Cisco Certification Training Online.
Five Cisco tracks, from CCNA at $299 to CCIE Security at $2,499. All taught live with 24×7 console access to real racked hardware over VPN — Catalyst, ISR, ASR, a live Viptela SD-WAN cluster, ASA with Firepower, and an ISE 3.x cluster. Cisco's exam fees are separate and paid directly to Cisco; each track page below breaks down the real total.
The five tracks
The entry certification. Gets a resume past the first filter and is the prerequisite every hiring manager silently assumes before discussing CCNP.
Who it is for: Freshers and career-changers with no networking credential.
Two exams. Adds Cisco SD-WAN on a real Viptela cluster plus Python and Ansible automation, which is where the salary differentiation actually sits.
Who it is for: Engineers with 1–3 years who want the professional-tier credential.
SCOR core plus depth on SISE (Identity Services Engine) and SVPN (VPN) — the two concentrations with the broadest US demand.
Who it is for: Engineers moving into network security.
Expert tier. Final month is full-length 8-hour mock labs. Cisco's own fees add $2,000 on top — $400 written, $1,600 per lab attempt.
Who it is for: Senior engineers and architects already at CCNP level.
Taught by five CCIE Security holders. Three full mock-lab attempts with named-trainer sign-off before you book the real exam.
Who it is for: Senior security engineers already at CCNP Security level.
Which Cisco certification is best for beginners?
CCNA 200-301, without much competition. It is Cisco's associate-level entry certification, assumes no prior networking knowledge, and is the credential US job postings name most often for entry-level infrastructure roles.
Do not start at CCNP even if CCNA material feels easy. The professional tier assumes fluency, not familiarity, and the gap between those two is wider than it looks from the syllabus.
One exception: if you already have several years of hands-on network experience without any certification, CCNA is largely a formality and going straight to CCNP Enterprise is defensible.
Can I get Cisco certification for free?
The training can be nearly free. The certification cannot.
Cisco Networking Academy offers free introductory courses. Cisco's Learning Network has substantial free study material. Jeremy's IT Lab publishes a complete free CCNA course on YouTube that is genuinely excellent and that a great many people have passed on.
What is never free is the exam — CCNA is about $300 and Cisco does not waive it outside specific programmes. So: you can learn Cisco for free and still need roughly $300 to hold anything. If budget is your binding constraint, start with Jeremy's IT Lab and Packet Tracer rather than paying us or anyone else.
Can I learn Cisco online? The lab question
Theory delivers fine over Zoom. The genuine question for any online Cisco course is lab access, because Cisco exams — especially at CCNP and CCIE level — test configuration and troubleshooting behaviour that simulators do not reproduce faithfully.
Packet Tracer and GNS3 are good enough to learn syntax. They are not good enough for an interview where the panelist asks about IOS-specific behaviour, a hardware feature mismatch, or how a config behaves on a stack versus a chassis.
Hardware scales with the tier
| Tier | What you get access to |
|---|---|
| CCNA | Catalyst access switches and ISR routers |
| CCNP | Adds Catalyst 9000 series plus advanced ISRs and ASRs, and a live Viptela SD-WAN cluster |
| CCIE | Adds Nexus, ASA with Firepower, and an ISE 3.x cluster |
Current software generations are IOS XE 17, NX-OS 10 and ASA 9.x, refreshed within roughly six months of
Cisco's general-availability dates. Access is 24×7 via
vpn.networkershome.com at
180–240 ms US latency.
What order should you take them in?
CCNA first, then a professional track, then expert if you want it. After CCNA the fork is by direction rather than level — CCNP Enterprise for routing, switching and SD-WAN work, or CCNP Security for firewall, VPN and network access control. They are parallel tracks, not sequential ones.
One practical note worth money: if you already know you want CCIE Security, the SCOR 350-701 exam is the shared core between CCNP Security and CCIE Security. Those two overlap heavily, and going straight for the CCIE track avoids paying twice for the same material.
