The CompTIA A+ exam costs $246 per voucher — and there are two of them. Picking the wrong prep course and burning two months on it is an expensive mistake. If you're searching Coursera for CompTIA A+ prep, here's what the platform actually offers, what it skips, and how to fill the gaps before exam day.
What CompTIA A+ Actually Tests
Before evaluating any course, know what you're preparing for. CompTIA A+ is split into two exams:
- Core 1 (220-1101) — Mobile devices, networking technology, hardware, virtualization, cloud computing, troubleshooting hardware and networks
- Core 2 (220-1102) — Operating systems, security, software troubleshooting, operational procedures
Both exams require passing scores (675/900 for Core 1, 700/900 for Core 2). The certification is vendor-neutral, meaning it doesn't care whether you're working with Dell hardware or HP, Windows or macOS. That neutrality is exactly why employers use it as a baseline hiring filter — it tells them you can walk into any help desk environment and function.
A+ is also a DoD 8570 baseline certification, which matters if federal contracting or government IT is on your radar. CompTIA reports that A+-certified professionals earn a median salary around $57,000, with significant variance based on location and specialization.
What Coursera Offers for CompTIA A+ Prep
Coursera does not sell CompTIA exam vouchers directly, and it doesn't offer a course branded explicitly as "CompTIA A+ certification prep" the way dedicated test-prep platforms like Professor Messer or Jason Dion's Udemy courses do. What Coursera does offer is the Google IT Support Professional Certificate, which is the closest thing on the platform to structured A+ preparation.
The Google IT Support certificate covers five courses:
- Technical Support Fundamentals
- The Bits and Bytes of Computer Networking
- Operating Systems and You: Becoming a Power User
- System Administration and IT Infrastructure Services
- IT Security: Defense Against the Digital Arts
The content overlap with A+ Core 1 and Core 2 objectives is substantial — hardware basics, networking, OS troubleshooting, and security fundamentals all appear. Coursera explicitly markets it as "preparation toward" CompTIA A+, and CompTIA has acknowledged a formal alignment between the certificate and their exam objectives.
However, "aligned with" is not the same as "sufficient for." The Google certificate is broader and less exam-focused than dedicated A+ prep materials. It won't drill you on specific exam question formats, won't cover the full breadth of hardware troubleshooting scenarios tested on Core 1, and doesn't include practice exams with the same structure as the actual Pearson VUE test.
The practical use case: treat the Google IT Support certificate as a strong conceptual foundation and a resume line item while you supplement with exam-specific practice questions from another source. If you're genuinely new to IT, the Google certificate teaches you the job, not just the test — which has long-term value even if it means more study time before you sit for the exam.
Coursera CompTIA A+ Prep: What It Costs
Coursera's pricing structure matters because "free" and "paid" mean different things on the platform.
- Audit (free) — You can audit most individual courses in the Google IT Support certificate, meaning you watch videos and access readings but cannot submit graded assignments or earn the certificate. For pure content consumption, this works fine.
- Coursera Plus — $59/month or $399/year, gives access to most of the catalog including the Google IT Support certificate. If you plan to complete the program in under three months, monthly billing makes sense. If you're pacing slower, the annual plan is cheaper per month.
- Per-certificate enrollment — Without Coursera Plus, the Google IT Support certificate runs roughly $49/month with an estimated completion of six months at 10 hours per week — about $294 total at that pace.
Add the actual CompTIA A+ exam costs on top: $246 × 2 = $492 for both vouchers. Total investment for Coursera prep plus both exams is roughly $700–900 depending on how long you take to complete the coursework. That's competitive with a bootcamp or community college course, but you're responsible for structuring your own study and sourcing your own practice exams.
One thing to note: CompTIA occasionally bundles exam vouchers with exam prep packages on its own site. If you're already paying for Coursera Plus, compare that against CompTIA's CertMaster Learn bundles, which include both study material and a voucher in one purchase.
Top Courses on Coursera for IT and CompTIA A+ Skills
Beyond the Google IT Support certificate, these Coursera courses are worth considering depending on where you're headed after A+.
Cryptography by ISC2 on Coursera
A+ Core 2 includes security fundamentals, but if you're planning to stack Security+ after A+, ISC2's cryptography course closes a gap that most A+ prep materials gloss over. It covers encryption concepts, hashing, PKI, and key management with more depth than you'll get in the Google IT Support security module.
