What Is the Hardest AWS Certification to Get?
The hardest to earn are the professional exams and a few specialties. Here’s what makes them hard in terms of effort, experience, and cost, and which one fits your path.
The hardest AWS certifications to earn are the professional-level exams, Solutions Architect Professional and DevOps Engineer Professional, along with demanding specialties such as Advanced Networking and Security. They require deep experience, much longer study, and cost $300 each.
“Hardest to get” is about the whole effort: experience required, study time, exam stamina, and cost. By that measure, the top of the lineup is clear.
What makes a certification hard to get
- Required experience. AWS recommends two years or more of hands-on experience for professional exams.
- Study time. Often 100 to 200 hours or more on top of existing knowledge.
- Breadth and depth. Many services, plus how they interact in complex designs.
- Exam length. Professional exams run 180 minutes with 75 questions.
- Cost. $300 per attempt.
The usual suspects
| Certification | Why it’s hard to get |
|---|---|
| Solutions Architect – Professional | Long, dense scenarios across many services, with subtle trade-offs |
| DevOps Engineer – Professional | Automation, CI/CD, monitoring, and incident response, with heavy scenario reading |
| Advanced Networking – Specialty | Deep, specialized networking that many engineers rarely touch |
| Security – Specialty | Broad security depth, identity, encryption, and incident response |
Others, like the Machine Learning Specialty, were historically considered difficult too, but AWS changes the lineup, so check the current list.
Why the professional exams are tough
The questions are long. Many are a full paragraph or two, with answer options that are each a paragraph as well. You often need to read all four options carefully to find the one that meets every stated requirement. With 75 questions in 180 minutes, you have about two and a half minutes each, which is tight given the reading.
The scenarios also assume real-world judgment: migration strategies, multi-account governance, hybrid connectivity, cost and compliance trade-offs. Experience matters a lot.
Which is hardest for you?
It depends on your background. A network engineer may find Advanced Networking more approachable than DevOps Professional. A developer with CI/CD experience may find DevOps Professional easier than Networking. The hardest for you is usually the one outside your daily work.
Associate exams for comparison
| Level | Typical difficulty |
|---|---|
| Foundational | Easy to moderate |
| Associate | Moderate |
| Professional | Hard |
| Specialty | Hard, depends on the topic |
Should you aim for the hardest one?
Only if it fits your goals. These exams are valuable for senior roles and consulting, but they’re a lot of work. Most people benefit from taking the associate level first, which builds the foundation. We lay out the order in the AWS certification path.
How to approach a hard exam
1. Get hands-on experience before you start 2. Pass the related associate exam first 3. Study in depth, with labs and whitepapers 4. Practice long scenario questions under timed conditions 5. Plan for 8 to 16 weeks of preparation 6. Use your 50% voucher to cut the $300 fee
A broader ranking
For a longer comparison, see our post on which AWS certification is the hardest, and for the exam-format angle, read which AWS exam is considered the hardest.
A few more questions people ask
Is Solutions Architect Professional harder than DevOps Professional?
It depends on your background. The Solutions Architect exam leans on design and migration, and the DevOps exam leans on automation and operations. Choose the one aligned with your daily work.
Do I need the associate certification first?
AWS doesn’t require it, but most people benefit from taking the associate level first. It builds foundations the professional exams assume.
How many people fail professional exams?
AWS doesn’t publish pass rates, so any number is a guess. What’s clear is that preparation time and experience matter a great deal.
Find out where you stand before exam day
CloudExamPro has six full-length practice exams for each of the three most popular AWS certifications. Pick yours, run a timed attempt, and let the domain breakdown tell you what to study next.
- Practice exams for CLF-C02, SAA-C03 and DEA-C01
- 6 full-length exams per certification
- Timed exam mode and practice by domain
- Results broken down by exam domain