Best Cloud Certifications 2026: AWS vs Azure vs GCP (Which to Get)

Last updated: October 2026. Written by Josh Hutcheson. See our review methodology.

There are dozens of cloud certifications across AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, and the hard part is not passing one, it is choosing the right one. This guide covers which cloud to certify in (it depends on your target employers), which certification to start with, what each exam costs and how long it lasts, and which exams are changing before the end of 2026. Every exam fact below was read from the vendor’s own certification pages on 21 October 2026, and each certification links to our full exam guide.

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How to Choose a Cloud Certification

Two decisions, in this order.

Which cloud? Look at the jobs you want and the companies hiring for them; job postings tell you which cloud to learn far better than market-share charts. As a rough guide, AWS has the largest overall market and the most listings, Azure is everywhere Microsoft enterprise software is, and Google Cloud concentrates in data, ML and startup environments. Still torn between the two biggest? Our AWS vs Azure comparison breaks it down.

Which level? If you are new or non-technical, start with the cloud’s fundamentals exam. If you already work hands-on, skip to an associate or professional role-based certification, because entry certifications will not move an experienced resume. Learners on r/googlecloud make the same point from the hiring side: decide the job first, then pick the certification that job asks for.

AWS Certifications

AWS has the deepest certification catalog and the most job demand. Cloud Practitioner is the entry point; Solutions Architect Associate is the most popular role-based certification. AWS has renamed and retired several exams in the past year, so this table reflects the lineup on 21 October 2026.

New to AWS? Start with the Cloud Practitioner, then the Solutions Architect Associate. Browse course options in our best AWS courses roundup.

Microsoft Azure Certifications

Azure uses a fundamentals, associate, expert structure. AZ-900 is the entry point and, like all Microsoft Fundamentals certifications, it does not expire. Role-based certifications (administrator, architect, data, DevOps, security, AI) must be renewed every year, for free.

One knock-on effect of the AZ-204 retirement: AZ-400 (DevOps Engineer Expert) accepts either the Azure Administrator or the Azure Developer certification as its prerequisite. With Azure Developer retired, new candidates will in practice reach AZ-400 through AZ-104. Start with AZ-900 if you are new. Course options are in our best Microsoft Azure courses roundup.

Google Cloud Certifications

Google Cloud runs a foundational, associate, professional ladder. Cloud Digital Leader is the non-technical entry point; Associate Cloud Engineer (ACE) is the practical entry point for engineers. A useful warning from Google Cloud practitioners on Reddit: ACE is the entry-level exam, but it is the most hands-on, so plan real time in the console before you book it. The Professional Cloud Architect is Google’s flagship and is more design- and case-study-driven. Our Google Cloud certification guide covers the full path, and the best Google Cloud courses guide covers prep.

Vendor-Neutral Cloud Certifications

Not every cloud certification belongs to a cloud provider. These four test skills that carry across AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, and several of them show up in cloud engineer and DevOps job listings alongside the vendor certifications.

If you already hold one vendor certification, CKA is the strongest complement: Kubernetes runs on all three clouds and the exam is practical rather than multiple choice. Mumshad Mannambeth’s CKA course with practice tests on Udemy (4.7 from 94,554 ratings, 25.5 hours, updated October 2026) is the most-reviewed prep. For broader developer certifications such as CKAD and Terraform, see our best programming certifications guide.

What Each Cloud Certification Actually Costs

Most guides to this topic skip the numbers. Below is what each exam costs, read from AWS, Microsoft and Google’s certification pages on 21 October 2026. Prices are standard US registration fees; all three vendors vary them by country.

AWS exam fees

AWS prices strictly by tier: foundational exams are 100 USD, associate exams 150 USD, and professional and specialty exams 300 USD. AWS writes its fees as “100 USD” rather than with a dollar sign, which is worth knowing if you are searching its site for a price. Beta exams cost less: the MLA-C02 beta was listed at $75.

Microsoft Azure exam fees

Microsoft is simpler still: Fundamentals exams are $99 and role-based exams are $165. Microsoft attaches the caveat “price based on the country or region in which the exam is proctored” to every price, so treat these as US rates.

Google Cloud exam fees

Google’s foundational exam undercuts AWS by a dollar, its associate exam sits between AWS’s associate and foundational tiers, and its professional exams are $200, a third cheaper than AWS’s professional exams.

The entry-level exams cost almost exactly the same

This is the most useful single fact for anyone choosing a starting point. AWS Cloud Practitioner is 100 USD, Azure Fundamentals $99 and Google Cloud Digital Leader $99. Cost is not a reason to pick one cloud over another at the entry level, which frees you to choose on the criterion that matters: which cloud your target employers run.

