Personally, I think it's worth the cost. Out of the certs for "Hacking" it's probably the best known, and it does have the DOD backing.

I'd like it if it was cheaper, but it would be nice if college was cheaper too. I wonder if the EC-Council saw that a lot of people were doing the self option that didn't really have the requirement to take the self paced option. Requiring the application fee means you're probably going to be more serious about it.

As for the cost increase, see my thought above. It stops highschool students from going and taking the exam. To me it's a from of social control that we've seen everywhere. From colleges to high end grocery stores.

Or at least that's my opinion.

I dunno.  It seems pretty bold to increase the exam fee this much and start charging double PLUS an extra $100.  I've heard some negative reviews from guys who took the official ec-council CEH course.  Because of that and the expensive in-person courses, I was going to self-study but now I'm slowly backing away after reading the 2yrs of professional security experience required.  I've never had an official infosec job before so I doubt I'd qualify and giving them the $100 would just be that, a gift of $100 (it seems).  In short and IMHO, I don't like it. 

I don't want to say anything bad about the certification itself (I dont recommend to go after it either), but I can't get to the bottom of this big price raise in fee for the certificaiton. And the excuse that this much fee will thwart non-serious juniors from attempting it does not make any sense, they could have just added extra $100 on top of the old price to do this. But what extra/revolutionary change this certification brings or can bring in one's information security career? I cannot figure out the justification for this move (which in my opinion is just aimed at looting and then forcing candidates to pay a tip of $100 on top     ). How can they justify this raise? And please don't come up with something "It is their certification and they can do whatever they want", although this can be an answer but does not help in dissolving the impression that this is purely out of their greed and has nothing to do with the quality or value of this certification. Almost all of us do not have any problems with the fee of SANS GPEN or OSCP as we know the quality and value of those certs ... but CEH!!! Man com'on! I dont know why but I really want EC-Council to come out on this with some good argument!

Will you attempt this cert even if your employer pays the bill for you?

(My answer is a big NO, I don't want my employer's bucks be wasted in the name of a cert like CEH, but if its is priced at around $300 well then may be I will go for this    ).

My opinion, There was no good reason for the price hike (outside of greed.) ECC doesnt truly care if you are 15 or 60. They are producing a product that gets them recognition. Thats not to totally knock on them, most of the other companies are doing the same thing in one way or another, they just have a product that is generally considered better. (and they treat their members better.)

This practice isn't new or even unique to the C|EH.

GIAC charges more for an exam if you are not registered for the corresponding course. If you challenge a GIAC exam it will cost you $799. If you take the class it will cost you $549.

I have no plans to take the C|EH, but I'd say they're just adjusting the price according to the market. That's their prerogative.

This is really an odd approach for EC-Council. I didn't attend a class when I got my CEH, I got the courseware and training videos from another company, because I couldn't afford to attend a class.

I would imagine that most people who take the exam without taking a class chose this option because they couldn't afford the class, or their company was not willing to pay for the class. So why would they charge more for people who are trying to save money? Very odd.

don's right.  While it IS expensive, it's always good business (unfortunately, for those who don't want to spend on the class) to discount the exam, when someone has paid the big fees for the course, to training partners. 

Look at it this way...  They could always discount the course, and charge them the same testing fee.    <sarcasm>

But seriously, it is what it is, and is the way most of the training partners are moving, these days. 

Expensive?  Sure. 

Common practice?  Definitely.

But again, it is what it is...

I'll keep my personal opinion about the certification off of a public forum but EC-Council is just following suit with other certification governing bodies.

As already mentioned, look at some of the prices of the larger organizations...

SANS/GIAC = $550 (with a $4K+ class), $900 (challenge)
CISSP = $550/$600
CISA = $395-$645

CEH = $500 (+$100 self-study)

I believe their main target they are trying to compete with is SANS. It seemed they made this statement when they announced they had surpassed GIAC in the number of certified individuals.

So they really are just following the trend, and demand, for pricing.

Personally, I think it's more outrageous that SANS charges over $4K for their classes.