Frequently Asked Questions

CompTIA Prep is an AI-powered quiz platform that helps you study for CompTIA A+ (Core 1 & Core 2), Network+, and Security+ certification exams. It generates unique, exam-style questions using AI, tracks your progress across domains, and includes features like multiplayer quizzes, Professor Byte (your AI tutor), and detailed performance analytics.

Yes! Create a free account with your email, Google, Microsoft, or GitHub. Free accounts get 10 solo questions and 30 multiplayer questions per day. Paid plans unlock unlimited questions, all features, and no ads.

We offer three plans:

• Monthly — $12/month (recurring, cancel anytime)
• 3-Month — $30 one-time (best value per month)
• Yearly — $99 one-time (lowest cost, full year)

All paid plans include up to 90 questions per quiz, unlimited multiplayer, no ads, and full access to all features.

Repeat purchases extend from your current expiry date, not from the purchase date. You'll never lose any remaining time.

Yes. Monthly subscriptions can be cancelled anytime. Your access continues until the end of the billing period. The 3-Month and Yearly plans are one-time purchases and don't auto-renew.

No — our questions are AI-generated practice questions based on official CompTIA exam objectives. They're designed to test the same knowledge and skills as the real exam, but they are not actual exam questions. This is a study tool, not a brain dump.

Currently: CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201), A+ Core 2 (220-1202), Network+ (N10-009), and Security+ (SY0-701). We plan to add more CompTIA certifications in the future.

Test Mode simulates real exam conditions with a countdown timer. You earn 1.5x XP in Test Mode. Choose a time limit (30, 45, 60, or 90 minutes) to practice under pressure.

You earn XP for correct answers: Easy (1 pt), Medium (2 pts), Hard (3 pts), Advanced (4 pts). Test Mode gives a 1.5x multiplier. There are 20 levels from Novice to Grandmaster, and your progress appears on the leaderboard.

The Certification Readiness page tracks your mastery across every exam domain based on your quiz performance. It shows mastery bars for each domain so you can see your weak areas and focus your study. Mastery requires answering a meaningful volume of questions — it ramps up as you practice more.

Between the Study, History, and Certification Readiness pages you've got everything you need to close your weak gaps:

• Certification Readiness — see your mastery % per domain for each exam. Expand any domain and click a specific subtopic to generate a quiz laser-focused on just that area (e.g. "Wireless security" within Security+ Domain 4).
• Study → Review & Practice:
  • Review Missed replays the exact questions you got wrong in past quizzes.
  • Weak Domains drops you into a quiz on your lowest-scoring domain with fresh AI-generated questions.
• History — look back at past runs to spot which domains and difficulty levels you keep tripping on. Great for noticing patterns.
• Professor Byte (the chat button in the nav bar) — ask follow-up questions on any topic you're shaky on. He'll explain concepts plainly, walk through scenarios, and help it stick.

Pick the one that matches your mood — data-driven (Readiness/History), practice-focused (Study), or conversational (Byte). Most people end up mixing all four.

You can create a private room and share the code with friends, or use Quick Match to find random opponents. Games can be free-for-all (1v1) or 2v2 team mode. Everyone answers the same questions with a per-question timer, and points are awarded for speed and accuracy.

Yes. You can set your username on the Account page. Usernames must be 3-16 characters, alphanumeric with underscores.

The Learning Pathway is a structured, chapter-by-chapter study guide for each CompTIA exam. Each exam's pathway follows the official exam domains, with individual lessons for each subtopic. Pass a lesson (70%+) to unlock the next one. Your progress is tracked with visual bars so you can see exactly how far you are.

You can add friends by username on the Friends page. Once connected, you can challenge them to a 1v1 quiz battle, start a Co-Study session, or invite them to multiplayer rooms. Your win/loss record against each friend is tracked automatically.

Co-Study is a collaborative study mode where you and a friend see the same questions and vote on answers together. There's no scoring or competition — it's designed for discussing and learning. You can also vote to skip a question. After both players answer, everyone's votes are revealed alongside the correct answer and explanation.

