A+ study plan: 140 hours, two cores and one calendar you can defend

Plan the second exam on the day you plan the first.

Count both cores

CompTIA publishes no study-hour figure. CredenTrek builds a working assumption from the product lengths CompTIA lists for each core: CertMaster Learn 25 to 40 hours, labs 15 to 25 and practice 10 to 20. CredenTrek rounds that up to a working assumption of 60 to 90 hours per core, or 120 to 180 for the full A+.

A plan of 140 hours, with 70 for each core, sits within that range. Use a diagnostic practice test to see if you belong nearer 120 or 180.

What the same 140 hours needs at three paces

Add one buffer week for roughly every eight weeks.

The tracks, in hours a week, are light at 4 to 6, standard at 7 to 12 and intensive at 15 to 25.

A dated case

Take a candidate who starts on Monday 12 October 2026 and can give 10 hours in an ordinary week. 140 divided by 10 gives 14 weeks, plus two buffer weeks, which makes 16. Sixteen weeks from 12 October ends on 1 February 2027.

• The first core exam falls around week 7 or 8, once Core 1 or Core 2 has had its 70 hours.
• The second exam falls around week 15 or 16.

Four stages inside each core

Each core's 70 hours follows the same pattern.

The hours add to 70. Stage B is the largest, because A+ asks you to cover a very wide range of devices, tools and procedures.

A quarter of the week with your hands on something

A+ is a practical credential. At least a quarter of every week's hours should go to something you can touch: a machine, a router, a virtual machine, a fault you created. If a week is all reading, move an hour from reading to practice.

If you have six hours or fewer

The limited-time route is: one V15 course, one practice-test source and a home lab. Nothing else. At five hours a week, the plan above stretches to 32 weeks, so be sure you can protect that time for that long.

What to write down

Book each core only when your practice results for it are stable. Put the start date, hours a week, the two exam months and the buffer weeks in one table. Then check it every month. If you miss a week, use a buffer week and note it, instead of quietly moving both exams. A plan that shows its slips can be repaired.