AWS SAA-C03 exam guide: format, domains, cost, and a free practice quiz with detailed explanations covering secure, resilient, high-performing, and cost-optimized architectures.
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) is the most popular AWS certification. It validates your ability to design secure, resilient, high-performing, and cost-optimized architectures on AWS.
It's a career-defining credential for cloud engineers, and the questions are scenario-based: you must choose the best design given constraints, not just recall service names.
▶ Start the free SAA-C03 practice quiz| Certification | AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) |
|---|---|
| Exam code | SAA-C03 |
| Level | Associate |
| Format | Multiple choice & multiple response |
| Questions | 65 questions |
| Duration | 130 minutes |
| Passing score | 720 / 1000 (scaled) |
| Cost (USD) | $150 |
| Validity | 3 years |
| Prerequisites | None (1+ year AWS experience recommended) |
Exam details change over time — always confirm the current specifics on the official exam page before you book.
The official exam is organized into these domains. Our practice bank mirrors them so you can drill each area:
| Domain | Exam weight | Practice questions |
|---|---|---|
| Design Secure Architectures | 30% | 19 |
| Design Resilient Architectures | 26% | 19 |
| Design High-Performing Architectures | 24% | 15 |
| Design Cost-Optimized Architectures | 20% | 14 |
Learn the trade-offs between services: EBS vs. EFS vs. S3, SQS vs. SNS vs. Kinesis, ALB vs. NLB, and the DR strategies (backup/restore, pilot light, warm standby, active-active).
Understand VPC networking, IAM, encryption (KMS), and how to make workloads highly available across Availability Zones.
Drill scenario questions relentlessly — the free quiz below has 60+ across all four domains with explanations.
Our free SAA-C03 practice quiz has 67 scenario-based questions covering every exam domain. Each question includes the correct answer, a plain-English explanation of why it is right (and why the alternatives are wrong), and a reference to the relevant topic — so you learn as you go, not just test yourself.
▶ Practice SAA-C03 now — 67 questions, freeIt's a step up from Cloud Practitioner. Most candidates study 1–3 months and benefit from some hands-on AWS practice.
Yes. Nearly every question describes a situation and asks for the best architecture, so practice reasoning about trade-offs.
65 questions in 130 minutes; roughly 720/1000 to pass. Confirm current details on the official page.
No, there are no prerequisites, but Cloud Practitioner is a helpful warm-up.