What a full certification path costs

Individual exam fees understate the commitment, because almost nobody stops at one. The standard route on each cloud adds up to: AWS Cloud Practitioner (100) then Solutions Architect Associate (150) then Solutions Architect Professional (300) = 550 USD; Azure AZ-900 ($99) then AZ-104 ($165) then AZ-305 ($165) = $429; Google Cloud Digital Leader ($99) then Associate Cloud Engineer ($125) then Professional Cloud Architect ($200) = $424.

Those totals assume a first-time pass and exclude training. Two costs are missing and both can be larger than the exam fee. The first is a retake: a failed professional exam on AWS costs another 300 USD. The second is training, which is genuinely optional: AWS Skill Builder, Microsoft Learn and Google Skills all publish free official learning paths. Paid courses buy structure and practice questions rather than information you cannot get elsewhere. Free cloud accounts help too: AWS offers new customers up to $200 in credits for up to six months plus 30-plus always-free services, and Google Cloud offers new customers $300 in credits. (AWS’s free tier is no longer a simple “12 months free” plan.)

How Long Each Certification Lasts (and What Renewal Costs)

Certification expiry is the part people discover late, and it differs more between the three clouds than the exam fees do. All of the figures below come from the vendors’ own renewal pages.

AWS: three years, renewed at half price

AWS certifications are valid for three years. To recertify, you either pass the current version of the exam again, which adds three years, or use AWS’s “maintenance” route, which adds one year and requires an active AWS Skill Builder subscription within 90 days of expiry. Holders of an active certification also get a 50% discount voucher in their AWS Certification account that can be used on a renewal or a new exam, so a professional renewal costs 150 USD rather than 300. Cloud Practitioner holders can also renew through AWS Cloud Quest.

Microsoft: twelve months, but renewal is free and online

Microsoft’s role-based certifications must be renewed every year. Microsoft’s renewal page is explicit that renewals are free: you pass an unproctored online assessment during a six-month window before expiry, and the certification is extended a year. Our Microsoft free certification guide covers the other free routes, from Applied Skills to exam vouchers. Fundamentals certifications such as AZ-900 do not expire at all. So the recurring cost of Microsoft certification is time, not another $165.

Google Cloud: two or three years, with the most flexible renewal

Google’s validity depends on the level: Cloud Digital Leader and Associate Cloud Engineer last three years, while the Professional Cloud Architect lasts two. Google offers the widest set of renewal routes: retake the standard exam, sit a shorter renewal exam ($60 for Cloud Digital Leader, $75 for ACE, $100 for the Professional Cloud Architect), or complete designated courses and skill badges in Google Skills. That last route lets you renew by learning rather than by testing.

Cloud Exam Changes Before the End of 2026

Three changes land in the next ten weeks, and they matter if you are studying now. All dates are from AWS’s exam pages and Microsoft Learn, read 21 October 2026.

AWS Solutions Architect Professional moves to SAP-C03. Registration for SAP-C03 opens 27 October 2026, and the last day to take SAP-C02 is 16 November 2026. AWS makes you wait 14 days after a failed attempt, so if you want a retake on the version you studied, your first SAP-C02 attempt needs to be by 2 November.

AWS Developer Associate moves to DVA-C03. DVA-C03 registration also opens 27 October, and the last day for DVA-C02 is 30 November 2026. The same retake logic puts your first DVA-C02 attempt by 16 November. Our Developer Associate guide covers the change.

AWS Advanced Networking Specialty retires. The last day to take ANS-C01 is 31 December 2026. Certifications earned before then stay active for their normal three years, but AWS will not issue new ones. Microsoft’s two big 2026 retirements (AZ-204 and AZ-500) have already happened; their replacements, AI-200 and SC-500, are open now.

Entry-Level Cloud Certs Compared: Where Should You Start?

If you are new to cloud, the three entry certifications are direct equivalents. Pick the one matching your target cloud:

Which Cloud Certification Is Most in Demand (and Best Paid)?

Two different questions. For demand, AWS leads: it has the largest market share and the most job listings, so AWS certifications, especially Solutions Architect Associate, open the most doors. For pay, the picture is more even: architect-level certifications on all three clouds lead into the best-paid cloud roles. The honest takeaway is that demand follows AWS and top-end pay clusters around architecture and security, on any of the three clouds. Certify where your market hires.

What Cloud Roles Actually Pay — and Which Are Growing

Most certification guides quote salary figures from vendor marketing or self-reported surveys. The figures below come from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook (2025 data, re-read 21 October 2026), which surveys employers. One caveat first: the BLS does not track earnings by certification, and nobody credible does. These are medians for the occupations cloud certifications lead into.

