📰 Originally published on SecurityElites — the canonical, fully-updated version of this article.
Before You Read This — Our Position On Ethical Hacking Certifications
✅ Zero affiliate relationships with any certification body
✅ Not sponsored by EC-Council, CompTIA, or Offensive Security
✅ Opinions based on hiring market data and community consensus
✅ We will tell you when a certification is overpriced
Every other certification guide you have found online has either an affiliate commission on CEH sales, a partnership with a certification body, or a recommendation list that has not been updated in three years. This one has none of those. What follows is what the security community actually thinks — not what the marketing departments want you to believe.
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The cybersecurity certification industry generates billions of dollars annually — and a significant portion of that comes from beginners who pay $1,000+ for certificates they were told were essential but that employers actually regard as irrelevant. I have watched talented people spend $1,999 on a CEH exam, pass it through memorisation, and then be unable to answer basic technical interview questions because the certification never required them to actually hack anything.
This guide covers every significant ethical hacking certification in 2026 — what each one actually tests, how employers genuinely regard it, how much it costs in real terms, and most importantly: the right order to pursue them based on where you are in your learning journey. I will also tell you which certifications to skip entirely and why.
The answer to “what certifications do ethical hackers need?” is shorter than the industry wants you to believe.
📋 Contents — Jump to Any Certification
The Uncomfortable Truth About Cert Marketing
🥇 eJPT — Best First Cert ($200)
🥈 CompTIA Security+ ($392)
🥉 PNPT — Hidden Gem ($399)
🏆 OSCP — The Gold Standard ($1,499)
⚠️ CEH — The Honest Assessment
Others: eCPPT, GPEN, GWAPT, BSCP
Master Comparison Table
The Right Order — Your Cert Path
Can You Get Hired Without Certifications?
The Uncomfortable Truth About Certification Marketing
Most ethical hacking certification guides are written by people being paid — directly or indirectly — to recommend specific certifications. The CEH affiliate programme pays commissions. Udemy course creators sell CEH prep courses. Bootcamps charge $5,000–$15,000 and teach to the CEH exam. The incentive structure is entirely misaligned with your interests as a learner.
Here is what the security community — the people who actually hire penetration testers — consistently says about certifications:
WHAT PENTEST FIRMS ACTUALLY WANT
✓ OSCP — universally respected
✓ Demonstrated practical skill
✓ HTB/THM profile with completions
✓ CTF write-ups on GitHub
✓ Bug bounty acknowledgements
WHAT CORPORATE/GOV WANTS
✓ CompTIA Security+ (DoD requirement)
✓ OSCP or CISSP for senior roles
✓ CEH — mentioned in RFPs sometimes
✓ Clearance-compatible background
✓ Degree may be preferred
WHAT NOBODY ACTUALLY NEEDS
✗ CEH as first certification
✗ CISSP before 5 years experience
✗ Every certification in existence
✗ $5K bootcamp to prep for $200 cert
✗ Multiple entry certs before one good one
eJPT
eLearnSecurity Junior Penetration Tester
by INE Security (formerly eLearnSecurity)
~$200
START HERE
Exam Format
100% Practical Lab
No multiple choice. Perform a real penetration test in a lab environment. Answer scenario-based questions about what you find.
Difficulty
Beginner
After 2–3 months of foundations (networking, Linux, web basics). Designed specifically for people entering the field.
Employer Recognition
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Respected by technical employers. Recognised as evidence of real practical skill, not memorisation.
Prep Time
2–4 months
From absolute beginner, with 1–2 hours/day. The SecurityElites 100-Day course is the ideal preparation.
Mr Elite’s Verdict: The eJPT is the single best first certification for anyone entering ethical hacking. At ~$200 it is affordable. The practical exam format means you cannot bluff your way through — you have to actually perform reconnaissance, find vulnerabilities, and exploit them in a lab environment. Every employer who receives a junior resume with an eJPT takes it seriously because they know it required real work. Start here. No exceptions.
✓ Prepare with: 100-Day Free Ethical Hacking Course
✓ Also use: TryHackMe Jr Penetration Tester path
Sec+
CompTIA Security+
by CompTIA — SY0-701 (2026 current version)
$392
CORPORATE/GOV TRACK
Exam Format
MCQ + Performance-Based
90 questions. Up to 90 minutes. Mix of multiple choice and hands-on performance-based questions (PBQs).
Difficulty
Beginner–Intermediate
Broad but not deep. Covers security concepts across many domains rather than offensive skill in depth.
Employer Recognition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
DoD 8570 approved. Required for many US government and military contractor positions. Very strong corporate recognition.
Prep Time
1–3 months
Professor Messer’s free Security+ course is the gold-standard preparation resource. No additional paid materials needed.
Mr Elite’s Verdict: Security+ is the right choice if you are targeting corporate IT security, government positions, or military contractor roles. It is not an offensive hacking certification — it covers security concepts broadly. If your goal is penetration testing at a security consultancy, the eJPT is more relevant than Security+. If you want to work for a government agency or enterprise company’s security team, Security+ may be required. Know your target employer before deciding.
PNPT
Practical Network Penetration Tester
by TCM Security — founded by Heath Adams (The Cyber Mentor)
📖 Read the complete guide on SecurityElites
This article continues with deeper technical detail, screenshots, code samples, and an interactive lab walk-through. Read the full article on SecurityElites →
This article was originally written and published by the SecurityElites team. For more cybersecurity tutorials, ethical hacking guides, and CTF walk-throughs, visit SecurityElites.
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