DEV Community

ExamCert.App
ExamCert.App

Posted on

DP-900 Is the Easiest Azure Cert — But Most People Still Overpay for Practice Tests

#azure #certification #cloud

I just passed the DP-900 (Azure Data Fundamentals) exam last week and wanted to share some honest thoughts about the prep experience — especially around practice tests.

The Exam Itself

DP-900 covers four domains:

  • Core data concepts (~25-30%)
  • Relational data on Azure (~20-25%)
  • Non-relational data on Azure (~15-20%)
  • Analytics workload on Azure (~25-30%)

It's 45 questions in 65 minutes, and you need 700/1000 to pass. Honestly, if you've worked with any database before, the core concepts section is almost free points.

The Practice Test Problem

Here's what surprised me: most practice test providers charge $30-60 for DP-900 question banks. For a fundamentals exam. That's almost the cost of the exam itself ($99 retail, often free with Microsoft Learn challenges).

I tried a few options:

  • Microsoft Learn practice assessments — free but limited pool, you start memorizing answers after 2 rounds
  • Udemy courses — $15-30 on sale, quality varies wildly
  • MeasureUp (official) — $99(!), overkill for a fundamentals cert

Then I found ExamCert's DP-900 practice test — $4.99 lifetime access with a pass-or-refund guarantee. I was skeptical at that price point, but the questions actually covered the Cosmos DB and Synapse scenarios that tripped me up on MicrosoftLearn. Way better value than dropping $30+ on Udemy when you're just trying to validate foundational knowledge.

Study Tips That Actually Helped

  1. Don't overthink it — this is a fundamentals exam, not AZ-305. If you know the difference between SQL and NoSQL, you're already 30% there.
  2. Focus on Azure-specific naming — DTUs vs vCores for Azure SQL, RU/s for Cosmos DB, Synapse pools vs dedicated. The exam tests whether you know Microsoft's terminology.
  3. Analytics section is sneaky heavy — Power BI, Data Factory, and Synapse Analytics questions made up more of my exam than expected.
  4. Do practice questions from multiple sources — each provider emphasizes different areas.

Is DP-900 Worth It?

Honestly? If your employer pays for it or you get a free voucher from a Microsoft event, absolutely. It's a quick confidence builder and looks fine on a resume when paired with a role-based cert like AZ-104 or DP-100.

If you're paying out of pocket just for the cert itself... maybe skip straight to DP-100 or AZ-900 if you haven't done that yet.

Either way, don't spend more on practice tests than on the actual exam. That's the real trap.

Anyone else recently take DP-900? Curious if the analytics section hit as hard for you as it did for me.

Top comments (0)