Study Guide Amazon AWS

AWS Certifications 2026: Full Guide to Every Exam, Cost & Salary

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AWS Certifications 2026: Full Guide to Every Exam, Cost & Salary
Whether your goal is your first aws foundational badge or a top-tier aws security certification, the path is the same: pick the certification that matches the job you want, budget realistically for the aws certification cost, prepare with real hands-on practice — not just video courses — and book your aws certification exam schedule with enough runway to prepare properly. AWS certifications remain one of the highest-ROI credentials in tech, and with a clear roadmap, earning one (or several) is a realistic goal at any stage of your cloud career.

AWS Certifications 2026: Full Guide to Every Exam, Cost & Salary

Table of Contents

  • Why AWS Certification Still Matters in 2026
  • The AWS Certification Roadmap: How the Levels Work
  • Full AWS Certifications List: Intro, Cost, Salary, and Jobs1. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (Foundational)
  • 2. AWS Certified AI Practitioner (Foundational)
  • 3. AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
  • 4. AWS Certified Developer – Associate
  • 5. AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate
  • 6. AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate
  • 7. AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate
  • 8. AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
  • 9. AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional
  • 10. AWS Certified Security – Specialty
  • 11. AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty
  • AWS Certification Cost: Full Breakdown
  • How to Register: AWS Exam Booking, Pearson VUE, and OnVUE
  • AWS Training and Courses: How to Actually Prepare
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Final Thoughts

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Amazon Web Services (AWS) still commands the largest share of the cloud computing market, and that dominance has turned AWS certifications into some of the most valuable credentials in tech. Whether you're brand new to cloud computing or already working as an engineer, this study4pass guide walks through every amazon web services AWS certification, what each one costs, what it actually pays, what jobs it opens up, and exactly how to book your exam — so you can build your own AWS certification roadmap with confidence.

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Why AWS Certification Still Matters in 2026

Cloud job postings that require at least one cloud certification have climbed for three straight years, and AWS continues to lead Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud in infrastructure market share. Employers use AWS certified status as a fast, reliable signal that a candidate can actually design, build, and operate on AWS — not just talk about it. For professionals, that translates into faster interviews, stronger salary negotiations, and a credential that's recognized globally, from US enterprises to companies searching for certificação AWS talent in Brazil and across Latin America.

Whether you call it cloud certification, aws cert, or simply "getting AWS certified," the outcome is the same: a portfolio-ready credential that proves hands-on skill.

The AWS Certification Roadmap: How the Levels Work

Before diving into the aws certifications list, it helps to understand the AWS certification path. AWS certifications are organized into four levels:

  1. Foundational — entry point for anyone new to cloud or AWS
  2. Associate — role-based certifications for hands-on practitioners
  3. Professional — advanced, experience-based certifications
  4. Specialty — deep technical certifications in a specific domain (security, networking, machine learning, etc.)

A typical aws certification roadmap looks like this: start with a foundational certificate, move into one or two associate-level AWS certified credentials that match your role, then push toward a professional or specialty certification once you have real project experience. Passing a higher-level exam automatically recertifies the associate-level exam beneath it, and every AWS certification stays valid for three years.

Full AWS Certifications List: Intro, Cost, Salary, and Jobs

Below is the complete aws certifications list — every active certification, what it covers, what the exam costs, and what it's worth on the job market.

1. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) — Foundational

Intro: The aws foundational certification and the most common starting point for anyone pursuing amazon aws certification. It validates overall understanding of the AWS Cloud, core services, security, pricing, and billing — no coding required. This is the exam most people mean when they search aws cloud practitioner exam or aws certified cloud practitioner. Cost: $100 USD Expected Salary: Roughly $95,000–$115,000 depending on role and location; it's rarely the sole qualification behind a salary but consistently boosts entry-level cloud pay. Expected Jobs: IT support, junior cloud administrator, sales/solutions engineer, project coordinator, business analyst working with cloud teams.

2. AWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) — Foundational

Intro: AWS's newest aws foundational exam, built for the generative AI era. It's the fastest-growing entry in the aws ai certification category, covering AI/ML fundamentals, responsible AI, and how generative AI services work on AWS. Cost: $100 USD Expected Salary: $95,000–$120,000, with strong upward momentum as AI-adjacent roles expand. Expected Jobs: AI-aware business analysts, product managers, marketing and sales roles working alongside AI teams, junior ML support roles.

3. AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03)

Intro: The single most requested aws associate certification and the anchor of most aws certification courses. It proves you can design available, cost-optimized, and secure systems on AWS, and it appears in the vast majority of AWS-related job postings — making it the natural next step after the Cloud Practitioner in any serious aws certification roadmap. Cost: $150 USD Expected Salary: $115,000–$150,000 Expected Jobs: Cloud solutions architect, cloud engineer, infrastructure engineer, technical consultant.

4. AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02)

Intro: Built for hands-on builders, the aws certified developer exam tests application development, deployment, debugging, and use of AWS SDKs and CLI tools. Cost: $150 USD Expected Salary: $120,000–$140,000 Expected Jobs: Cloud application developer, backend engineer, full-stack developer working on AWS-hosted apps.

5. AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate (SOA-C02)

Intro: Focused on deployment, management, and operational support of AWS workloads — the operations counterpart to the developer track. Cost: $150 USD Expected Salary: $110,000–$140,000 Expected Jobs: Cloud operations engineer, systems administrator, site reliability engineer (SRE).

6. AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate (DEA-C01)

Intro: The go-to aws data engineer certification, covering data pipelines, ingestion, transformation, and analytics services like Glue, Redshift, and Kinesis. Cost: $150 USD Expected Salary: $125,000–$155,000 Expected Jobs: Data engineer, analytics engineer, ETL developer, big data specialist.

7. AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate (MLA-C01/C02)

Intro: Validates the ability to build, deploy, and maintain ML pipelines on AWS, including generative AI workflows such as fine-tuning and RAG architectures. Note: MLA-C01 is being phased out in favor of MLA-C02, which adds deeper generative AI content — check the current aws certification exam schedule before booking if you're mid-study. Cost: $150 USD (subject to change with the C02 update) Expected Salary: $130,000–$160,000 Expected Jobs: ML engineer, MLOps engineer, AI application developer.

8. AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional (SAP-C02)

Intro: One of the most respected credentials in cloud computing, this aws solution architect certification at the professional tier proves you can architect complex, multi-account, hybrid AWS environments at enterprise scale. Cost: $300 USD Expected Salary: $155,000–$190,000+ Expected Jobs: Senior/principal cloud architect, enterprise architect, cloud practice lead.

9. AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional (DOP-C02)

Intro: Covers CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code, monitoring, and automated governance at scale — the professional-level companion to the Developer and SysOps associate exams. Cost: $300 USD Expected Salary: $150,000–$185,000 Expected Jobs: DevOps engineer, platform engineer, release engineering lead.

10. AWS Certified Security – Specialty (SCS-C02)

Intro: The definitive aws security certification, focused on data protection, identity and access management, incident response, and infrastructure security on AWS. Cost: $300 USD Expected Salary: $150,000–$200,000+ Expected Jobs: Cloud security engineer, security architect, compliance and governance lead.

11. AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty (ANS-C01)

Intro: Deep-dive certification for designing and implementing complex AWS and hybrid network architectures. Note that AWS has announced a retirement date for ANS-C01 with no replacement confirmed yet, so check the aws certification exam schedule if this is on your roadmap. Cost: $300 USD Expected Salary: $145,000–$175,000 Expected Jobs: Network engineer, cloud network architect, telecom/infrastructure specialist.

