AWS Solutions Architect

AWS Solutions Architect

Offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS)

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) validates your ability to design cost-effective, resilient, secure, and high-performing systems on...

1 study group

Sign up or log in to unlock peer-created videos, posts, private forums, and study groups.

Study groups

  • AWS Solutions Architect Study Group

    1 member · Online

    AWS Solutions Architect exam preparation

    View group

AWS Solutions Architect exam at a glance

Format

65 questions; multiple choice or multiple response

Duration

130 minutes

Delivery

Pearson VUE test center or online proctored

Passing score

720 out of 1000 (scaled)

Exam cost

$150 USD

Validity

3 years

Prerequisites

No prerequisites; AWS recommends about 1 year of hands-on experience designing on AWS

About the AWS Solutions Architect certification

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) validates your ability to design cost-effective, resilient, secure, and high-performing systems on AWS. It's one of the most in-demand cloud certifications and a common first role-based AWS cert after the Cloud Practitioner.

The exam focuses on architecture design decisions across the breadth of AWS services rather than deep coding, making it approachable for people with solid IT fundamentals.

Who it’s for: Engineers, architects, and IT professionals who design or want to design solutions on AWS.

Official exam page· Details verified 2026-08

What the AWS Solutions Architect exam covers
  • Design Secure Architectures
    30%
  • Design Resilient Architectures
    26%
  • Design High-Performing Architectures
    24%
  • Design Cost-Optimized Architectures
    20%
How to study for the AWS Solutions Architect
  1. 1Get comfortable with core services: EC2, S3, VPC, IAM, RDS, and DynamoDB.
  2. 2Read the official SAA-C03 exam guide and map each domain to services.
  3. 3Build hands-on: launch a VPC, host a resilient web app, and practice IAM policies.
  4. 4Study the AWS Well-Architected Framework — the exam is built around its pillars.
  5. 5Take the official practice exam and review every wrong answer's reasoning.
AWS Solutions Architect — frequently asked questions

Should I take Cloud Practitioner first?

It's optional. If you're new to AWS or to IT, Cloud Practitioner builds useful foundations, but experienced engineers often go straight to Solutions Architect – Associate.

How much coding is on the exam?

Very little. It focuses on architecture and service selection, not writing code.