2 of 4 selected. Two usually gives the clearest comparison. Your choices are saved in this page’s URL.
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Your comparison
Start with role fit and entry expectations. There is no universal winning certification.
The main trade-off
Senior governance, two flavours. CISSP is broader and more widely demanded; CISM is tighter on management.
ISC2Available
CISSP
CISSP
Senior governance signalling cert. Useful for management lanes, not for hands-on engineering.
Consider it if
You have 5+ years of relevant security experience; Moving towards leadership
Skip or defer if
You're still IC and want technical depth
Experience
Five years of cumulative full-time work across two or more of the eight domains. A relevant degree, or one credential from ISC2's approved list, can cover one of those years.
Exam cost
Check the current price with the vendor
Exam details and sources
Live and unchanged in name. Candidates without the required experience can sit the exam and hold Associate of ISC2 status for six years while they earn it.
Format
CAT exam, 125–175 questions · TechWaymark-held detail; confirm the exam version with the vendor
Renewal
Not yet verified — check the vendor's renewal policy
Study planning
4–8 months — editorial estimate, dependent on experience and weekly hours.
TechWaymark holds more than one figure for this exam (£590 and £630), so no single amount is shown. Take the vendor's published price as the current one.
ISACA's management-coded cert. The CISSP alternative for governance and program leads.
Consider it if
You're moving into security management
Skip or defer if
You're a deep IC who doesn't want people management
Experience
ISACA requires five or more years of information security management work experience across at least three of the four CISM domains, verified by a supervisor or manager. ISACA also charges a one-off certification application fee, stated on its own page. The exam must have been passed within the previous five years.
Exam cost
Indicative exam cost: £455 member / £600 non-member
Exam details and sources
Live with ISACA. Passing the exam is not the certification: the application, the fee and verified experience all sit after it.
Format
Exam format not yet verified — check the vendor's exam page
Renewal
ISACA requires adherence to its Continuing Professional Education policy; the pages read state no fixed expiry.
Study planning
3–4 months — editorial estimate, dependent on experience and weekly hours.
Indicative exam outlay held by TechWaymark. Vendor pricing changes without notice, so confirm before booking.
