Cert vs certCEH vs Cisco
CEH vs Cisco's Ethical Hacker course
Cisco does not issue a Certified Ethical Hacker credential. CEH is EC-Council's proctored certification exam; Cisco's offer is Ethical Hacker, a free online course from Cisco Networking Academy (both checked Oct 11, 2026). One is the exam you pay to sit, the other is free practice ground that overlaps much of the CEH blueprint.
- Exam
- 312-50
- Updated
- Oct 11, 2026
What Cisco's course is
Ethical Hacker is a Networking Academy course you can take self-paced online or instructor-led through an academy. Cisco's course page lists it as free, about 70 hours, intermediate level, with 34 labs, ten modules, a final capstone activity and a course final exam. It runs in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Arabic.
Cisco's stated prerequisites are its Junior Cybersecurity Analyst Career Path or equivalent entry-level knowledge, plus basic programming. CCNA is not on that list, and the course page does not mention CCNA at all.
Finishing the course prepares you for the Cisco Certificate in Ethical Hacking, which Cisco says opens access to Capture the Flag challenges. The course page gives no price or exam format for that certificate, so it stays out of the table below.
Exam and course, row by row
| Criterion | CEH | Cisco Ethical Hacker |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer (differs) | EC-Council | Cisco Networking Academy |
| What it is (differs) | Proctored certification exam, code 312-50 | Online course, self-paced or with an academy |
| Price (US$) (differs) | $950 remote-proctored voucher | Free |
| Time (differs) | 4-hour exam | About 70 hours of course content |
| Assessment (differs) | 125 multiple-choice questions | Course final exam and a final capstone activity |
| Hands-on work (differs) | None in the knowledge exam; a separate CEH Practical exists | 34 labs |
| Entry (differs) | EC-Council training, or two years of information-security work plus an approved application | Junior Cybersecurity Analyst Career Path or equivalent; basic programming |
| What you hold at the end (differs) | CEH certification, valid for three years | Preparation for the Cisco Certificate in Ethical Hacking |
Tinted rows marked ≠: the two differ.
Sources: EC-Council CEH certification page, EC-Council store voucher, CEH Candidate Handbook (validity), Cisco Networking Academy, Ethical Hacker. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Where the course meets the CEH blueprint
| Cisco module | Nearest CEH domain | CEH weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Introduction to Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing | Information Security and Ethical Hacking Overview | 6% |
| 3. Information Gathering and Vulnerability Scanning | Reconnaissance Techniques; vulnerability analysis sits in System Hacking | 17% and 15% |
| 4. Social Engineering Attacks | Network and Perimeter Hacking | 24% |
| 5. Exploiting Wired and Wireless Networks | Network and Perimeter Hacking; Wireless Network Hacking | 24% and 5% |
| 6. Exploiting Application-Based Vulnerabilities | Web Application Hacking | 14% |
| 7. Cloud, Mobile, and IoT Security | Mobile Platform, IoT, and OT Hacking; Cloud Computing | 10% and 5% |
| 8. Performing Post-Exploitation Techniques | System Hacking Phases and Attack Techniques | 15% |
| No matching module | Cryptography | 5% |
Modules 2, 9 and 10 (planning and scoping, reporting, tools and code analysis) are pentest workflow; their closest CEH ground is the overview domain. Module titles from netacad.com; weights from EC-Council's CEH Exam Blueprint v5.0 (effective April 2024), both checked Oct 11, 2026. The matching is this page's reading of the titles.
Using the free course on the way to CEH
Take it for the labs
The 34 labs are hands-on work the CEH knowledge exam never gives you. They give the attack classes in the CEH blueprint something concrete to attach to, at no cost.Leave it out of your eligibility plan
EC-Council lists two routes to sit CEH: EC-Council training, or two years of information-security work plus an approved application with a $100 fee. A course from another provider is neither. The CEH requirements page covers both routes.Patch the gap by weight
By module title, the course has nothing on cryptography, worth 5% of CEH under blueprint v5.0. Cram the cryptography file late and keep the bulk of your hours on Network and Perimeter Hacking at 24%.Switch to CEH-format questions
The course final exam tests Cisco's material in Cisco's wording. Before you buy a voucher, run the CEH practice test to see how CEH-format multiple choice reads. Paid books and practice exams are compared on the CEH prep resources page.