AWS Cloud Practitioner vs AZ-900: Which Entry-Level Cloud Cert Should You Get First in 2026?

If you only have time, money, and attention for one beginner cloud certification right now, your choice between AWS Cloud Practitioner and AZ-900 matters more than people think. Both are marketed as “entry-level.” Both look great on a resume. Both can help you break into cloud. But they are not identical in difficulty, scope, employer signaling, or what they set you up to do next.

So which should you get first: aws certified cloud practitioner or microsoft certified: azure fundamentals?

The short answer: if you want the broadest cloud market recognition, start with aws cloud practitioner certification. If your company, school, or target employers are deep in Microsoft, start with az-900 certification. The better answer is below, with real exam facts, practical tradeoffs, and a clear recommendation based on your goals.

TL;DR: Key Takeaways

• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) is a foundational AWS certification with 90 minutes, 65 questions, and a $100 USD exam fee.
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals is a beginner Azure credential with 45 minutes to complete the exam.
• aws cloud practitioner is usually the better first certification if you want the most broadly recognized starting point in cloud.
• az900 is often the better first certification if you work in a Microsoft-heavy environment or plan to pursue Azure admin, security, or data roles next.
• In pure exam stamina terms, AZ-900 is shorter; in cloud ecosystem breadth, CLF-C02 often feels broader.
• AWS publishes clear exam details: 65 multiple-choice or multiple-response questions, online or in-person through Pearson VUE, available in many languages.
• Microsoft positions azure fundamentals certification as a common starting point toward an Azure career and offers a free official practice assessment and exam sandbox.
• If you can eventually do both, the strongest sequence for most beginners is AWS first, Azure second—unless your job market strongly favors Microsoft.

What These Two Certifications Actually Are

Let’s define the contenders clearly.

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02)

The aws cloud practitioner exam validates foundational, high-level understanding of AWS Cloud, AWS services, and cloud terminology. AWS explicitly describes it as a good starting point for people with no prior IT or cloud experience, career switchers, and line-of-business professionals building cloud literacy.

According to AWS, the current foundational exam is CLF-C02. If you’re exploring resources, study paths, or an aws cloud practitioner practice exam, make sure they are aligned to clf-c02, not older versions.

For a deeper breakdown of the AWS path, visit our AWS Cloud Practitioner Hub.

Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)

AZ-900, also written as az 900 or az-900, is Microsoft’s beginner cloud certification. The full credential name is Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals. Microsoft says this certification demonstrates foundational knowledge of cloud concepts generally and Microsoft Azure specifically, including core Azure services plus management and governance features and tools.

Microsoft also describes it as a common starting point for a career in Azure. If you’re targeting Microsoft-heavy shops, microsoft azure fundamentals is often the first credential recruiters expect to see.

If Azure is your likely path, check out our AZ-900 Hub.

Exam Facts: AWS Cloud Practitioner vs AZ-900

Here are the concrete details that matter in 2026.

AWS Cloud Practitioner exam facts

• Exam code: CLF-C02
• Level: Foundational
• Duration: 90 minutes
• Question count: 65 questions
• Question types: Multiple choice or multiple response
• Cost: $100 USD
• Delivery: Pearson VUE testing center or online proctored exam
• Languages: Arabic, English, Bahasa (Indonesian), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Latin America), Spanish (Spain), Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese

Those specifics make the aws certified cloud practitioner one of the most accessible cloud certifications globally.

AZ-900 exam facts

• Exam code: AZ-900
• Credential: Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
• Level: Beginner
• Duration: 45 minutes
• Delivery: Proctored exam
• Retake policy: 24 hours after the first failed attempt; subsequent retake wait times vary
• Official prep: Microsoft Learn course plus a free official practice assessment and exam sandbox
• Last updated certification page in research: 01/14/2026

Microsoft’s official page also lays out the assessed topic areas clearly:

• Describe cloud concepts
• Describe Azure architecture and services
• Describe Azure management and governance

If you want a side-by-side resource focused only on the direct comparison, see our AZ-900 vs AWS Cloud Practitioner Comparison.

Which Exam Is Harder?

This is where most candidates want a straight answer. Here it is:

For most total beginners, AZ-900 is slightly easier to finish, while AWS Cloud Practitioner is slightly broader in what it expects you to recognize across the AWS ecosystem.

That said, “harder” depends on your background.

Why AZ-900 often feels easier

• Shorter exam time: 45 minutes can reduce fatigue and second-guessing.
• Microsoft Learn is highly structured: the official prep path is clean and beginner-friendly.
• The domain list is straightforward: cloud concepts, Azure architecture/services, and Azure management/governance.
• Free official practice tools: Microsoft offers a practice assessment and an exam sandbox so you can experience the interface in advance.

This is one reason searches for az-900 practice test and az 900 certification remain so strong: people see it as a practical on-ramp to cloud literacy.

Why AWS Cloud Practitioner can feel harder

• Longer exam: 90 minutes and 65 questions require more attention span.
• Service recognition matters: you need to distinguish among many AWS services and use cases.
• AWS naming can be more intimidating at first: newcomers often struggle with the volume of service names, pricing concepts, and shared responsibility themes.

