CompTIA A+ practice test: 4 free questions, and what Core 1 and Core 2 each ask

CompTIA A+ at a glance, with the source for every line

Every row below is quoted from a document published by CompTIA and carries the date we checked it. Where CompTIA publishes nothing, the row says so instead of quoting a number from somewhere else.

Exam codes

Two exams: 220-1201 (Core 1) and 220-1202 (Core 2). You can take them in any order.Source: CompTIA, A+ certification page, verified 7 August 2026

Questions

Maximum of 90 per exam, including multiple choice, drag-and-drop and performance-based questions.Source: CompTIA, A+ Core 1 and Core 2 V15 page, verified 7 August 2026

Time limit

90 minutes per exam.Source: CompTIA, A+ Core 1 and Core 2 V15 page, verified 7 August 2026

Passing score

Core 1: 675. Core 2: 700. Both on a 900-point scale.Source: CompTIA, A+ Core 1 and Core 2 V15 page, verified 7 August 2026

Recommended experience

12 months of hands-on experience in an IT support specialist role. There is no hard prerequisite.Source: CompTIA, A+ Core 1 and Core 2 V15 page, verified 7 August 2026

How long it lasts

Three years from your certification date. You renew with continuing education units rather than resitting the exam.Source: CompTIA, Certification Renewal Policy, verified 7 August 2026

Current version

V15, launched 25 March 2025.Source: CompTIA, A+ Core 1 and Core 2 V15 page, verified 7 August 2026

Question types

Multiple choice plus performance-based questions, which CompTIA delivers as simulations or within virtual environments.Source: CompTIA, Performance-Based Questions Explained, verified 7 August 2026

Mixing exam versions

Both exams must come from the same version. CompTIA states: “Core 1 and Core 2 exams must be taken from the same version, no mixing allowed.”Source: CompTIA, A+ Core 1 and Core 2 V15 page, verified 7 August 2026

Pass rate

Not published by CompTIA. CompTIA does not publish a pass rate for A+. Any percentage you see quoted elsewhere is somebody’s estimate, not a CompTIA figure.Checked against: CompTIA, A+ certification page, verified 7 August 2026

Raw number of correct answers needed

Not published by CompTIA. CompTIA does not publish the raw number of correct answers this exam requires. It publishes the scaled passing score only, and gives no conversion between that scaled score and a number of questions.Checked against: CompTIA, A+ Core 1 and Core 2 V15 page, verified 7 August 2026

Exam price

Not published by CompTIA. CompTIA states no exam price on the A+ certification page. Vouchers are sold separately through the CompTIA Store rather than priced on the certification page, so there is no single published figure to quote.Checked against: CompTIA, A+ certification page, verified 7 August 2026

Always verify: CompTIA sets the format, scoring and pricing for A+ and changes them between versions. Confirm the current exam codes and voucher prices at comptia.org before you book.

What CompTIA publishes as the official CompTIA A+ blueprint

These weights are CompTIA's, quoted from the source below. They are the only weights on this page that describe the real exam.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: CompTIA, A+ Core 1 and Core 2 V15 page, verified 7 August 2026.

What our CompTIA A+ question bank covers

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

What actually trips people up on A+

Core 2 is where people fail, and they study Core 1

Hardware is tangible, so it feels like the real exam. But Core 2 carries operating systems and security at 28% each, plus operational procedures at 21%, and those are the topics candidates skim. Split your study time by the published weights, not by what you find interesting.

Operational procedures is a policy exam wearing a technician’s uniform

A fifth of Core 2 asks what you should do, not what you can do: escalate an acceptable-use violation to HR instead of warning the user yourself, follow the chain of custody, check the ESD strap. The correct answer is usually the one that hands the decision to somebody whose job it is.

The simulations eat the clock

CompTIA delivers performance-based questions as simulations or within virtual environments rather than as multiple choice, and a simulation takes longer to work through than a multiple-choice item does. With a maximum of 90 questions in 90 minutes, letting a handful of them run long means rushing everything else. Flag anything that resists you, clear the rest, then come back.

“MOST likely” means one cause, not the only cause

A blank laser page could be a fuser, a drum, or a toner cartridge. The exam wants the single most probable cause given the symptoms it gave you. Read what it told you and what it deliberately did not.

