The CompTIA A+ pass rate hovers around 50% on first attempt — not because the material is impossibly hard, but because most people underestimate the depth of Core 2 (220-1102) and over-rely on video lectures without hands-on practice. Udemy CompTIA A+ courses are everywhere, they're cheap, and some of them are genuinely excellent. Others are 20-hour video slogs that won't prepare you for a single performance-based question on exam day. This guide breaks down what separates the good from the mediocre, what the courses actually cover, and what you still need to do on your own.
What the CompTIA A+ Certification Actually Covers
CompTIA A+ is two exams: 220-1101 (Core 1) and 220-1102 (Core 2). You need to pass both to earn the cert — there's no partial credit.
220-1101 (Core 1) covers mobile devices, networking fundamentals, hardware, virtualization and cloud computing, and hardware/network troubleshooting. This is the more hardware-heavy exam. If you've spent time inside a desktop tower or troubleshot a home network, you'll find some of this familiar.
220-1102 (Core 2) is where most candidates struggle. It covers operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome OS), security, software troubleshooting, and operational procedures. The security domain has grown significantly with each new exam version — the current 1102 dedicates 25% of its weight to security topics.
Both exams include performance-based questions (PBQs) — simulations where you configure a network, troubleshoot a device, or set permissions in a UI mock-up. These can't be memorized from flashcards. You either know how to do the task or you don't.
Why Udemy CompTIA A+ Courses Are Worth Considering (and Where They Fall Short)
The honest case for Udemy: you can get a full A+ prep course for under $20 during a sale. Udemy runs sitewide sales constantly. The top CompTIA A+ courses — notably those from Mike Meyers (Professor Messer's associate), Jason Dion, and Total Seminars — are produced by instructors who have been writing and teaching certification material for 15+ years. The production quality is solid, the content maps directly to the exam objectives, and you get lifetime access.
The case against treating Udemy as your only resource:
- No hands-on labs. Watching someone plug in a RAM stick is not the same as doing it. Udemy is video-first. If you've never physically built or repaired a machine, you need to supplement with actual hardware or a lab environment like CompTIA's CertMaster Labs.
- Passive learning traps. The 20-30 hour runtimes can create a false sense of progress. Many people watch all the videos and still fail because they never tested themselves under exam conditions.
- Course quality varies wildly. The platform hosts hundreds of A+ courses. Anything below a 4.4-star average with under 5,000 ratings should be skipped unless you've verified the instructor's credentials independently.
- Updates lag. When CompTIA revises the exam objectives, Udemy instructors update at different speeds. Always check the "last updated" date against the current exam version.
How to Evaluate a Udemy CompTIA A+ Course Before Buying
Before you add anything to your cart, run through this checklist:
- Confirm the exam version. The current exams are 220-1101 and 220-1102. Any course referencing 220-1001/1002 as its primary target is outdated.
- Check the last update date. CompTIA A+ objectives get refreshed periodically. Look for courses updated within the past 12-18 months.
- Look at the practice exam quality. A good Udemy A+ course includes practice exams with 80-90+ questions per test and detailed explanations for wrong answers — not just answer keys. Explanation quality matters more than question count.
- Read the 1-star reviews. Filter for low ratings and look for patterns: outdated content, misleading difficulty claims, poor audio quality, missing sections. One bad review is noise; ten mentioning the same issue is signal.
- Check instructor credentials. Are they CompTIA certified themselves? Do they have a background in IT support, not just content creation? Mike Meyers, Jason Dion, Andrew Ramdayal — these names have decades of IT and certification training behind them. An anonymous instructor with no verifiable background is a risk at any price.
Top Courses on the Udemy Platform
While the CompTIA A+ prep market on Udemy is crowded, the platform itself has a range of courses worth knowing about depending on where you are in your IT career journey.
Udemy Business Onboarding Course for Admins
If you're entering IT support at a company that uses Udemy Business for team training, this course covers the admin side of the platform — useful if your role involves managing learning resources for a technical team or onboarding new IT hires.
Achieve Udemy Success with Course Marketing
For IT professionals who want to eventually teach or monetize their certification expertise, this course covers how Udemy's algorithm and marketing mechanics work — practical if you're thinking beyond just passing the exam.
Amazon Video Direct, Skillshare and Udemy
A platform comparison course that helps you understand how Udemy stacks up against alternatives for both learning and publishing — relevant if you're evaluating where to source your CompTIA prep material.
How to Create and Sell Courses on Udemy
Covers the mechanics of Udemy course creation and sales — worth looking at if you're an IT instructor or considering turning your A+ expertise into a side income after certification.