Even though the aws cloud practitioner certification is foundational, many beginners discover that simply remembering what each AWS service is for takes time.

When AWS may actually be easier for you

If you already hear AWS terminology at work, use AWS casually, or consume cloud content online, the aws cloud practitioner exam may feel more familiar than az-900. AWS dominates a lot of cloud discourse, so exposure alone can lower the difficulty.

Bottom line on difficulty

If you’re asking, “Which exam is easier in absolute terms?” I’d lean AZ-900. If you’re asking, “Which exam gives me stronger broad cloud-market recognition?” I’d lean AWS Cloud Practitioner.

Cost Comparison

Cost matters, especially for students, career changers, and self-funded learners.

AWS pricing

The aws cloud practitioner exam costs $100 USD. AWS also points candidates to its official exam pricing page for additional cost information and foreign exchange rates.

Azure pricing

In the research provided here, Microsoft’s page clearly identifies the exam structure and time but does not list a price on the captured excerpt. Because of that, the safest factual statement for this article is this: verify current local pricing directly on the Microsoft certification booking flow before scheduling.

So if you need the most certain published number from the source set above, AWS gives us the clearer price point: $100 for CLF-C02.

Hidden cost factors beyond the exam fee

• Retake risk: A cheaper exam is not cheaper if you fail it twice.
• Study materials: Official free resources can dramatically reduce total cost.
• Time-to-ready: A cert that takes you 15 hours to prep may be better ROI than one that takes 40.
• Next-step alignment: The cheapest first exam is the one that leads naturally into your next certification or job target.

For many candidates, the total cost equation favors whichever ecosystem they’ll continue with. If you plan to go deeper into Azure, then azure fundamentals certification is a more efficient first spend. If your long-term plan is AWS Solutions Architect or SysOps, starting with aws certified cloud practitioner keeps your prep aligned.

Career Value: Which One Helps More on a Resume?

Neither of these certifications alone will magically land you a cloud engineer role. But both can absolutely help you:

• show initiative
• prove basic cloud literacy
• get past resume screens for internships and entry-level roles
• build confidence before associate-level certifications

Why AWS Cloud Practitioner often has stronger broad-market signaling

The aws cloud practitioner certification benefits from the visibility of AWS in the cloud market. Recruiters, hiring managers, bootcamp graduates, and self-taught learners all recognize it. For someone with limited experience, that recognition matters. It says, “I understand basic cloud concepts and the AWS ecosystem.”

It is especially useful for:

• career changers entering cloud or IT support
• sales, operations, and project professionals working near cloud teams
• students building a first technical credential
• candidates planning AWS associate certifications next

Why AZ-900 can be more immediately useful in Microsoft environments

Microsoft certified: azure fundamentals shines when your target environment is already Microsoft-centric. That includes organizations heavily invested in:

• Microsoft 365
• Entra ID / Azure AD ecosystems
• Windows Server and hybrid infrastructure
• Power Platform and data analytics stacks
• Azure governance, identity, and enterprise administration

In those settings, az 900 can feel more relevant than AWS, even if AWS has broader general buzz.

What employers really think

Most employers see both as foundational, not job-ready engineer credentials. That means the real value comes from what the cert helps you do next. A first cert is a signal. A portfolio, lab work, and the next role-aligned certification are what turn that signal into interviews.

What You Actually Learn

What CLF-C02 emphasizes

The clf-c02 exam validates high-level understanding of AWS Cloud, services, and terminology. In practice, that means you’ll study:

• core cloud concepts
• AWS global infrastructure basics
• common AWS services at a high level
• security and compliance fundamentals
• billing, pricing, and support concepts

AWS Cloud Practitioner is not about deep engineering. It’s about knowing enough AWS to speak the language correctly and make sense of the platform.

What AZ-900 emphasizes

AZ-900 focuses on:

• cloud concepts
• Azure architectural components and services
• management and governance

Microsoft explicitly mentions areas like compute, networking, storage, security, governance, and administration tools. That gives microsoft azure fundamentals a very practical enterprise flavor.

Which knowledge is more transferable?

If your goal is simply to understand cloud in general, both help. If you want the most vendor-neutral concepts wrapped inside a vendor-specific exam, AZ-900 often introduces foundational cloud ideas very clearly. If you want broader familiarity with the ecosystem that many first-time cloud learners encounter online, AWS Cloud Practitioner often feels more portable in the job market.

Study Time: How Long Should You Prepare?

There’s no official one-size-fits-all study time from the sources above, but in practice, your prep depends on experience.

If you are completely new to IT

• AWS Cloud Practitioner: plan for steady, structured study over a few weeks
• AZ-900: often manageable in a shorter timeline, especially using Microsoft Learn

If you have some IT background

• CLF-C02: you may be ready quickly once you map existing knowledge to AWS services
• AZ-900: often very fast to prepare for if you already understand infrastructure, networking, or admin basics

A practical recommendation

1. Read the official exam page first.
2. Use the vendor’s free learning path.
3. Take at least one timed diagnostic or practice assessment.
4. Review weak areas only.
5. Book the exam while momentum is high.