Two exams means two windows to forget things in

People pass Core 1, take a month off, then find Core 1 content has faded before Core 2 is booked. Book both before you sit either one.

A 6-week study plan

Six weeks, split evenly by core. Our A+ bank holds 3,106 questions across all nine domains, which is enough to drill each one to boredom without repeating a stem.

Weeks 1–2: Core 1 hardware and networking

Hardware and networking are 48% of Core 1 between them. Topic Drill each one until you stop misreading connector types and cable categories.

Week 3: Core 1 troubleshooting, then simulate

Hardware and network troubleshooting alone is 28%. Run a full 90-question, 90-minute simulation. Sit it timed, at a desk, once.

Weeks 4–5: Core 2 operating systems and security

56% of Core 2 in two domains. This is the half people underestimate: command-line utilities, permissions, malware removal order, and the difference between a policy and a setting.

Week 6: operational procedures, then both simulations

Drill the policy and safety material last so it is freshest, then sit one timed simulation per core. Book the real exams for the week your readiness score goes green on both.

Is CompTIA A+ hard?

A+ is broad rather than deep. Almost no single question is difficult on its own: the challenge is that nine domains stay in scope across two separate sittings, and the two exams have different passing scores, 675 for Core 1 and 700 for Core 2 on a 900-point scale. CompTIA does not publish a pass rate for A+, so anyone quoting one is estimating.

Our own bank gives one honest signal about where the difficulty sits. Of its 3,106 questions, 994 are rated difficulty 3 and 854 difficulty 4, and the heaviest concentrations are in security (447 questions), operational procedures (409) and software troubleshooting (396), all of it Core 2 material. That matches what candidates report: Core 1 feels like the real exam because hardware is tangible, and Core 2 is where people come unstuck.

The other thing that makes A+ awkward is administrative rather than intellectual. It is two bookings, two vouchers and two chances to lose momentum between them, and CompTIA states no price on the A+ certification page, so you cannot budget for the pair from what it publishes. Vouchers are sold separately through the CompTIA Store.

How the CompTIA A+ differs from the exams beside it

A+ is the only certification in our Tech family that makes you sit two separate exams and pay for two separate vouchers. It is also the broadest and the shallowest: where Network+ goes deep on one subject and Security+ goes deep on another, A+ asks you to be competent about printers, iPhones, Windows recovery, ESD mats and acceptable use policy in the same afternoon. Nothing on it is hard. Keeping nine domains warm at once is.

Questions people actually ask about the CompTIA A+

How many exams do you need to pass for CompTIA A+?

Two. Core 1 (220-1201) and Core 2 (220-1202), in either order. You are not A+ certified until both are passed, and each needs its own voucher.

What is a passing score on CompTIA A+?

Core 1 passes at 675 and Core 2 at 700, both on a 900-point scale. CompTIA publishes the scaled score only, not the raw number of questions you need right, and gives no conversion between the two.

How long is the CompTIA A+ exam?

90 minutes per exam, with a maximum of 90 questions each. That is roughly a minute a question, and the performance-based simulations take more than their share, so bank time on the multiple choice rather than perfecting a simulation.

Is CompTIA A+ hard?

It is broad rather than deep. Most individual questions are straightforward; the difficulty is that nine domains stay in scope at once across two sittings. Candidates with hands-on support experience usually find Core 1 easier than Core 2.

How long does CompTIA A+ last?

Three years from your certification date. You renew with continuing education units instead of resitting, and passing a higher CompTIA certification such as Network+ or Security+ also renews it.

Do you need experience before taking A+?

No hard prerequisite. CompTIA recommends about 12 months in an IT support specialist role, which is guidance rather than a gate: you can book the exam with none.

How long should you study for CompTIA A+?

Six weeks is a realistic split for someone already doing support work: three per core, with a full timed simulation closing each half. From a standing start, plan on eight to ten and put the extra into Core 2, which is where most people come unstuck.

Are these real CompTIA A+ exam questions?

No, and reproducing live items would breach CompTIA’s exam security agreement. Our 3,106 A+ questions are original, written from the published 220-1201 and 220-1202 objective lists and split across both cores the way those objectives are. Every one carries an explanation, which a live exam item never does.