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AZ-900 and AZ-104 are both Microsoft Azure certifications, but they exist for different people at different stages. This guide compares what each exam actually tests, how the formats and difficulty differ, how long each takes to prepare for, and whether you need one before the other, so you can pick the one that matches where you actually are today.
Quick answer
If you only read one section, read this one. The right exam depends on what you already do with Azure day to day, not on which certification looks more impressive on a CV.
AZ-900 (Microsoft Azure Fundamentals) is the right starting point if you have never worked hands-on in Azure, if your role sits adjacent to cloud rather than inside it (sales, project management, support), or if you want to validate that you understand core cloud concepts before committing weeks to a harder exam. It is conceptual, it does not expire, and most people with some IT background pass it after one to two weeks of study.
AZ-104 (Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate) is the right exam if you already manage subscriptions, identities, storage, virtual machines, or networks in Azure, or if a job description specifically asks for it. It is the credential most hiring managers mean when they say "Azure administrator", and it proves practical skill rather than conceptual awareness. Plan for four to eight weeks of focused study.
There is no rule that says you must pass AZ-900 before AZ-104. See "Do you need AZ-900 before AZ-104?" below for when skipping it makes sense and when it does not.
Side by side
Both columns below come from the current Microsoft skills outlines and Azure Mastery's own exam pages, not estimates.
| Category | AZ-900 | AZ-104 |
|---|---|---|
| Credential | Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals | Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate |
| Best for | New to cloud, non-technical roles, first Microsoft cert | Hands-on Azure administrators, IT pros moving into cloud operations |
| Domains | 3: cloud concepts; Azure architecture & services; management & governance | 5: identity & governance; storage; compute; networking; monitoring |
| Format | 40–60 questions, 45 minutes (65-minute seat) | 40–60 questions, 100 minutes (120-minute seat) |
| Question style | Mostly conceptual multiple choice and multi-select | Multiple choice, multi-select, drag-and-drop, hotspot, and case studies, plus Bicep/CLI reading |
| Pass score | 700 / 1000 | 700 / 1000 |
| Typical prep time | One to two weeks with some IT background | Four to eight weeks with some Azure experience |
| Renewal | Doesn't expire | Renew free every year |
| Skills outline | Updated 14 January 2026 | Updated 17 April 2026 |
Exam fees vary by country for both exams, so check Microsoft's own pages for the price where you live: the AZ-900 study guide and the AZ-104 study guide both link through to registration and current pricing.
What AZ-900 actually tests
AZ-900 is deliberately conceptual. It checks that you can explain cloud computing and Azure's service model rather than configure anything, and there is no Azure CLI, PowerShell, or Bicep on this exam at all.
| Domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| Describe cloud concepts | 25–30% |
| Describe Azure architecture and services | 35–40% |
| Describe Azure management and governance | 30–35% |
The first domain covers the shared responsibility model, public versus private versus hybrid cloud, consumption-based pricing, and the IaaS/PaaS/SaaS service types. The largest domain, Azure architecture and services, covers the regions-to-resource-groups hierarchy, compute and networking basics, storage tiers, and identity fundamentals such as Microsoft Entra ID, multi-factor authentication, and Azure RBAC. The third domain covers cost management, Azure Policy, resource locks, and monitoring tools such as Azure Monitor and Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Every question is about recognising the right concept or service, not configuring one.
What AZ-104 actually tests
AZ-104 is hands-on and practical. Roughly a third of its questions include a Bicep snippet, an Azure CLI command, or a PowerShell cmdlet, and you are expected to predict what it does or spot what is wrong with it, not just recognise the service name.
| Domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| Manage Azure identities and governance | 20–25% |
| Implement and manage storage | 15–20% |
| Deploy and manage Azure compute resources | 20–25% |
| Implement and manage virtual networking | 15–20% |
| Monitor and maintain Azure resources | 10–15% |
Identity and governance covers Microsoft Entra ID user and group management and Azure RBAC assigned at management group, subscription, resource group, and resource scope. Storage covers redundancy options, SAS tokens, access keys, and identity-based access for Azure Files. Compute covers reading and deploying ARM templates and Bicep, virtual machine sizing and disks, and containers through Azure Container Registry and Container Apps. Networking covers network security groups, Azure Bastion, private endpoints, and load balancers. Monitoring covers Azure Monitor, Network Watcher, Azure Backup, and Azure Site Recovery. Five domains is a wider surface than AZ-900's three, and each one goes deeper.
Prerequisite question
No. AZ-900 is not a formal prerequisite for AZ-104, and Microsoft's booking system will not stop you sitting AZ-104 first, or as your only Azure exam. Plenty of people go straight to AZ-104, particularly if they already touch Azure at work.
