Google PCA exam guide: format, domains, cost, and a free practice quiz covering solution design, provisioning, security, reliability, and optimization on Google Cloud.
The Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect (PCA) is a highly regarded, design-focused certification. It tests your ability to design, provision, secure, and operate reliable, cost-effective solutions on Google Cloud.
The exam includes case studies and rewards real architectural judgment across compute, data, networking, security, and SRE-style reliability.
▶ Start the free Professional Cloud Architect practice quiz| Certification | Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect (PCA) |
|---|---|
| Exam code | Professional Cloud Architect |
| Level | Professional |
| Format | Multiple choice & multiple select (with case studies) |
| Questions | ~50–60 questions |
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Passing score | Not publicly published |
| Cost (USD) | $200 |
| Validity | 2 years |
| Prerequisites | None (3+ years industry, 1+ year GCP 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Designing & Planning Architecture | ~24% | 4 |
| Managing & Provisioning Infrastructure | ~15% | 4 |
| Security & Compliance | ~18% | 4 |
| Optimization, Implementation & Reliability | ~43% | 7 |
Study the case studies published by Google, and design across compute (Compute Engine, GKE, Cloud Run), data (Spanner, BigQuery, Bigtable), and networking.
Know security (IAM, Org Policy, KMS), reliability/SRE (SLOs, monitoring), and cost optimization (committed/sustained-use discounts).
The free quiz below covers the PCA domains with explanations.
Our free Professional Cloud Architect practice quiz has 19 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 Professional Cloud Architect now — 19 questions, freeIt's one of the most respected cloud architecture exams and expects real experience plus case-study reasoning.
Yes — review Google's official case studies in advance; several questions reference them.
Two years currently. Confirm on the official page.
Not required, but ACE-level hands-on knowledge helps significantly.