Hands-on Hacking: Practical Penetration Testing with Coursera Coach
Not an A+ prep course — don't confuse it for one. This is worth considering for people who pass A+ and want to move toward Security+ or CySA+ without waiting. The practical, lab-based format exposes you to real attacker techniques, which changes how you think about the defensive content on Security+.
Analyze Data with CertNexus on Coursera
CertNexus certifications sit adjacent to CompTIA in the vendor-neutral space. If your end goal is IT with a data tilt — think systems analyst or data operations roles — this course introduces data literacy skills that complement the operational knowledge A+ builds.
Is Coursera Worth It for CompTIA A+ Specifically?
Depends on your starting point.
If you have zero IT background, the Google IT Support certificate is genuinely good. It's well-produced, paced for non-technical learners, and the labs give you hands-on exposure you won't get from reading a textbook. The certificate also carries independent weight on a resume — Google's brand recognition helps in ways that a course completion certificate from a no-name platform doesn't.
If you already have some IT experience, Coursera is probably overkill for A+ prep. You'd be sitting through introductory content you already know. In that case, Professor Messer's free A+ study guide and a set of practice exams from Jason Dion on Udemy will get you to the exam faster at lower cost.
If you're weighing Coursera Plus for multiple certifications, the math shifts in Coursera's favor. The platform has content aligned with Network+, Security+, and various cloud certifications. If A+ is your first stop and you're planning to certify in multiple areas over the next 12 months, $399/year for Coursera Plus is reasonable.
One honest limitation: Coursera's IT support content is good on concepts but light on the memorization-heavy details that show up on A+ exams — specific port numbers, cable types, RAID configurations, and legacy hardware specs. You will need a dedicated A+ exam cram resource for those regardless of which platform you use for conceptual learning.
FAQ
Does Coursera have a CompTIA A+ certification course?
Not a dedicated one. The closest offering is the Google IT Support Professional Certificate, which Coursera and CompTIA have formally aligned to A+ exam objectives. It covers the core content areas but isn't structured as a test-prep course — you'll need supplementary practice exams before sitting for the actual exam.
Is the Google IT Support certificate the same as CompTIA A+?
No. They're separate credentials. CompTIA A+ is an industry certification earned by passing two proctored exams. The Google IT Support certificate is a professional certificate you earn by completing the Coursera program. They cover overlapping content, and CompTIA has acknowledged the alignment, but employers recognize them differently. A+ carries more weight as a hiring filter in traditional IT departments.
How long does it take to prepare for CompTIA A+ using Coursera?
The Google IT Support certificate is estimated at six months at 10 hours per week. If you're focused and already have some background, you can move faster — some people finish in 8–10 weeks. Add two to four weeks of exam-specific practice after completing the certificate before scheduling your Pearson VUE exams.
Can I pass CompTIA A+ with only Coursera prep?
Unlikely if Coursera is your only resource. The Google IT Support certificate builds solid foundational knowledge but doesn't cover the full A+ exam domain depth or provide the exam-style practice questions you need to build test-taking fluency. Use it as your primary study resource and add Professor Messer's practice exams or Jason Dion's Udemy practice tests before exam day.
Is Coursera Plus worth it for CompTIA A+ prep?
Only if you plan to use multiple courses or certifications. If your sole goal is A+ prep, the per-certificate monthly enrollment for the Google IT Support program is probably sufficient. Coursera Plus makes sense if you're planning to continue into Network+, Security+, or other Coursera-based programs within the same year.
What jobs can I get after CompTIA A+?
IT support specialist, help desk technician, desktop support analyst, and field service technician are the most common entry points. With experience, these roles lead to systems administrator, network administrator, or security analyst paths — each of which typically has a corresponding CompTIA certification (Network+ and Security+, respectively). BLS data puts median pay for computer support specialists at around $57,000, with higher salaries in healthcare IT and government contracting.
Bottom Line
Coursera is a reasonable starting point for CompTIA A+ prep if you're new to IT and want structured, self-paced instruction — the Google IT Support Professional Certificate is well-built and the Coursera brand doesn't hurt on a resume. It is not a complete A+ exam prep solution on its own.
The practical setup that works: use the Google IT Support certificate on Coursera for conceptual grounding, then spend two to four weeks drilling with exam-specific practice tests before you book your Pearson VUE appointments. Don't skip the practice exams — the A+ tests specific memorization details that broad-coverage courses consistently underweight.
If you already have IT experience and just need to formalize it with a credential, you can skip Coursera entirely and go straight to dedicated A+ test prep. The decision comes down to whether you need the conceptual foundation or just the exam preparation.