After passing the 3 big Cloud Architect Professional certifications, I wanted to write about that experience, and also compare the 3 clouds and some of the differences they have.
All Professional exams recommend 2 years of experience with their cloud, but if you already know one of them, you already understand many concepts.
For example, EC2, VMs and GCE. You already know that all are IaaS compute and what they are for, you just need to learn that in AWS you could have more control over them, and in GCP they are simpler with less to care about.
It's not that one is worse or better, they are different models to create solutions.
Organizations, Tenants and Projects
The big difference I saw, fundamental to learn about, is how each cloud structures all their resources.
AWS is built around accounts, grouped under Organizations, where each account acts as a strong isolation boundary.
Azure, on the other hand, revolves around identity: everything lives under a tenant (Entra ID), with subscriptions used to organize resources and billing.
GCP takes a different approach, where projects are the core building block, sitting under an organization and optionally folders.
AWS isolates by accounts, Azure organizes by identity, and GCP structures everything around projects.
Questions and duration
Azure and GCP are both 120 min and around 50 questions (it depends randomly), and AWS is 180 min and 75 questions.
Here I have to say that the AWS questions are sometimes extra long, and even with one hour more you have less time to read all of them.
Also mention that the Azure questions are not only questions with a few answers to pick. There are also questions to drag and drop, order, say if a scenario is correct, and also a big case study with more details and a few questions related to it.
AWS is longer and heavier, Azure is more scenario-based, and GCP is more about picking the right architecture than knowing every detail.
Cost and Prerequisites
AWS: $300, but if you already passed another AWS exam you have a 50% voucher in your account, so check it and use it!
The proper path here would be to take the Practitioner, the Architect Associate and then the Architect Professional. With the 50% discount for each one you pass, the 3 certs would cost $325, so it's almost the same price for all of them.
If you play it smart with AWS discounts, going from zero to Architect Professional can cost almost the same as a single Professional exam.
Azure: The price for the exam is $165, BUT you would also need to pass the AZ-104 Administrator first, so it's mandatory to add another $165 for that cert and the total for both is $330.
GCP: $200 and no prerequisites, easy and simple. You can try the Cloud Engineer Associate first, which is related and could be an easier first approach to Google exams, but it's up to you, it is not a prerequisite.
Expiration and recertification
About the three certifications, they have different durations until you have to recertify them.
AWS: 3 years, and you have to take the full exam again.
GCP: 2 years, but you would recertify it with a shorter and cheaper exam.
Azure: 1 year, but it is recertified with a short and free exam!
So here we can also see 3 models: longer validity with a full exam to recertify, or shorter validity with an easier exam.
Quick summary
| Cloud | Price (USD) | Duration | Questions | Validity | Recertification | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS | $300 | 180 min | 75 | 3 years | Full exam again | None |
| Azure | $330* | 120 min | ~40–60 | 1 year | Free online renewal | AZ-104 required |
| GCP | $200 | 120 min | ~50 | 2 years | Renewal exam | None |
*AZ-104 exam costs $165 and is required to obtain the Azure Expert Architect certification.
All exams need a deep understanding of each cloud, many of their services and how they interact, and what would be the best solution for a specific problem.
In my opinion, the most challenging one is AWS, because it is the longest one, and the questions in some cases are too long for the time you have. At some point you are not only facing your knowledge and experience, you are also fighting against time and trying not to get tired of reading.
And with this comparison between the 3 certs, are you ready to take one of them?
I hope that now the pieces fit...
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