The growth column matters more than the pay column

Information security analysts are growing at 21% over the decade, the fastest on the list, which maps directly onto the security certifications: AWS Security Specialty (SCS-C03), Microsoft’s new SC-500 and Google’s Professional Cloud Security Engineer. Network and computer systems administrators, the traditional sysadmin role, is the only occupation here the BLS projects to shrink, by 4% through 2035, and it is also the lowest paid at $99,130. That is not an argument against learning administration, which remains the foundation of most cloud work. It is an argument against stopping there.

Where each certification path leads

Architecture (AWS Solutions Architect, Azure AZ-305, Google Professional Cloud Architect) leads toward computer network architects: $134,050 median, growing 8%. Security (AWS Security Specialty, Azure SC-500, Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer) leads toward information security analysts: $129,180, growing 21%. Development (AWS Developer Associate, Azure AI-200, Google Professional Cloud Developer) leads toward software developers: $134,040 across 1.9 million jobs, growing 10%. Administration (AWS CloudOps Engineer, Azure AZ-104) leads toward systems administrators: $99,130 and declining 4%, best treated as a stepping stone.

Two qualifications. The BLS categories are broader than any single certification, and medians describe people already in the role, most with several years of experience. Use the figures to compare directions, not to predict a first offer.

Best Ways to Prepare

The strongest preparation depends on the cloud, and every route should include hands-on time in a free-tier account: cloud exams reward people who have used the platform.

AWS: Stephane Maarek’s Udemy courses are the most-reviewed paid prep. His Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 course has 4.7 stars from 296,855 ratings (14.5 hours) and his Solutions Architect Associate course 4.7 from 299,803 ratings (27 hours); both were updated in October 2026. Pair them with the AWS Certification Official Practice Question Set on Skill Builder.

See Maarek’s Solutions Architect Associate course →

Azure: Scott Duffy’s AZ-900 exam prep (4.6 from 143,009 ratings) and AZ-104 course (4.5 from 58,585 ratings, 18.5 hours) are the most-reviewed Udemy options, both updated October 2026, alongside Microsoft Learn’s free learning paths.

Google Cloud: Coursera hosts Google’s official training. Start with the Cloud Digital Leader training if you are non-technical, or the Cloud Engineering professional certificate if you are heading for ACE.

See Google’s Cloud Engineer training on Coursera →

Guided programs: for a project-based path, Udacity’s cloud Nanodegrees map closely to AWS and Azure roles. See our reviews of the AWS Solutions Architect and Azure Administrator programs.

Frequently asked questions

Which cloud certification should I get first?

Pick the cloud your target employers use, then start with its entry exam: AWS Cloud Practitioner, Azure AZ-900 or Google Cloud Digital Leader. Engineers can start at Associate Cloud Engineer on Google Cloud. If you already work in cloud, skip the entry exam and go straight to an associate or professional certification.

Are cloud certifications worth it?

For career-switchers and early-career candidates, yes: they get resumes past filters and prove baseline knowledge. They work best alongside hands-on projects. Experienced engineers get less from entry exams and more from professional, security or Kubernetes certifications.

Which cloud certification is most in demand?

AWS certifications, led by Solutions Architect Associate, appear in the most job listings. Azure certifications lead in Microsoft-heavy enterprises, and security-focused cloud certifications map onto the fastest-growing occupation in BLS data (information security analysts, +21% to 2035).

Which cloud certification pays the most?

Architect- and security-level certifications lead into the best-paid roles: BLS medians of $134,050 for network architects and $129,180 for security analysts. The BLS does not track pay by certification, so treat any “this cert pays $X” claim with suspicion.

How much do cloud certifications cost?

Foundational exams cost 100 USD (AWS) or $99 (Azure, Google). Associate exams are $125 (Google), 150 USD (AWS) or $165 (Azure), and professional exams $200 (Google) or 300 USD (AWS). All figures were read from the vendors on 21 October 2026.

Do cloud certifications expire?

Most do. AWS certifications last three years, Microsoft role-based certifications one year (renewed free online), and Google certifications two or three years depending on level. Microsoft Fundamentals certifications such as AZ-900 do not expire.

Are there free cloud certifications?

The exams themselves are paid, but all three vendors publish free official training (AWS Skill Builder, Microsoft Learn, Google Skills), and AWS says it regularly runs certification-challenge promotions with discounted vouchers. AWS also gives certified holders a 50% voucher for their next exam.

Related: Cloud work still rests on server administration. Our guide to the best system administrator courses covers the Linux, Windows Server and Red Hat foundations, including the renamed AWS CloudOps Engineer exam.

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