Few questions come up in our classes as often as this one: should I earn PenTest+ or CEH? Both certifications sit in the offensive security space, both appear on résumés for penetration testers and red team members, and both carry weight with employers. They are not interchangeable, though. They were built with different goals, tested in different ways, and tend to suit different career paths.
This guide compares the two so you can make a decision based on your role, your employer’s requirements, and how you prefer to be assessed.
What Each Certification Is Designed to Prove
PenTest+ is CompTIA’s intermediate penetration testing certification. It focuses on the full engagement lifecycle: planning and scoping, information gathering, vulnerability identification, attacks and exploits, reporting, and communication of findings. The exam leans heavily on performance-based questions, which drop you into a scenario and ask you to analyze output, choose the right tool, or fix a flawed approach.
CEH, the Certified Ethical Hacker credential from EC-Council, is broader in its coverage of attacker techniques. It walks through the phases of an attack, from reconnaissance and scanning to system hacking, malware, social engineering, web application attacks, wireless threats, cloud and IoT security, and cryptography. The knowledge exam is multiple choice, and EC-Council offers a separate practical exam where you work through challenges in a live lab environment.
Put simply, PenTest+ emphasizes how a professional engagement is run and documented, while CEH emphasizes the breadth of tools, attack types, and the attacker mindset.
Exam Format and Difficulty
The structure of each exam shapes how you should prepare.
PenTest+ rewards applied judgment. You will see multiple-choice questions alongside performance-based items. Expect to read scan results, interpret scripts in languages such as Bash or Python, and decide what a tester should do next. Memorizing tool names will not carry you. You need to understand why one approach fits a situation and another does not.
CEH rewards breadth of knowledge. The core exam covers a very wide range of topics, so candidates need to retain details about many attack categories and the tools associated with them. The optional practical component tests whether you can apply that knowledge hands-on, and many employers value having both.
Neither exam is trivial. Candidates with real network and system administration experience tend to find both manageable with focused preparation. Candidates without that foundation should expect a steeper climb.
Where They Overlap
Both certifications expect you to be comfortable with core networking, operating systems, and the common attack surface of modern environments. Both introduce you to reconnaissance, enumeration, vulnerability scanning, exploitation, privilege escalation, and post-exploitation concepts. Both expect familiarity with tools you would find in Kali Linux, and both assume you understand the legal and ethical boundaries of testing.
If you are earning your first offensive security credential, time spent learning the fundamentals pays off for either exam. Hands-on practice in a lab matters more than any book.
Differences That Affect Your Career
Here is how the two tend to play out in the job market.
- Engagement realism: PenTest+ puts scoping, rules of engagement, and reporting front and center. If you will be writing findings for clients or system owners, this is a strong fit.
- Attacker technique coverage: CEH surveys a wider range of attack methods, which suits analysts, auditors, and defenders who need to understand how adversaries think.
- Name recognition: CEH has been around longer and is frequently named in job postings and contract labor categories. PenTest+ has grown quickly and is respected for its hands-on testing.
- Vendor path: PenTest+ fits naturally into the CompTIA progression after Security+ and alongside CySA+. CEH fits an EC-Council path that can continue into practical and advanced credentials.
Federal and DoD Considerations
For DoD personnel and contractors, the first question should always be what your position requires. Qualification requirements under the DoD 8140 framework depend on your work role and proficiency level, and each certification maps to different roles. Review the current DoD 8140 qualification matrix and talk to your supervisor or security manager before you commit to an exam. A certification that your role does not recognize may still help your skills, but it will not satisfy a compliance requirement.
Many federal contracts also name specific certifications in labor category descriptions. If you are positioning yourself for a particular contract, check the language in the solicitation.
How to Choose
Use these questions to narrow it down.
Choose PenTest+ if you already hold Security+ or equivalent experience, you want to build toward penetration testing or vulnerability assessment work, you value performance-based testing, and you want strong coverage of scoping and reporting.
Choose CEH if your employer or contract names it, you want broad exposure to attack techniques and tools, or you are moving into a role that benefits from the attacker’s perspective, such as incident response, security auditing, or red team support.
Consider both if offensive security is your long-term path. Many professionals start with one, gain field experience, and add the other later. The knowledge from each reinforces the other, and holding both signals depth. If your career is heading toward management, a credential such as CISSP may eventually be the better investment.
Prepare with Hands-On Practice
Whichever path you choose, build a home lab. Set up a few vulnerable virtual machines, practice with the tools in Kali Linux, and write up what you find as if you were delivering a report. That habit prepares you for PenTest+ scenarios and for the lab elements of CEH.
Instructor-led training shortens the path. A good instructor explains why a technique works, corrects your mistakes in real time, and keeps you focused on exam objectives instead of rabbit holes.
How IT Dojo Can Help
If you need training in penetration testing, IT Dojo can help. Our PenTest+ course prepares you for the CompTIA exam, and our Certified Ethical Hacker training covers the EC-Council curriculum. All IT Dojo courses are live, instructor-led, and available remote online, so you can train from anywhere. Questions about which path fits your role or your agency’s requirements? Contact IT Dojo and we will help you choose.