Azure Fundamentals vs Cloud Practitioner
These two are near-twins. Both are foundational cloud certifications, both cost around $100, both take a couple of weekends, and both ask what services are for rather than how to configure them. The technical difference between them is small.
The decision is not really about the exams. It is about which cloud you are going to work in, because the certification only pays off inside its own ecosystem.
Side by side
| Azure Fundamentals | Cloud Practitioner | |
|---|---|---|
| Prerequisites and experience | None. Nothing is assumed and nothing is enforced. | None. AWS recommends around six months of exposure, which is a suggestion rather than a gate. |
| Cost | $99. | $100. |
| Difficulty | The most approachable exam on this site. Recall rather than analysis. | Slightly harder. The shared responsibility model and the billing domain are where marks are lost. |
| Expiry | Never. Microsoft fundamentals certifications do not expire. | Three years, then recertify by passing the current version or any higher AWS certification. |
| Official study material | Microsoft Learn, free and complete, written by the team that writes the skills outline. | AWS Skill Builder free tier, including the official exam prep course and a free sample question set. |
| Exam length | 45 minutes, roughly 40 to 60 questions. | 90 minutes, 65 questions. |
| Item formats | Multiple choice and multiple response, plus drag-and-drop and hot area items. | Multiple choice and multiple response only. |
| Benefit for passing | None beyond the credential. | A 50 percent discount voucher toward your next AWS exam. |
| Natural next step | AZ-104 for administration, SC-900 then SC-300 or AZ-500 for security. | Solutions Architect Associate, or Developer Associate if you write the code. |
| Market position | Strong in enterprises already running Microsoft 365 and Windows estates, which is most of them. | Strong across startups, tech companies, and anywhere born in the cloud. Largest overall market share. |
Which one to take first
Take the one your employer runs. This is the whole answer for most people, and it beats every other consideration. A foundational cloud certification in an ecosystem you never touch is trivia; in the ecosystem you work in every day, it is vocabulary you use immediately.
If you have no employer preference and are choosing a direction, look at the jobs you want to apply for in your area and count. AWS has the larger overall market, Azure is stronger in traditional enterprises and anywhere Microsoft 365 is already embedded.
If you genuinely have no signal either way, AZ-900 has a small edge on economics: it is a dollar cheaper, shorter, and it never expires, so it costs nothing to hold for the rest of your career. AWS Cloud Practitioner has the counter-argument, because the 50 percent discount voucher makes the next AWS exam considerably cheaper.
When the answer is the other one
Take AWS Cloud Practitioner instead if you are going on to an associate exam
The 50 percent discount voucher applies to your next AWS exam, so if Solutions Architect Associate is already the plan, Cloud Practitioner effectively pays for a large part of itself. AZ-900 carries no equivalent benefit toward AZ-104.
Take AZ-900 instead if you want a credential with no ongoing cost
Microsoft fundamentals certifications never expire. AWS certifications need recertifying every three years. If you want one cheap credential that stays valid without maintenance, AZ-900 is the one.
Take neither if you already build in the cloud
Both exams ask what a service is for. If you already deploy infrastructure, you will learn nothing and a hiring manager will read a foundational certification as a foundational certification. Go straight to AZ-104 or Solutions Architect Associate.
The short version
Match the certification to the cloud you work in or want to work in. That single factor outweighs every difference between the exams.
No preference and planning to continue into AWS: Cloud Practitioner, for the discount voucher.
No preference and wanting one cheap credential that never needs renewing: AZ-900.
Taking both is not unreasonable if you work in a multi-cloud shop, and at roughly $200 for the pair it is a small spend. It is unnecessary for most people.
Frequently asked questions
Which is easier, AZ-900 or AWS Cloud Practitioner?
They are close. AZ-900 is shorter at 45 minutes and slightly more forgiving. AWS Cloud Practitioner gives you 90 minutes for 65 questions and leans harder on the shared responsibility model and billing.
Should I take both?
Only if you work in a multi-cloud environment. For about $200 you would hold both, but for most people the second one adds little that the first did not already prove.
Do either of these get me a cloud job?
On their own, rarely. They are foundational certifications and hiring managers read them as such. They get you past a screening filter and give you the vocabulary; AZ-104 or Solutions Architect Associate is what changes how a CV reads.
Does AZ-900 really never expire?
Correct. Microsoft fundamentals certifications do not expire and carry no continuing education requirement. Microsoft's role-based certifications such as AZ-104 expire after one year and renew free through an online assessment.
Try both before you decide
Free sample questions for each, with the full explanation on every answer. Nothing tells you which exam suits you like sitting a few of its questions.