How much does AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner cost?
AWS Cloud Practitioner is $100 for the exam, and AWS gives away enough official preparation that most candidates pay nothing else. Budget $100 if you use the free material, and up to $250 if you want the Skill Builder subscription and a retake reserve.
Realistic total
$100 to $250
The low figure is the exam with the free Skill Builder material. The high figure adds a Skill Builder subscription and one retake.
Voucher price from AWS Certification, exam pricing ↗. Prices are the published US list price and change; the link is there so you can check.
Cost breakdown
| Item | Cost | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Exam voucher | $100 | The published US list price for one attempt at CLF-C02. |
| Retake | $100 | A second attempt costs the same as the first. |
| Official practice exam on Skill Builder | Varies | Included with the Skill Builder subscription. A free official question set is available without it. |
| AWS account for hands-on practice | Varies | Free tier covers most of what these exams ask about. Set a billing alarm on day one. |
| AWS Skill Builder, free tier | $0 | The official exam prep course, the digital training, and a free official question set. Written by AWS, aligned to the current exam guide. |
| Skill Builder subscription | Monthly subscription | Optional. Adds labs and the official practice exam. Useful if you want hands-on time you cannot get from a free tier account. |
| AWS account for practice | $0 if you are careful | The free tier covers what CLF-C02 asks about. Set a billing alarm on the first day, before you create anything. |
Exam pricing from AWS Certification, exam pricing ↗.
Ways to bring the cost down
Pass an AWS exam and you earn a 50 percent discount voucher toward your next one. That makes the second AWS certification effectively half price, which matters if Cloud Practitioner is a step toward Solutions Architect rather than a destination. Failing does not earn the benefit, which is another reason not to sit it early.
AWS runs official free exam prep on Skill Builder and publishes a free official sample question set. Those samples are the closest thing to real exam wording you will find, and they cost nothing.
If your employer is an AWS Partner, they may hold training vouchers or free exam credits through the partner programme. It is worth asking, because those credits often go unused.
50 percent retake or next-exam voucher
Passing an AWS exam earns a benefit in AWS Certification that includes a 50 percent discount voucher toward your next exam. Failing an exam does not earn one.
AWS Skill Builder free tier
The official exam prep course, the question sets, and the digital training are free on Skill Builder. The paid subscription adds labs and the official practice exam.
Free practice question set
AWS publishes an official set of sample questions for each exam at no cost, and it is the closest thing to the real wording you will find.
What a retake costs
A retake is another $100. AWS requires a 14 day wait after a failed attempt, which is longer than Microsoft's 24 hours and applies from the first failure.
Two weeks is enough time to fix a real gap, and AWS's score report tells you which domains were below competency. Use the wait rather than resenting it.
The 50 percent discount voucher from a previous AWS pass can be applied to a retake, so if this is not your first AWS certification, the second attempt may be $50 rather than $100.
Retake pricing from AWS Certification, exam pricing ↗.
What renewal costs across the full cycle
AWS certifications last three years. Recertifying means passing the current version of the exam, or any higher certification in the same track, at full price.
That second route is the one to plan around. Passing Solutions Architect Associate recertifies Cloud Practitioner automatically, so people moving up the AWS ladder rarely pay to renew a lower certification.
The 50 percent benefit voucher from your most recent pass applies to the recertification exam, so even the direct route is usually half price.
Typical preparation budget
Preparation for Cloud Practitioner can genuinely cost nothing. The realistic range people spend is $0 to $200, and the top of that range buys convenience rather than a better chance of passing.
Our questions, explanations, and cheat sheets are free, and the explanation is never paywalled. That is the part of a paid practice set you are actually buying, so it is the part we do not charge for.
The cheapest way to avoid the $100 line on this page is to be ready before you book. Free Cloud Practitioner practice questions with a full explanation on every answer.
Keep reading
Cloud Practitioner practice questions
Free sample questions with the full explanation on every answer.
Cloud Practitioner guide
Who it is for, study plans by experience level, and whether it is worth it.
Cloud Practitioner vs Azure Fundamentals
Side by side on cost, difficulty, and which one to take first.
Practise Cloud Practitioner for free while you decide
Original questions written from the published objectives, with the concept, the reasoning, and a note on every wrong option. No account needed to start.
Start free Cloud Practitioner questions