Prep
AZ-104 vs AZ-900: the short version
The AZ-104 vs AZ-900 choice is really a question of level. AZ-900 (Microsoft Azure Fundamentals) checks that you can describe cloud concepts, the main Azure services and the tools for governance and cost. AZ-104 (Microsoft Azure Administrator) checks that you can implement, manage and troubleshoot those services in a real environment.
Microsoft rates AZ-900 as Beginner and AZ-104 as Intermediate. Neither exam has a formal prerequisite, so AZ-900 is optional, not a required step. Whether it is a useful step depends on what you already know, which is what the decision table further down is for.
All facts here come from Microsoft Learn certification pages and study guides, checked on 7 November 2026.
| AZ-900 | AZ-104 | |
|---|---|---|
| Level | Beginner | Intermediate |
| Exam time | 45 minutes | 100 minutes |
| Passing score | 700 / 1,000 | 700 / 1,000 |
| Microsoft Learn access in exam | No | Yes |
| Expires | No | After 12 months (free renewal) |
| US price (secondary sources) | US$99 | US$165 |
Side-by-side comparison
| AZ-900: Azure Fundamentals | AZ-104: Azure Administrator Associate | |
|---|---|---|
| Level | Beginner | Intermediate |
| What it tests | Describing concepts and choosing the right service | Configuring, managing and troubleshooting Azure resources |
| Skills measured version | As of July 20, 2026 | As of October 26, 2023 (still current in November 2026) |
| Exam time | 45 minutes (65 minutes seat time) | 100 minutes (120 minutes seat time) |
| Questions | Not published; Microsoft says most of its exams have 40 to 60 | Not published; Microsoft says most of its exams have 40 to 60 |
| Passing score | 700 on a scale of 1 to 1,000 (scaled) | 700 on a scale of 1 to 1,000 (scaled) |
| Microsoft Learn during the exam | Not allowed | Allowed in a split screen; the clock keeps running |
| Prerequisites | None | None formally; experience with PowerShell, Azure CLI, the portal, ARM templates or Bicep, and Microsoft Entra ID expected |
| Validity | Does not expire | 12 months; renew free with an online assessment |
| Languages | 13 | 10 |
| Price | Set by country; US$99 in the United States according to secondary sources | Set by country; US$165 in the United States according to secondary sources |
Microsoft shows the exact price when you book, based on the country where the exam is proctored. Students and educators can also schedule AZ-900 through Certiport.
What each exam covers
AZ-900: three skill areas
- Describe cloud concepts (25-30%): shared responsibility, public, private and hybrid cloud, consumption-based pricing, serverless, IaaS, PaaS and SaaS.
- Describe Azure architecture and services (35-40%): regions, availability zones, resource groups, subscriptions and management groups; compute, networking and storage options; Microsoft Entra ID, Conditional Access, RBAC, Zero Trust and Defender for Cloud.
- Describe Azure management and governance (30-35%): cost factors and the pricing calculator, tags, Microsoft Purview, Azure Policy, resource locks, the portal, Cloud Shell, CLI and PowerShell, Azure Arc, ARM templates, Advisor, Service Health and Azure Monitor.
AZ-104: five skill areas
- Manage Azure identities and governance (20-25%): Entra users and groups, role assignments at different scopes, Azure Policy, locks, budgets and management groups.
- Implement and manage storage (15-20%): SAS tokens, access keys, redundancy, file shares, blob tiers, lifecycle management and versioning.
- Deploy and manage Azure compute resources (20-25%): ARM templates and Bicep, virtual machines, scale sets, containers and App Service.
- Implement and manage virtual networking (15-20%): VNets, peering, routes, NSGs, Bastion, private endpoints, DNS and load balancers.
- Monitor and maintain Azure resources (10-15%): Azure Monitor, Network Watcher, Backup and Site Recovery.
The overlap is real but shallow. AZ-900 asks what Azure Policy is for; AZ-104 asks you to assign one at the right scope and explain why a deployment was denied.
How much harder is AZ-104?
