Is 350-401 ENCOR Worth It in 2026? An Honest Verdict
Scored on five things that actually decide it — demand, pay, how reachable it is, what it costs and how long it stays relevant. Including who should not bother.
Worth it if enterprise networking is your career
ENCOR is the CCNP Enterprise core exam and also recertifies CCNA — that dual purpose is most of its value. It is a hard, wide exam.
The scorecard
Five criteria, each out of five. These are judgements, not measurements — but they are the same five questions worth asking about any certification before you pay for it.
Typical US pay for the roles ENCOR maps to — network engineer / senior network engineer — sits around $95,000 - $140,000.
Who it suits — and who should skip it
Most "is it worth it" answers fail because the honest answer depends entirely on where you are starting from.
Worth it if…
- You hold CCNA and want to move into senior network engineering
- You need to recertify CCNA — passing ENCOR does that too
- You work in a Cisco-heavy enterprise or a Cisco partner
- You want to add automation skills without leaving networking
Skip it if…
- You are new to networking — CCNA first, without exception
- Your environment is cloud-native or multi-vendor (consider cloud networking certs)
- You only need the concentration exam to complete CCNP and already hold a valid ENCOR
- You cannot commit several months — this is not a two-week exam
What it really costs
The exam fee is the number everyone quotes and the smallest part of the real total. Time is usually the expensive input.
Difficulty is worth factoring in too. We rate ENCOR at 7.5/10, which puts most candidates at 3-5 months of preparation. Underestimating that is the usual reason a "cheap" certification turns expensive.
Practise ENCOR the way it is actually asked
Exam-style questions weighted to the real blueprint, with an explanation on every answer.
What else you could do with the money
Comparing against the realistic alternatives is more useful than judging ENCOR in isolation.
| Alternative | Best for | How it compares |
|---|---|---|
| CCNA | Anyone not yet certified | The prerequisite in practice. ENCOR assumes CCNA-level fluency throughout. |
| CCNP concentration exams | CCNP candidates | You need ENCOR plus one concentration — they are complements, not alternatives. |
| AWS Advanced Networking | Cloud network engineers | Better if your traffic increasingly lives in the cloud rather than the campus. |
| JNCIS-ENT (Juniper) | Juniper environments | Equivalent tier in a different vendor ecosystem. |
Careers ENCOR commonly maps to: Network Engineer, Senior Network Engineer, Network Architect, Enterprise Infrastructure Engineer.
FAQ
Is ENCOR worth it in 2026?
Worth it if enterprise networking is your career. ENCOR is the CCNP Enterprise core exam and also recertifies CCNA - that dual purpose is most of its value. It is a hard, wide exam. On our five-criteria scoring it comes out at 3.4 out of 5.
How much does ENCOR cost in total?
The exam itself is $400. Budget for training or self-study material and, where it applies, ongoing renewal: 3 years, Cisco Continuing Education or re-exam. Fees change, so confirm current pricing with Cisco.
How long does it take to prepare for ENCOR?
Most candidates need 3-5 months of consistent study. That varies widely with how much relevant hands-on experience you already have.
What is the alternative to ENCOR?
The closest options are CCNA, CCNP concentration exams, AWS Advanced Networking. Which one fits depends on the roles you are targeting rather than which credential is objectively better.
ExamCert Team — we build exam-style practice banks for 90+ certifications. Scores here are our editorial judgement; exam fees and requirements come from Cisco and change over time.
Related: ENCOR exam guide · 350-401 ENCOR exam objectives · CCNP certification guide