Fact check · Number of questions
How many questions are on the CySA+ exam?
The CySA+ CS0-004 exam has a maximum of 85 questions, mixing multiple-choice and performance-based items, and you get 165 minutes for all of them. Eighty-five is a ceiling, so your exam can have fewer.
- Checked October 9, 2026
CS0-004 has a maximum of 85 questions, multiple-choice and performance-based, with 165 minutes to answer them.
Source: CompTIA CySA+ V4 (CS0-004) exam page · checked
CS0-004 format on one card
| Item | CS0-004 |
|---|---|
| Questions | Maximum of 85 |
| Question types | Multiple-choice and performance-based |
| Time | 165 minutes |
| Passing score | 750 on a 100–900 scale |
| Languages | English; French, Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese coming soon |
| Delivery | Pearson VUE test center or OnVUE online proctoring |
CS0-003 has the same question maximum, time and passing score (CompTIA V3 page, checked October 2026); its content and weights differ.
Where the questions come from
A pacing plan for 165 minutes
Know the average
165 minutes over at most 85 items is a little under two minutes each (our arithmetic). A performance-based task asks you to work through data while a multiple-choice item asks for one pick, so spend that average across the whole exam rather than item by item.
Set a cap per item
Decide before exam day how long one item may take, for example twice the average, and when you reach it, commit to your best answer and move on.
Use two checkpoints
At about 55 minutes you want roughly a third of the exam behind you, and two thirds at about 110. Falling behind at the first checkpoint is cheap to fix; at the second it is not.
Rehearse the clock
Sit the timed CySA+ mock exam at least once. It is shorter than the real exam, but its clock runs at the same pace and it holds back verdicts until you close it, so you practice pacing before the real 165 minutes.
Count and format
How many performance-based questions will I get?
CompTIA does not publish a number or a position for them. Its V4 FAQ (June 12, 2026) describes what they ask instead: analyze SIEM alerts, review logs, investigate indicators of compromise and similar analyst tasks. The CySA+ PBQ page goes through each task.
Is CS0-003 the same length if I book it instead?
Yes: a maximum of 85 questions in 165 minutes with 750 to pass, per CompTIA's V3 page (checked October 2026). English CS0-003 retires on December 22, 2026.
How many questions can I miss and still pass?
Nobody outside CompTIA can tell you. The pass mark is a scaled 750 on 100–900, and CompTIA publishes no table from correct answers to score, so any number of allowed misses is a guess. That uncertainty is part of what makes CySA+ demanding.
Sources
- CompTIA CySA+ V4 (CS0-004) exam page (checked October 9, 2026)
- CompTIA CySA+ CS0-004 exam objectives, version 2.0 (PDF) (checked October 9, 2026)
- CompTIA CySA+ V3 (CS0-003) exam page (checked October 9, 2026)
- CompTIA blog: The New CompTIA CySA+ (V4), Your Certification Questions Answered · published June 12, 2026 (checked October 9, 2026)
Facts checked. Now practice.
Take CySA+ practice questions with you in our app for iPhone and Android.