Considerably. Three differences explain most of the gap:
- Depth. AZ-900 objectives start with "describe". AZ-104 objectives start with "configure", "create", "manage" and "troubleshoot". You need to know the settings, the order of steps and the failure modes.
- Time and length. AZ-104 gives you 100 minutes against 45 for AZ-900, and its scenarios are longer. Microsoft also says role-based exams may contain interactive components.
- Hands-on experience. AZ-900 can be passed from study alone. AZ-104 is very hard to pass without having built things in a real Azure subscription.
Being allowed to open Microsoft Learn during AZ-104 helps less than it sounds. Microsoft warns that you will run out of time if you use it for every question, and that is by design. Microsoft does not publish pass rates for either exam.
Which should you take first?
This is our editorial recommendation, based on Microsoft's published audience profiles.
| Your situation | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| New to IT or new to cloud | AZ-900 first, then AZ-104 after some hands-on practice |
| Non-technical role: sales, project, finance, management | AZ-900 only; AZ-104 is built for administrators |
| Sysadmin or network engineer, new to Azure | Optional AZ-900 for vocabulary, or a week of fundamentals study and straight to AZ-104 |
| Already administering Azure at work | AZ-104 directly |
| Employer or job ad asks for Azure Administrator Associate | AZ-104; AZ-900 will not satisfy it |
| Want a credential that does not need yearly renewal | AZ-900; AZ-104 needs a free renewal assessment every year |
A quick test: if terms like resource group, availability zone, RBAC and VNet peering are unfamiliar, start with AZ-900 or its study material. Our free AZ-900 practice test takes a few minutes and tells you which side of that line you are on.
Cost and renewal over time
On the secondary-source US prices, taking both exams costs about US$264 in exam fees, against US$165 for AZ-104 alone. The real cost difference is time: AZ-900 preparation is usually measured in days or a couple of weeks, AZ-104 in weeks or months.
Renewal differs too. Microsoft states that Fundamentals certifications do not expire. Associate certifications such as the Azure Administrator expire after 12 months; you can renew free by passing a shorter, unproctored, open-book assessment on Microsoft Learn during a six-month window before expiry. A pass extends the certification by one year from its expiration date.
Microsoft's Exam Replay offer, when available, bundles a retake with the exam. It is worth checking before booking AZ-104, where a first-attempt fail is more likely than on AZ-900.
Where each certification leads
The two exams sit at different points on Microsoft's Azure path. AZ-900 is a starting point: Microsoft describes it as "a common starting point in a journey towards a career in Azure". It does not qualify you for an administrator role by itself, but it gives you the vocabulary for every Azure certification that follows, including AI and data fundamentals.
AZ-104 is the core associate credential for people who run Azure environments. It is the usual base for further study in Azure architecture, security, networking or DevOps, because those exams assume you can already deploy and manage the resources AZ-104 covers.
A practical way to sequence them:
- If you are new: AZ-900, then a few weeks of hands-on practice, then AZ-104.
- If you are an experienced sysadmin: AZ-104 directly, using AZ-900 study material only to fill gaps in Azure-specific terms.
- After AZ-104: pick a specialisation based on your job, and keep the AZ-104 renewal in your calendar every year.
Our best IT certifications guide shows how these fit next to AWS, CompTIA and Cisco options.
How to prepare for each
For AZ-900, work through the free Microsoft Learn path, click around the Azure portal with a free or trial account, and focus on the distinctions questions test most: IaaS vs PaaS vs SaaS, regions vs availability zones, and Azure Policy vs resource locks vs RBAC. Our AZ-900 study guide has a short plan.
For AZ-104, plan roughly half your time in a real subscription doing the tasks in the skills list, and set a budget alert before you start. Our AZ-104 study guide has an 8-week plan with labs, and our AZ-104 practice test shows which skill areas need more work. Microsoft's free Practice Assessments are worth using for both exams; for AZ-104, Microsoft recommends the newer version on AI Skills Navigator over the legacy one on Microsoft Learn.