Which AWS certification should you take?
Answer five quick questions about your experience, role and goals, and we’ll point you at the AWS certification that fits — from Cloud Practitioner to the associate exams. Free, no account needed.
Which best describes you?
Five quick questions. No account needed — your result shows instantly.
Which AWS certification should you take?
For most people the answer is the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02): it’s the foundational exam, needs no hands-on experience, and gives you the vocabulary every other AWS certification assumes. If you already know AWS, skip it and pick the associate that matches your role — Solutions Architect for design, Developer for code, or SysOps for operations. The quiz above weighs your experience, role and goals to point you at one; the table below shows how the four compare.
| Certification | Level | Best for | Exam | Our take |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) | Foundational | Beginners, career-switchers, non-technical roles | 65 Qs · 90 min | The right first exam for almost everyone |
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) | Associate | Architects, generalists, anyone unsure which associate | 65 Qs · 130 min | The most popular and versatile associate |
| AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02) | Associate | Developers who build applications on AWS | 65 Qs · 130 min | Deepest on the developer toolchain |
| AWS Certified CloudOps Engineer – Associate (SOA-C03) | Associate | Ops, SysAdmin and DevOps engineers | 65 Qs · 130 min | The most operations-focused associate |
How to choose your AWS certification
Three questions settle it for almost everyone: how much AWS experience you have, what you actually do, and what you’re trying to achieve.
Start with your experience
If you have little or no hands-on AWS time, begin with Cloud Practitioner regardless of your role. It’s designed to be your first exam and makes every associate that follows far less of a leap. Jumping straight to an associate with no foundation is the most common reason people fail.
Then match the exam to your role
Once you’re past the basics, let your day job decide: architects and generalists take Solutions Architect, developers take Developer, and operations engineers take SysOps. They’re all associate-level and similar in difficulty — the difference is emphasis, not depth.
When in doubt, pick Solutions Architect
SAA-C03 is the most widely recognised and broadly useful associate. If your role doesn’t point clearly at Developer or SysOps, it’s the safest default and the one most employers ask for by name.
Plan the order, not just the exam
A common, reliable path is Cloud Practitioner first, then one associate that fits your work. You don’t need all three associates — pick the one that maps to where you want to go next.