AWS vs Azure: which cloud cert should you take first

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) and Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) are the two best-known entry-level cloud exams. Both are recall-heavy, both are aimed at people who are new to a cloud platform, and neither asks you to build anything. The question is which one to take first, and whether the answer even matters.

This comparison sticks to what each exam covers and how it is run. It does not try to rank the clouds or promise anything about jobs or pay.

The exams side by side

For fees, retake rules and current question counts, check each vendor's certification page before you book; they change and this article does not quote them.

The domains

AWS CLF-C02 has four domains:

Azure AZ-900 has three:

Both exams put the largest share on "what are the services and what do they do". AWS spreads the rest across security and concepts, with billing and support as a smaller piece. Azure divides the remainder between cloud concepts and a large management and governance domain. The July 2026 Azure skills measured have no AI domain.

Where they overlap

Much of the underlying thinking transfers between the two:

• Cloud concepts. The benefits of cloud computing, deployment models (public, private, hybrid), consumption-based pricing, high availability and scalability appear in both. AWS tests them in its first domain, Azure in its first domain and in a unit on the benefits of cloud services.
• Shared responsibility. Both clouds teach the same idea: the provider secures the lower layers and the customer keeps data, identities and configuration, with the split shifting by service type. The AWS version is here.
• Core service categories. Compute, networking, storage and databases appear on both, under different product names.
• Identity, cost and monitoring. Identity and access, cost management and monitoring tools are covered on both exams in different depth.

If you learn the concepts well for one, the second exam's cloud concepts domain is mostly new vocabulary on familiar ideas.

Where they differ

• AWS has a dedicated billing and support domain. CLF-C02 asks about pricing models (On-Demand, Reserved, Spot, Savings Plans), cost tools such as Budgets and Cost Explorer, and the support plans. AZ-900 covers cost management too, inside its governance domain.
• AWS asks about frameworks and migration. The Well-Architected Framework with its six pillars, the Cloud Adoption Framework and the migration strategies are in the AWS Cloud Concepts domain.
• Azure's management and governance domain is bigger. It is 30-35% of AZ-900. In the Encodr course it spans cost management, governance and compliance tools, managing and deploying resources, and monitoring tools. The RBAC vs Policy vs resource locks comparison is a good example of the kind of distinction it tests.
• Redundancy is a named topic on Azure. Azure storage redundancy options (LRS, ZRS, GRS and related) come up directly; see Azure redundancy options explained. The closest AWS equivalent is understanding Availability Zones, Regions and the S3 storage classes.
• Naming differs. Every service has a different name on each cloud, so you cannot carry product answers across; only the concepts transfer.

Course size

The Encodr AWS course has 17 units, 58 chapters and 1,302 study cards: AWS Cloud Practitioner flashcards. The Azure course has 13 units, 53 chapters and 1,172 study cards: Azure Fundamentals flashcards. Both follow their exam's weights, and both end with an exam-day unit of look-alike matchups. Both are unofficial and not affiliated with or endorsed by AWS or Microsoft, and both are recall practice, not a substitute for time in the AWS console or the Azure portal.

How to choose

There is no universal right order. A few honest tie-breakers:

1. Start with the cloud you will actually use. If your job, school or a target role is on one platform, take that exam first. Familiarity helps.
2. If you are choosing blind, consider the format. AZ-900 is shorter in exam time; CLF-C02 is longer and has a separate billing domain. Neither is trivial.
3. If you are new to IT altogether, a broader foundation may help before either; Security+ vs Network+ vs A+ compares those entry points.
4. If you plan to do both, the concepts transfer, so the second one goes faster. Do not try to study both at once, since similar-sounding services across clouds are an easy way to blur facts. Finish one, then start the other.

Whichever you choose, the method is the same: spaced retrieval of facts, plus practice at telling look-alike services apart. The testing effect and how to build a study schedule before an exam apply equally to both.

Next steps

For the AWS side, start with what is on the AWS Cloud Practitioner exam and how to study for it, then try the practice questions. For Azure, see what is on AZ-900, how to study for AZ-900 and the AZ-900 practice questions.