Our AI generates realistic multiple-choice questions covering all exam domains. Questions include:

• Scenario-Based — Real-world troubleshooting and analysis scenarios
• Command Line — Identify the right commands for common tasks
• Configuration — Spot incorrect settings in device and network configurations
• Conceptual — Test your understanding of core CompTIA concepts

Every quiz is unique — our AI generates fresh questions each time so you never see the same quiz twice.

We offer four difficulty levels to match every stage of your study journey:

• Easy — Basic recall and definitions. Great for beginners just starting to learn the material. Focuses on terminology and straightforward facts.
• Medium — The closest match to the actual CompTIA exam. A mix of recall and scenario-based questions that test understanding, not just memorization. Start here if you're unsure.
• Hard — Complex scenarios requiring you to apply multiple concepts together. Tricky distractors that test deep understanding. Similar to the hardest questions on the real exam.
• Advanced — Beyond exam difficulty. Designed to challenge even well-prepared candidates with edge cases and real-world context. If you can pass Advanced consistently, you're ready for the real thing.

Our recommendation: Start on Medium. If you're scoring 85%+ consistently, move to Hard. Use Advanced as a final confidence check before scheduling your exam. The real CompTIA exams are closest to Medium-Hard difficulty.

Real CompTIA exams have up to 90 questions with a 90-minute time limit. Here's how to use our question count options:

• 10-20 questions — Quick daily practice sessions. Best for building consistency.
• 30-50 questions — Focused study sessions when you have more time.
• 90 questions — Full exam simulation. Use this with Test Mode to simulate real exam conditions and build stamina.

We recommend short daily sessions (10-30 questions) over occasional long sessions. Consistency beats cramming.

Test Mode simulates real CompTIA exam conditions:

• Timed — choose 30, 45, 60, or 90 minutes
• No instant feedback — you won't see if you're right or wrong until you submit
• Navigate freely — skip questions and come back to them
• Submit when ready — review all your answers before finishing

Use Test Mode with 90 questions and a 90-minute timer for the most realistic exam practice. Aim for 85%+ before scheduling your real exam.

The notification bell in the top nav shows alerts for friend requests, game invites, and more. Click a notification to be taken to the relevant page. You can mark individual notifications as read or clear them all.

Yes. After answering any question, you'll see thumbs up/down buttons and a flag icon. Use thumbs to rate question quality, or flag to report issues like wrong answers, unclear wording, or outdated content. Your feedback helps us improve question quality.

Professor Byte is our AI-powered beaver tutor and mascot. You'll find the "Ask Byte" button in the top navigation bar. Click it to open a chat sidebar where Professor Byte can explain quiz questions, suggest study strategies based on your weak domains, recommend Professor Messer videos, help you navigate the site, and answer account questions. He's aware of your current quiz, mastery scores, and recent performance.

Yes. Ask it to remember study notes, target exam dates, or weak areas and it will recall them in future sessions. You can also ask it to forget anything. Chat history persists in your browser.

We collect minimal data:

• Email address — only if you sign up for a trial or paid plan. Used for authentication and account management.
• Quiz scores — submitted to the leaderboard for logged-in users (email, score, exam, difficulty).
• Study progress — mastery scores, pathway progress, and quiz history are synced to our servers for logged-in users so you can access them across devices.
• Feedback submissions — if you use the feedback form or report a question.

We do not sell your data, track you across websites, or share your information with third parties beyond essential services (Stripe for payments, Resend for emails).

For logged-in users, your mastery scores, learning pathway progress, and quiz history are synced to our servers so you can access them from any device. This data is tied to your account and deleted if you delete your account.

For free users (no account), all data is stored locally in your browser only. Chat messages and theme preferences are always stored locally regardless of account status.

Yes, we use Google's Gemini AI to generate quiz questions and power Professor Byte. Your quiz answers and personal data are not sent to the AI — only exam topic parameters are sent for question generation. Professor Byte receives your current quiz context and mastery scores to give personalized advice, but this is not stored or used for AI training.