AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate practice questions
Original questions written from the published exam objectives, never recalled exam content, with an explanation that teaches the concept behind every answer. Why that matters.
- Exam code
- SAA-C03
- Cost
- $150 USD
- Questions
- 65 (50 scored, 15 unscored)
- Duration
- 130 minutes
- Passing score
- 720 (scale 100-1000)
- Format
- Multiple choice and multiple response
The SAA-C03 exam costs $150. Fail it and the retake is another $150. Practicing until you are ready is the cheapest part of this.
Exam domains and official weightings
From the official AWS exam guides. Put your study time where the weight is.
- Design Secure Architectures30%
- Design Resilient Architectures26%
- Design High-Performing Architectures24%
- Design Cost-Optimized Architectures20%
- Design Secure Architectures30%
- Design Resilient Architectures26%
- Design High-Performing Architectures24%
- Design Cost-Optimized Architectures20%
Try 5 free sample questions
No account needed. Every question includes our three-tier explanation: the concept, why the answer follows, and why each wrong option is wrong.
Sample question 1 of 5
An application must serve private S3 objects to authenticated users without making the bucket public or proxying files through the app servers. Which approach fits?
Sample question 2 of 5
EC2 instances in private subnets need outbound internet access for patches, while remaining unreachable from the internet. Which component enables this?
Sample question 3 of 5
An RDS database must automatically fail over to a standby in another Availability Zone during instance or AZ failure, with no application reconfiguration. Which feature provides this?
Sample question 4 of 5
A read-heavy application repeatedly queries the same product catalog data from RDS, causing high database load and latency. Which addition most directly improves read performance?
Sample question 5 of 5
Application logs in S3 are queried often for 30 days, rarely for the next 60, and must be retained for a year for audit. Which cost-optimizing configuration fits?
Full Solutions Architect Associate question bank coming
We’re writing the complete bank from the official objectives right now. Leave your email and we’ll tell you when it ships, nothing else, ever.
An honest study plan
1. Read the official objectives first
Download the official objectives from AWS and skim every line. The exam can only test what’s listed there, it’s the contract.
2. Weight your study toward Design Secure Architectures and Design Resilient Architectures
Together the top two domains are 56% of the exam. Practice them until your accuracy is consistently above 80%.
3. Drill weak domains, then take a mock exam
Use Domain Drill on your weakest areas, then a full timed mock at real length (65 (50 scored, 15 unscored) questions, 130 minutes). Book the real exam when you’re consistently passing mocks, not before.
Official free resources
Study from the source. These are AWS’s own materials:
Official Solutions Architect Associate exam page & objectives ↗Where Solutions Architect Associate fits
Related certifications
Frequently asked questions
How hard is SAA-C03?
It's scenario-heavy: nearly every question describes a workload and asks for the best architecture among plausible options. Memorization fails here, you need to understand trade-offs between services like S3 storage classes or RDS vs DynamoDB.
How long are SAA-C03 questions?
Expect long stems, often a paragraph of requirements. With 65 questions in 130 minutes you have two minutes each, so practicing full-length reading stamina matters.
Do I need hands-on AWS experience?
AWS recommends a year of hands-on experience. You can pass with less if you lab the core services (VPC, EC2, S3, RDS, IAM), but the exam punishes purely theoretical prep.
Ready to practice for SAA-C03?
Play the free samples now. The full question bank is in progress, and you can join the waitlist on any sample question.