AWS Certification Cost: Full Breakdown

A quick summary of aws certification cost by tier:

  • Foundational exams: $100 (Cloud Practitioner, AI Practitioner)
  • Associate exams: $150 (Solutions Architect, Developer, SysOps, Data Engineer, Machine Learning Engineer)
  • Professional and Specialty exams: $300 (Solutions Architect Pro, DevOps Pro, Security, Advanced Networking)

One thing many guides miss: every time you pass an AWS exam, you get a 50% discount voucher toward your next one. A common path — Cloud Practitioner → Solutions Architect Associate → Solutions Architect Professional — runs about $325 with vouchers instead of the full $550. Budget beyond the exam fee too: practice exams and aws training materials typically add another $100–$400 depending on the aws certification courses you choose.

How to Register: AWS Exam Booking, Pearson VUE, and OnVUE

This is where most first-timers get confused, so here's the full process for aws exam registration:

  1. Create or log in to your AWS Certification account. All registration happens through the official aws certifications website at aws.amazon.com/certification — this is your aws certification portal for booking, tracking, and managing every exam you take.
  2. Choose your exam and location. AWS certification exams are delivered through two testing partners: Pearson VUE and PSI. For pearson aws bookings, you'll be redirected to the Pearson VUE scheduling system directly from your AWS Certification account.
  3. Schedule your AWS exam. To schedule aws exam sessions, pick either an in-person testing center or an online-proctored option. AWS's browser-based online exam experience runs through AWS OnVUE (Pearson's online proctoring platform), which lets you test from home with a live remote proctor.
  4. Complete aws exam booking. Confirm your date, time, and testing method, then pay the exam fee (or apply a discount voucher if you have one).
  5. Track results and history via AWS Certmetrics. After you sit the exam, your official score report, certification status, and digital badge all live in your AWS Certmetrics login dashboard — this is the system behind certmetrics aws score reporting, separate from your original AWS Certification account login. Bookmark both your aws exam login and your Certmetrics login, since you'll use them repeatedly throughout your certification journey.

If you ever need to reschedule, cancel, or check your aws certification schedule exam status, both the AWS Certification portal and Pearson VUE/PSI dashboards let you manage bookings directly — just avoid rescheduling within 24–48 hours of your slot, since late changes can forfeit your fee.

AWS Training and Courses: How to Actually Prepare

AWS offers free digital aws training and certification content directly on the certifications website, covering most exam objectives at no cost. Beyond that, most candidates combine a few resources:

  • Official AWS Skill Builder courses
  • Third-party aws course platforms with video training and labs
  • Practice exams (worth the $75–$150 they typically cost — they prevent expensive retakes on $300 professional exams)
  • Hands-on labs in an actual AWS free-tier account, which matters more than any single course for the scenario-based questions on associate and professional exams

Frequently Asked Questions

Is "AWS certification" the same as "certification AWS"? Yes — just word order. Both refer to the same official Amazon Web Services credentialing program.

Do I need the AWS Cloud Practitioner before other exams? No prerequisite is enforced, but it's recommended if you're new to IT or cloud concepts generally, since it builds the vocabulary the associate-level aws exams assume you already know.

How long are AWS certifications valid? Three years from your pass date, after which you recertify by exam or through AWS's continuing education path.

Is AWS certification available outside the US? Yes — AWS certification exams, including certificação AWS in Portuguese, are offered in multiple languages at testing centers and online worldwide.

Final Thoughts

Whether your goal is your first aws foundational badge or a top-tier aws security certification, the path is the same: pick the certification that matches the job you want, budget realistically for the aws certification cost, prepare with real hands-on practice — not just video courses — and book your aws certification exam schedule with enough runway to prepare properly. AWS certifications remain one of the highest-ROI credentials in tech, and with a clear roadmap, earning one (or several) is a realistic goal at any stage of your cloud career.

Ready to start studying? Explore study4pass's AWS certification courses and practice exams to build your roadmap today.