensive side, covering agentic systems capable of autonomous action within defined guardrails, chatbots supporting security operations workflows, predictive analysis for identifying likely threats before they materialize, and AI-augmented baselines for detecting behavioral deviation more effectively than static rule-based systems.
Given this domain already carries the heaviest weight in SY0-701, and reportedly keeps that position at 27 percent in the draft, it remains the single highest-priority area for study time regardless of which version you’re preparing for.
Domain 5: Security Program Management and Oversight (14 Percent, Draft)
This is the smallest domain by reported weight, dropping from 20 percent in SY0-701 to a reported 14 percent, the single largest weight reduction anywhere in the draft. It still covers governance, risk, and compliance fundamentals consistent with SY0-701’s version, third-party risk management, security awareness training programs, and policy frameworks. The reported new addition here is procurement-related vocabulary, terminology and concepts tied to vendor and supply chain security evaluation during the purchasing process itself, a narrower but genuine expansion rather than a wholesale rewrite of this domain.
What This Actually Costs
Since SY0-801 has no officially confirmed pricing yet, the most reliable approach is understanding exactly what SY0-701 costs today, since that’s the structure SY0-801 will almost certainly inherit.
Required Costs
| Item | Cost |
| Standard exam voucher, single attempt | $439 |
| Voucher plus retake bundle | Approximately $474 to $488, roughly $35 to $49 more than a single voucher |
| Retake without a bundle purchased upfront | Full $439 again, no discounted rate exists |
Important: There is no discounted “re-entry” rate for a failed attempt. If you don’t buy the retake bundle upfront and you fail, you pay the full $439 again for a second attempt. Most current guidance also points to a 14-day mandatory waiting period before any retake attempt, giving you time to address the specific knowledge gaps your score report identifies.
Recertification Costs, Every 3 Years
| Path | Cost |
| Continuing Education fee, paid annually | Approximately $50 per year, or $150 across the full 3-year cycle |
| Single CertMaster CE course purchase | Approximately $129 one-time, satisfies the CEU requirement in one purchase |
| Earning 50 CEUs through qualifying activities | Free to low-cost, many webinars and vendor training sessions qualify at no charge |
| Passing a higher-level CompTIA exam, such as CySA+ or PenTest+ | Folds Security+ renewal into a certification you were likely pursuing anyway, no separate CE fee |
Strongly Recommended Supplementary Costs
| Item | Amount | Notes |
| Self-study materials, books and practice exams | $50 to $250 | The most cost-effective path for disciplined independent learners |
| Structured online course | $100 to $400 | Adds video instruction and structured pacing on top of self-study materials |
| Full bootcamp or instructor-led program | $1,500 to $3,500 | Includes hands-on labs, live instruction, and typically a pass guarantee |
| Academic discount on the voucher itself | 40 to 50 percent off | Available to eligible students through CompTIA’s academic store |
The honest total: most independent, self-motivated learners spend $500 to $1,000 all in, voucher plus reasonable study materials, to earn Security+. Bootcamp-inclusive paths run meaningfully higher, $1,500 to $3,500, trading a higher upfront cost for structured instruction and typically a stronger pass guarantee. For the complete, dedicated breakdown of SY0-701’s confirmed current pricing structure, see our Security+ certification exam cost guide.
What’s Reportedly Being Removed or Renamed
Not every change in this draft is an addition. SD-WAN and SASE, both explicitly named topics in SY0-701, reportedly do not appear in the SY0-801 draft at all. The domain formerly named to include “Mitigations” drops that word entirely, reflecting the content reorganization described above. These subtractions matter as much as the additions when you’re deciding how much of your existing SY0-701 knowledge transfers directly versus needs updating.
What Format Details Remain Genuinely Uncertain
Beyond the domain structure, weights, and pricing placeholder above, the exact final passing score, whether the question count changes from SY0-701’s current maximum, and final pricing specifically for SY0-801 rather than carried-over SY0-701 figures all remain unconfirmed anywhere, officially or through draft analysis. Until CompTIA publishes finalized materials, the safest assumption is continuity with SY0-701’s current mechanics, since every reported structural signal points toward evolution rather than a wholesale format overhaul.
Putting This Preview in Context
For the complete, current status of whether any of this has moved from draft to official, see our SY0-801 release date tracker. If you’re still deciding whether to prepare for SY0-701 now or wait for this exam, see our SY0-701 vs SY0-801 decision guide, and for how this fits the complete version history, see our SY0-601 vs SY0-701 vs SY0-801 timeline.
If you’re preparing for the current, actually bookable exam right now, our complete SY0-701 exam guide covers confirmed format details, our SY0-701 exam objectives and domains breakdown covers the confirmed current blueprint in full, our Security+ exam cost guide covers every confirmed pricing detail, and our SY0-701 preparation guide and 10-week SY0-701 study plan remain the most reliable resources available today, unaffected by anything still in draft form.
Decision Checklist
- Don’t treat any domain weight or cost figure in this piece as final for SY0-801 specifically. These are draft-stage estimates and confirmed SY0-701 pricing used as a working placeholder, not a locked SY0-801 specification.
- If you already know SY0-701 well, focus new study time specifically on Objectives 2.4, 2.6, and 4.6, plus the Domain 5 procurement vocabulary, since independent analysis suggests these are genuinely where the new material concentrates.
- Buy the retake bundle upfront if you have any doubt about passing on your first attempt. At $35 to $49 extra, it’s meaningfully cheaper than paying full price for a second voucher later.
- Consider folding your Security+ renewal into a CySA+ or PenTest+ pursuit if you’re likely to pursue either eventually, since passing either automatically renews Security+ without a separate CE fee.
- Budget $500 to $1,000 as a realistic total for self-study, or $1,500 to $3,500 if you want structured, instructor-led preparation with hands-on labs.
FAQS
How many domains does SY0-801 have?
5, the same domain count as SY0-701, based on consistent reporting across independent draft analysis.
What percentage of SY0-801 content is actually new compared to SY0-701?
Independent analysis estimates roughly 20 to 25 percent is genuinely new, concentrated in the AI and LLM objectives and some new procurement vocabulary, with the remaining 75 to 80 percent carrying over from SY0-701.
Which domain gained the most weight in the SY0-801 draft?
General Security Concepts, reportedly rising from 12 to 16 percent, alongside Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Attacks rising from 22 to 24 percent.
Which domain lost the most weight?
Security Program Management and Oversight, reportedly dropping from 20 to 14 percent, the largest single weight change anywhere in the draft.
How much will SY0-801 cost?
Not officially announced. SY0-701’s current $439 US voucher price, in effect since CompTIA’s June 1, 2026 price adjustment, is the most reasonable placeholder until CompTIA confirms SY0-801-specific pricing.
How much does a Security+ retake cost?
Full price again, $439, unless you purchased the voucher plus retake bundle upfront for roughly $35 to $49 more than a single voucher.
How much does Security+ renewal cost every 3 years?
Approximately $50 per year or $150 for the full cycle through CompTIA’s Continuing Education program, or a one-time CertMaster CE course purchase around $129, or free by passing a higher-level exam like CySA+ or PenTest+ instead.
Are SD-WAN and SASE still tested on SY0-801?
Based on the current draft, these specific named topics reportedly do not appear, though general networking and secure access concepts remain covered elsewhere in the blueprint.
What is the realistic total cost to earn Security+, including study materials?
Most self-study candidates spend $500 to $1,000 total. Bootcamp or instructor-led paths typically run $1,500 to $3,500.
