Validates knowledge of security threats, protective controls, risk management and incident response across modern IT environments.
SY0-701 is up to 90 questions in 90 minutes: multiple choice plus a few performance-based questions (PBQs). Good practice matches its short best-answer scenarios and gives you some hands-on PBQ practice. We compared the main options on exam-style wording, PBQ coverage, question volume and price.
Most people should start with CompTIA's free 10-question sample. Add Professor Messer's exams for exam-style wording and Jason Dion's six exams for harder, higher-volume practice.
| Practice test | Best for | Questions | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 Security+ (V7) Practice Test | Free first look | 10 | Free |
 Security+ SY0-701 Practice Tests | Free topic drills | 600 | Free |
 Professor Messer Security+ SY0-701 Practice Exams | Exam-like wording | 270 | $30 |
 CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) Practice Exams Set 1 | Timed full exams | 540 | $65 |
 ExSim-Max for CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 | Tough final check | 270 | $99/year |
 Security+ SY0-701 Question Bank | Study on your phone | 1,330 | $21/month |
Ten questions from CompTIA with an answer key but no explanations, so you see the exam's real wording straight away. CompTIA's separate simulation demo shows how a PBQ screen works, though its task is not a Security+ question.
Great fit if you want to see CompTIA's own question style and the PBQ interface before spending anything.
Poor fit if you need volume or a timed full-length run; use Messer or Dion.
Quick multiple-choice tests with a score report at the end. The wording is plainer than the real exam's scenarios; use the SY0-701 section, as the page also lists retired SY0-601 tests.
Great fit if you want free checks on terms, acronyms and individual topics.
Poor fit if you need exam-style wording, PBQs or a timed full run; use Messer or Dion.
Three exams written in the concise 'best answer' style of the real questions, with a reason for each answer. It is a PDF, so you time and score yourself, and its PBQs are easier than the real ones.
Great fit if you want wording close to the real multiple-choice questions at a low price.
Poor fit if you want auto-timed, auto-scored tests or realistic PBQs; use Dion or Boson.
The most widely used paid set, with long scenario questions and feedback that points to the objective you missed. Candidates consistently call it wordier and harder than the real exam.
Great fit if you want many timed, full-length questions with objective-level feedback and can handle harder wording.
Poor fit if you want wording close to the real exam or realistic PBQs; add Messer's exams.
A simulator with a study mode that shows explanations as you go and a simulation mode that follows exam timing. Boson makes its questions deliberately challenging.
Great fit if you want a tough final check with long explanations, or your employer is paying.
Poor fit if you are on a budget; Messer's $30 exams give closer wording and Dion gives twice the questions.
Short quizzes and mock exams in an app, with a weakest-subject mode for targeted drilling. Candidates describe the questions as clearly worded and close in style to Messer's.
Great fit if you study in short sessions on your phone and want a large bank to drill by subject.
Poor fit if you want a one-time purchase or PBQ practice; use Messer's exams and CompTIA's demo.
CompTIA's own question bank, with a readiness score for each exam objective. Reviewers find the tests harder and more awkwardly worded than the real exam, though some say it prepared them well for the PBQs.
Great fit if your school or employer provides it, or you buy it in CompTIA's exam bundle, where it costs little extra.
Poor fit if you would pay $209 on its own; Messer and Dion cost much less and are better liked.
CompTIA: Security+ V7 exam ↗CompTIA: Security+ V8 ↗CompTIA: performance-based questions ↗Reddit: Dion vs Messer ↗Reddit: practice PBQs vs the exam ↗
Yes. CompTIA publishes 10 free SY0-701 questions with an answer key, and ExamCompass offers 24 free 25-question tests with no sign-up. Use the SY0-701 sections, because ExamCompass also lists retired SY0-601 tests.
Candidates usually say Dion's, Boson's and CertMaster Practice's tests are harder and wordier than the real exam. Messer's are closest in wording, but his PBQs are easier than the real ones.
There is no official number. Most candidates in Reddit threads combine two publishers, commonly Messer's three exams and Dion's six, and review every miss rather than just retaking exams.
Some include PBQ-style tasks, such as Messer's exams, Dion's 5-question PBQ set and CompTIA's simulation demo. The real exam's PBQs are simulations, and candidates say the practice ones rarely match them closely.