What a Realistic Udemy CompTIA A+ Study Plan Looks Like
Treat Udemy as your lecture track, not your entire study system. Here's a plan that actually works:
Weeks 1-4: Core 1 (220-1101)
- Work through the Core 1 sections of your chosen Udemy course at 1.25x speed. Pause and take notes on anything you don't already know cold.
- After each domain section, do 20-30 practice questions from a separate question bank (Professor Messer's site, ExamCompass, or Jason Dion's Udemy practice tests are solid options).
- If you have access to hardware — even an old laptop — practice the physical tasks: RAM installation, cable identification, port types. If not, YouTube walkthroughs of real hardware work in a pinch.
Weeks 5-8: Core 2 (220-1102)
- The operating systems domain is not something you can absorb passively. Open a Windows 10/11 VM and actually navigate the settings, run command-line tools (ipconfig, ping, tracert, netstat, sfc /scannow), and configure user permissions.
- Security topics need real focus here. Understand the difference between authentication, authorization, and accounting. Know your malware types, your social engineering categories, and physical security controls.
- Practice PBQs explicitly. CompTIA releases sample PBQs on their site. Do all of them.
Final 2 weeks: Mixed practice
- Take full-length timed practice exams under exam conditions — no phone, no notes, 90 minutes per test.
- Score below 80%? Identify which domains you're weak in and go back to those specific Udemy sections.
- Score above 85% consistently? You're ready to schedule.
CompTIA A+ Career Outcomes: What the Cert Actually Gets You
CompTIA A+ is an entry-level cert, and it's priced by the job market accordingly. The roles it targets are help desk technician, desktop support specialist, field service technician, and IT support analyst.
Salary range for A+-certified roles in the U.S.: $38,000–$58,000 depending on location, employer, and whether you have any prior experience. In higher cost-of-living markets (SF, NYC, Seattle), entry-level IT support skews toward the upper end of that range. In mid-tier markets, expect $40,000–$48,000 for a first IT job with only the A+ behind you.
The cert does not replace experience. Hiring managers for IT support roles know the difference between someone who studied for a test and someone who has actually troubleshot production systems. The A+ gets your resume past the first filter — after that, your ability to communicate clearly with non-technical users and actually solve problems in an interview is what lands the job.
If your goal is a higher salary ceiling, plan for A+ → Network+ or Security+ → associate-level role → specialize (cloud, security, sysadmin). The A+ is mile one of a long road, not the destination.
FAQ
How much do Udemy CompTIA A+ courses cost?
During Udemy's frequent sitewide sales, most CompTIA A+ courses drop to $12.99–$19.99. The list price is typically $84.99–$129.99, but almost nobody pays that — Udemy runs sales multiple times per month. If you see a course at full price, wait a few days.
Is a Udemy course enough to pass the CompTIA A+ exam?
For most people, no — not by itself. Udemy provides strong foundational instruction, but you also need quality practice exams from a separate source, hands-on time with real or virtualized systems, and explicit practice with performance-based question formats. Candidates who use only video lectures have a meaningfully higher failure rate.
Which Udemy instructor is best for CompTIA A+?
Mike Meyers and Jason Dion are the most consistently recommended. Meyers has decades in the certification training industry and wrote some of the original CompTIA study guides. Dion produces high-quality practice exams alongside his courses. Total Seminars (Meyers' company) also has well-regarded material. Verify the course was updated for the current 220-1101/1102 objectives before buying.
How long does it take to prepare for CompTIA A+ using a Udemy course?
Most candidates need 2-4 months of consistent study. If you're working in IT already and have hands-on experience, 6-8 weeks of focused study is realistic. If you're coming in with no technical background, plan for 3-4 months. The Udemy course itself might be 25-30 hours of video — that's a fraction of the total prep time required.
Do Udemy CompTIA A+ courses expire?
Udemy courses include lifetime access after purchase, so the content doesn't expire. However, the CompTIA A+ exam objectives are updated periodically, and a course that was accurate for 2022 objectives may be missing content for current exams. Always verify the course's last update date against the current exam version before studying.
Can I get CompTIA A+ for free on Udemy?
Udemy does not offer CompTIA A+ courses for free, but free preview sections are available on most courses. Professor Messer's CompTIA A+ study notes and some video content are freely available on his own website — that's the best legitimate free resource for A+ prep. Combine that with paid Udemy practice exams if budget is a constraint.
Bottom Line
A Udemy CompTIA A+ course is one of the most cost-effective ways to structure your study for the 220-1101 and 220-1102 exams — but only if you treat it as part of a broader prep strategy, not the whole thing. Buy a course from a credentialed instructor who's updated it for current objectives, pair it with a dedicated practice exam resource, and actually get hands-on with the systems and tools the exam tests. Do that and the $15 you spend on Udemy is money well spent. Skip the practice exams and hands-on work, and you'll be paying the $246 exam fee twice.