That approach works especially well whether you’re taking an aws cloud practitioner practice exam or an az-900 practice test.

Best Prep Resources for Each Exam

AWS Cloud Practitioner prep options

AWS recommends its Exam Prep Plan on AWS Skill Builder and an official practice question set. For the aws cloud practitioner exam, that means your preparation can be built around:

• the official exam guide for CLF-C02
• AWS Skill Builder’s exam prep path
• official practice questions
• third-party labs and flashcards
• a solid aws cloud practitioner practice exam to identify gaps

If you’re serious about passing efficiently, don’t just memorize service names. Learn the purpose of common services, how billing works at a high level, and what AWS means by shared responsibility.

AZ-900 prep options

Microsoft gives beginners a great official route:

• Introduction to Cloud Infrastructure course
• learning paths covering cloud concepts, Azure architecture/services, and management/governance
• free official practice assessment
• free exam sandbox

That makes the az-900 certification path very approachable. If you’re searching for an az-900 practice test, start with Microsoft’s own assessment before paying for external material.

Who Should Start with AWS Cloud Practitioner First?

Start with aws cloud practitioner first if most of these are true:

• You want the most recognizable first cloud cert.
• You don’t yet know whether you’ll specialize in cloud, security, DevOps, or architecture.
• You see more AWS than Azure in job postings you care about.
• You plan to continue into AWS associate-level certifications.
• You want a broad introductory credential that works well for non-technical and technical roles alike.

This path is especially strong for students, career switchers, help desk professionals, technical account managers, and anyone trying to establish cloud literacy fast.

Who Should Start with AZ-900 First?

Start with az900 first if most of these are true:

• Your company already uses Microsoft products heavily.
• You want to move into Azure admin, identity, governance, or hybrid infrastructure roles.
• You prefer a shorter exam experience.
• You like Microsoft Learn’s structured study format.
• You plan to pursue Azure Administrator, Azure Security, or other Azure role-based credentials next.

For enterprise IT professionals, sysadmins, Microsoft 365 admins, and students in Microsoft-aligned programs, az 900 certification can be the more strategic first move.

What If You Want Both?

That’s actually a smart move.

If your goal is broad cloud literacy and flexibility, doing both entry-level certifications can make sense. The question is sequence.

Best sequence for most people

1. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
2. AZ-900

Why this order? Because the aws cloud practitioner certification often gives you a stronger first public signal in the market, and then azure fundamentals certification expands your cross-platform credibility.

Best sequence for Microsoft-heavy professionals

1. AZ-900
2. AWS Cloud Practitioner

If your day job is already tied to Microsoft tools, start where your existing context gives you leverage.

Mistakes Beginners Make When Choosing

1. Choosing based only on which exam is easier

Easier is not always better. The right first cert is the one that aligns with your next role, your local job market, and your likely second certification.

2. Treating the cert as enough by itself

Neither clf-c02 nor az-900 is a substitute for hands-on familiarity. Pair your prep with basic labs, free-tier exploration, or at least architecture reading.

3. Using outdated study materials

Always verify that your course or aws cloud practitioner practice exam targets CLF-C02. Likewise, ensure your az-900 practice test reflects the current objective structure.

4. Waiting too long to schedule

Foundational exams are easiest to pass when the material is fresh. Book the exam as soon as your scores on practice questions stabilize.

My Recommendation for 2026

If you’re asking for the single best general answer in 2026, here it is:

Get AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner first unless you already know you are targeting a Microsoft/Azure environment.

That recommendation is not because AZ-900 is weaker. It isn’t. In fact, microsoft certified: azure fundamentals is one of the cleanest beginner cloud credentials available. The reason is strategic: aws cloud practitioner typically gives the broadest first-step market recognition for newcomers.

But if you are in a Microsoft ecosystem already, flip that answer immediately. For those candidates, az-900 is the smarter first certification because it connects more directly to the tools, governance models, and enterprise patterns they’ll actually use.

Simple Decision Framework

If you still feel stuck, use this:

• Choose AWS Cloud Practitioner if: you want the best all-purpose first cloud cert.
• Choose AZ-900 if: you want the best Microsoft-aligned first cloud cert.
• Choose both if: you want broad cloud literacy and can invest in two foundational exams.

One-line version

Unsure? Start with AWS. Certain you’re going Azure? Start with AZ-900.

Final Thoughts

The debate between AWS Cloud Practitioner and AZ-900 is really a debate about direction. Both are good. Both are beginner-friendly. Both can help you build credibility. But the best first certification is the one that turns into a second step, not just a badge.

If you want broad recognition, go with aws certified cloud practitioner. If you want Microsoft alignment and a shorter, highly structured beginner path, go with az 900. And if you’re building a serious cloud foundation in 2026, there’s nothing wrong with earning both.

Ready to pass faster? Use HydraNode’s free practice exams to test your readiness before exam day—whether you’re preparing for the aws cloud practitioner exam or looking for an effective az-900 practice test. Start with our certification hubs, sharpen your weak areas, and walk into the exam with a plan instead of hope.