CEH training and courses: official options, online and boot camp

Why official CEH training matters for eligibility

EC-Council states that a candidate who has completed official EC-Council training, either at an Authorized Training Center or through EC-Council’s own iClass, is eligible to attempt the exam. Without it, you must document two years in an information security role and pay a non-refundable $100 application fee.

That makes the difference between official and unofficial courses very concrete. Any certified ethical hacker (CEH) course can teach you the material, but only EC-Council’s official training removes the experience requirement. If you do not have the two years, check that a provider is an EC-Council Authorized Training Center before you pay.

EC-Council itself speaks of a programme rather than a single course: its eligibility page opens with “The CEH program requires” two years of information security experience, and the certified ethical hacker program follows a four-step framework EC-Council calls Learn, Certify, Engage, Compete.

Source: EC-Council — Application process and eligibility. Checked 9 October 2026.

EC-Council CEH certification courses and formats

EC-Council sells its own CEH training in several formats, and lists “starting at” prices for them on its CEH page:

EC-Council does not list exactly what each certified ethical hacker (CEH) training course package contains on that page; it says pricing varies with several factors and refers buyers to an advisor.

• iLearn — EC-Council’s on-demand training option: a single on-demand certification course from $1,699.
• Live online — a single live online certification course from $2,499. EC-Council’s Masterclass is a live online instructor-led class with a set schedule.
• Unlimited on-demand — unlimited on-demand certification courses from $3,999.
• Authorized Training Centers — computer training centres, consulting groups and education companies that deliver official training, at their own prices.

Source: EC-Council — Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). Checked 9 October 2026.

What official CEH certification training includes

The EC-Council CEH course for v13 is organised in 20 modules. According to EC-Council, official CEH training includes access to all course materials, including cheat sheets, and six months of access to hands-on labs hosted in its Cyber Range. The v13 course has 221 hands-on labs, and students also get access to EC-Council’s curated ethical hacking video libraries.

Exam vouchers with one-year validity and free retakes are available in selected packages, and EC-Council says retake eligibility depends on the package you enrol in. Whichever certified ethical hacker training program you compare, EC-Council’s own or a training centre’s, the voucher and the retakes are where packages differ most.

Source: EC-Council — Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). Checked 9 October 2026.

CEH boot camp: what to check

EC-Council describes its official CEH training as structured as a five-day boot camp, with the exam typically taken at the end of day five. A certified ethical hacker boot camp sold by someone else can follow the same format, but the label alone tells you nothing about whether it counts as official training.

Before booking any CEH bootcamp, ask four questions:

• Is it delivered by EC-Council or an EC-Council Authorized Training Center? Only then does it replace the two-year experience requirement.
• Is the exam voucher included, and is it for the online proctored exam or VUE delivery?
• Are retakes included if you do not pass first time?
• How long does lab access last after the five days? EC-Council’s own training includes six months.

Source: EC-Council — Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). Checked 9 October 2026.

CEH online course or classroom?

Both lead to the same exam. Taking a CEH course online on demand suits you if you can keep a schedule on your own — EC-Council’s iLearn is its on-demand certified ethical hacker online course. Live CEH training classes, online or at a training centre, give you a fixed timetable and an instructor to ask; live online CEH training such as EC-Council’s Masterclass combines the two.

Whichever kind of certified ethical hacker online training you choose, ask the same questions as for a boot camp: is it official, is a voucher included, and how long do you keep lab access?

The knowledge exam itself is delivered online via EC-Council’s exam portal, with VUE delivery as the alternative. That makes a fully online CEH certification route possible: you can earn the CEH certification online, from first module to exam, without travelling. An ethical hacker certification online still means a proctored exam, so check EC-Council’s proctoring requirements before you book.

Source: EC-Council — Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). Checked 9 October 2026.

Is there a free certified ethical hacker course?

There is no free CEH certification. EC-Council’s own free ethical hacking offering is a different course: Ethical Hacking Essentials (E|HE), an introductory cybersecurity course that EC-Council offers free to educators who meet specific requirements. EC-Council also marks some of its other short courses as free for all.

If you are looking for a free ethical hacker certification from EC-Council, note that even for E|HE the official certification is available only through an optional upgrade.

EC-Council does not list CEH training free of charge; it presents CEH as the paid step up from those free courses. The free certified ethical hacker training that does exist is introductory. It can still be useful to test whether ethical hacking suits you before you pay — just do not expect it to satisfy EC-Council’s eligibility rules.

Source: EC-Council — Free ethical hacking courses. Checked 9 October 2026.

Practice alongside any CEH training program

Whatever course you choose, it should end with you testing yourself under exam conditions: 125 multiple-choice questions in four hours. Certsqill is not a CEH certification course and does not count towards EC-Council’s official training route. It is the practice layer on top: expert-developed CEH questions, an explanation for every answer option, a readiness score per domain, and a 7-day money-back guarantee.

CEH training & courses: questions people ask

Which CEH course counts as official training?

Training completed with EC-Council directly, for example through its iClass, or at an EC-Council Authorized Training Center. EC-Council treats that as meeting the eligibility requirement. Checked 9 October 2026.

How much does EC-Council CEH training cost?

EC-Council lists a single on-demand certification course from $1,699, a single live online course from $2,499 and unlimited on-demand courses from $3,999. Training centres set their own prices.

Is the CEH certification free anywhere?

No. The free courses EC-Council offers, such as Ethical Hacking Essentials for eligible educators, are separate introductory courses, and CEH is presented as a paid upgrade from them.

Is there a certified ethical hacker free course from EC-Council?

Not for CEH itself. EC-Council’s free offering is Ethical Hacking Essentials (E|HE), free for educators who meet its requirements, plus some short courses marked free for all. Checked 9 October 2026.

Can I find a CEH course free of charge that counts as official training?

No. Official training is what removes the two-year experience requirement, and EC-Council lists it only as paid training, from EC-Council or an Authorized Training Center.

Is certified ethical hacker training free for students or educators?

The EC-Council pages we checked list no free CEH training. EC-Council’s free course for educators who meet its requirements is E|HE, an introductory course, not CEH.

Is CEH training online as valid as classroom training?

Yes, as long as it is official. EC-Council’s on-demand and live online courses are official training, as is training at an Authorized Training Center, and all of them lead to the same exam.

Can I do certified ethical hacker training online?

Yes. EC-Council offers on-demand online training (iLearn) and live online instructor-led classes, and the knowledge exam can be taken online with proctoring.

How long is a CEH training course?

EC-Council structures its official CEH training as a five-day boot camp, with six months of lab access afterwards. On-demand courses run at your own pace.

What is a CEH training center?

An EC-Council Authorized Training Center is a training centre, consulting group or education company authorised to deliver official EC-Council training. EC-Council advises looking for its Authorized Training Center logo.