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Cloud Practitioner vs Azure Fundamentals: which should you take?

Both are foundational cloud certifications: AWS Cloud Practitioner for Amazon Web Services, AZ-900 for Microsoft Azure.

Which first?

Either order works. Choose the cloud your employer, or the employers you want, use. The concepts transfer, so the second one is much faster.

Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02): Beginners, and non-technical staff, at organizations that use AWS.

Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900): Beginners, and non-technical staff, at organizations that use Microsoft Azure or Microsoft 365.

Both cover cloud concepts, core services, security, pricing and support at an introductory level.
Neither is required before the associate-level certifications, but both make them easier.
AWS has the larger share of the cloud market; Azure is common in companies that already run Microsoft software.

Cloud Practitioner vs Azure Fundamentals exam facts
Item	Cloud Practitioner	Azure Fundamentals
Vendor	Amazon Web Services	Microsoft
Exam	CLF-C02	AZ-900
Questions	65 (50 scored, 15 unscored; multiple choice and multiple response)	Not published (Microsoft fundamentals exams usually have about 40–60 questions, which can include multiple choice, drag-and-drop and yes/no series)
Time	90 minutes	45 minutes
To pass	700 on a 100–1000 scale	700 on a 1–1000 scale
Free study plan here	–	–
Career tracks	Cloud Computing	Cloud Computing

Exam details come from each vendor's published objectives as recorded in the study plans; confirm them on the vendor's page before you book.

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