What does Cisco certification really cost?
| Track | Training | Cisco exam fees | Realistic total |
|---|---|---|---|
| CCNA | $299 | ~$300 | ~$600 |
| CCNP Enterprise | $1,299 | $700 | ~$2,000 |
| CCNP Security | $1,299 | $700 | ~$2,000 |
| CCIE Enterprise | $2,299 | $2,000 | ~$4,300 |
| CCIE Security | $2,499 | $2,000 | ~$4,500 |
CCIE totals assume a first-attempt lab pass. Budget for a second attempt — the lab has a low first-attempt pass rate industry-wide and retakes are $1,600 each. Across the wider US market, instructor-led Cisco training runs $2,500 to $5,000 per course before exam fees.
Cisco certification training online — frequently asked
How much does Cisco certification training cost?
Two separate costs, and providers who blur them are being slippery. Training at Networkers Home runs $299 for CCNA, $1,299 for CCNP Enterprise or CCNP Security, $2,299 for CCIE Enterprise and $2,499 for CCIE Security. Cisco's exam fees are separate and paid directly to Cisco: CCNA is about $300, ENCOR $400, ENARSI or a CCNP Security concentration $300, and the CCIE lab $1,600 per attempt. So a realistic CCNP Enterprise total is around $2,000, and a realistic CCIE total is around $4,300 for a first pass. Across the wider US market, instructor-led Cisco training runs $2,500 to $5,000 per course and Cisco Learning Partner classes run higher.
Can I get Cisco certification for free?
The training can be nearly free; the certification cannot. Cisco Networking Academy offers free introductory courses, and Cisco's Learning Network has substantial free study material and community resources. Jeremy's IT Lab publishes a complete free CCNA course on YouTube that is genuinely excellent and that many people have passed on. What is never free is the exam — CCNA is about $300 and Cisco does not waive it outside specific programmes. So the honest position is that you can learn Cisco for free and still need roughly $300 to hold anything. If budget is the constraint, start with Jeremy's IT Lab and Packet Tracer rather than paying anyone.
Can I learn Cisco training online?
Yes, and the only genuine question is lab access. Theory delivers fine over Zoom, but Cisco exams — particularly at CCNP and CCIE level — test configuration and troubleshooting behaviour that simulators do not reproduce faithfully. Packet Tracer and GNS3 are good enough to learn syntax and not good enough for an interview where someone asks about IOS-specific behaviour or how a config behaves on a stack versus a chassis. Networkers Home's online tracks give 24×7 console access to real racked hardware over VPN, with US-region latency around 180 to 240 ms, which is imperceptible for CLI work.
Which Cisco certification is best for beginners?
CCNA 200-301, without much competition. It is Cisco's associate-level entry certification, assumes no prior networking knowledge, and is the credential US job postings name most often for entry-level infrastructure roles. Do not start at CCNP even if you find CCNA material easy — the professional tier assumes fluency, not familiarity. The one exception is if you already have several years of hands-on network experience without certification, in which case CCNA is largely a formality and going straight to CCNP Enterprise is defensible.
What order should I take Cisco certifications in?
CCNA first, then a professional-tier track, then expert if you want it. After CCNA the fork is by direction rather than level: CCNP Enterprise for routing, switching and SD-WAN work, or CCNP Security for firewall, VPN and network access control work. They are parallel tracks, not sequential. CCIE Enterprise and CCIE Security sit above their respective professional tracks. One practical note: if you already know you want CCIE Security, the SCOR 350-701 exam is the shared core between CCNP Security and CCIE Security, so those two overlap substantially and going straight for the CCIE track avoids paying twice for the same material.
What time do the live classes run for US students?
Every Cisco track runs two schedules. US-East weeknights are Tuesday and Thursday, 7:00–9:30 PM ET. US-West weekends are Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 AM–2:00 PM PT. Both cover identical syllabi with the same trainers, and sessions are recorded and posted within about 30 minutes. Rack access via vpn.networkershome.com is 24×7 regardless of which track you pick. The CCIE tracks additionally schedule full 8-hour mock labs as weekend blocks, since eight continuous hours does not fit a weeknight.