CEH vs GPEN
| CEH EC-Council | GPEN GIAC (SANS) | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Offensive · Intermediate | Offensive · Intermediate |
| Price | $1,199 Exam voucher. Without official training you need 2 years of experience and an application fee. | $979 Exam attempt only; the SANS SEC560 course costs over USD 8,000. |
| Study hours | 80–150 h | 80–120 h |
| Real difficulty | ●●○○○ | ●●●○○ |
| Exam | Multiple choice Length: 4 h | Multiple choice Length: 3 h |
| Validity | 3 years (credits + annual fee) | 4 years (credits + fee) |
| Job ads in United States | – | – |
| Avg. salary | – | – |
| Index | – | – |
| Summary | Very common in job ads and with HR, but the main exam is multiple choice and the technical community rates it poorly. Expensive for what it proves. | Well respected in large companies and the public sector, usually paid by the employer together with the SANS course. Open-book exam with lab questions. |
Highlighted: the best in that row.