Where AZ-900 genuinely helps is when Azure is new to you. If you have less than six months of hands-on experience with the platform, AZ-104's domains assume a conceptual map you have not built yet: what a region pair is, how subscriptions and management groups nest, what "shared responsibility" actually means for security. AZ-900 builds that map in one to two weeks, and it makes the AZ-104 material land faster because you are not learning the vocabulary and the configuration at the same time.
If you already administer Azure resources, even informally, you can usually skip AZ-900 without a gap. The conceptual content will be familiar from doing the job, and going straight to AZ-104 gets you to the credential that hiring managers actually screen for. Sitting AZ-900 afterwards, once you already hold AZ-104, adds little beyond a second line on a CV.
Career value
AZ-900 signals baseline cloud literacy. It is common for organisations to ask non-technical staff, new graduate hires, or people transferring into IT to hold it, because it proves someone can talk about cloud concepts and Azure's shape without needing to be an administrator. It is a reasonable box to tick before an internal move into a cloud-adjacent role, and a low-risk way to test whether Azure work interests you before committing serious study time.
AZ-104 signals that you can actually run an Azure environment. It is the certification job adverts mean when they list "Azure Administrator" as a requirement, and it is the assumed groundwork for expert-level architecture certifications such as AZ-305, and for specialist security and networking tracks. Holding it demonstrates operational competence, not just familiarity.
Neither certification guarantees a job offer or a pay rise on its own. What both exams reliably do is give you a structured way to close a specific knowledge gap and something concrete to point to when a role or a promotion asks for it.
Take both?
For complete beginners, taking both in sequence is a sound plan. AZ-900's one-to-two-week timeline builds study momentum and confidence with the exam format before you take on AZ-104's much larger domain list, and you carry the exam-simulator habit straight into the harder exam.
For anyone already administering Azure, taking both is optional rather than necessary. Sitting AZ-104 directly gets you the credential that matters most for the role, and AZ-900 can wait, or simply be skipped, without holding your career back.
Where the two do work well together is on a CV that needs to show range: AZ-900 demonstrates that you understand the platform conceptually, and AZ-104 demonstrates that you can operate it. If you have the time, sitting AZ-900 first and rolling straight into AZ-104 preparation is a realistic six-to-ten-week combined project. The AZ-900 study guide and the AZ-104 study guide each lay out a week-by-week plan you can chain together.
Azure Mastery carries both question banks: over 300 AZ-900 questions across its three domains and over 600 AZ-104 questions across all five. Each bank gets its own on-device Exam IQ readiness score, its own adaptive study plan, and its own full-length exam simulator, so switching from one certification to the other does not mean switching apps. It works offline and needs no account to start.
Download Azure Mastery — freeFrequently asked
Yes. AZ-900 is not a prerequisite for AZ-104, and Microsoft does not check for it before you book. If you already work with Azure subscriptions, virtual machines, or storage in your job, going straight to AZ-104 is the more efficient route, because much of AZ-900's conceptual content will already be familiar.
AZ-900. It is built for people without hands-on experience and covers cloud concepts, Azure's service model, and governance basics before you are expected to configure anything. Passing it first also builds the habit of studying with an exam simulator, which pays off when you move on to AZ-104's harder, hands-on format.
Yes, noticeably. AZ-900 tests whether you can describe cloud concepts and name Azure services; AZ-104 tests whether you can configure them. AZ-104 also runs longer, 100 minutes against AZ-900's 45, and adds drag-and-drop, hotspot, and case-study questions on top of multiple choice, along with Bicep and Azure CLI reading that AZ-900 does not touch.
No. AZ-900 is a Fundamentals certification and does not expire. AZ-104 is an Associate certification, and Microsoft requires you to renew it every year with a free online assessment on Microsoft Learn. Budget a little ongoing time for AZ-104 even after you pass it.
There is no cooling-off period between different exams, only between repeat attempts at the same one. Some candidates sit AZ-900 after one to two weeks of study and move straight into AZ-104 preparation, carrying over the momentum and the exam-simulator habit they have just built. Just do not rush AZ-104's much larger domain list to hit an arbitrary deadline.
No. There is no formal credit, exemption, or reduced fee for having passed AZ-900 first. What you gain is conceptual groundwork and, for many people, more confidence going into a harder exam, rather than a shortcut through AZ-104's content.
Practise with over 300 AZ-900 questions or over 600 AZ-104 questions in Azure Mastery, each with an on-device readiness score, an adaptive study plan, and a full-length simulator. Free to start, works offline.
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