Cert Prep › AWS SAA-C03

AWS Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) prep

18 modules · 180 quiz questions · 65-question timed mock · ~20 hours · free

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Modules are free to read. Quizzes, the mock exam and saved progress need a free account — your progress follows you to any device. Works best on a laptop; on phones, use full screen.

The SAA-C03 exam at a glance

Questions65 (50 scored + 15 unscored), multiple choice and multiple response
Time130 minutes
Passing score720 out of 1000 (scaled)
CostUSD 150
Validity3 years

Confirm current details on the official AWS exam page before booking — AWS revises exams and pricing.

Exam domains

  • 30% — Design Secure Architectures
  • 26% — Design Resilient Architectures
  • 24% — Design High-Performing Architectures
  • 20% — Design Cost-Optimized Architectures

Course syllabus

Modules unlock in order: score 70% or more on each 10-question quiz to open the next (quizzes need a free account). Every module explains the idea with an everyday analogy first, then covers the AWS services and exam traps in depth.

Foundation

  1. Cloud Computing Fundamentals · 45 min · 10-question quiz
    What cloud actually means — pizza shops, electricity & the AWS way
    IaaS · PaaS · SaaS · Pricing models
  2. AWS Global Infrastructure · 40 min · 10-question quiz
    Regions, AZs, Edge Locations — the physical map of AWS
    Region · AZ · Edge Location · Local Zone · Outposts
  3. IAM — Identity & Access Management · 60 min · 10-question quiz
    Who can do what — the foundation of AWS security
    IAM Users · Groups · Roles · Policies · MFA · IAM Identity Center

Core Services

  1. EC2 — Virtual Servers in the Cloud · 90 min · 10-question quiz
    The Swiss-army-knife compute service — instance types, AMIs, pricing
    EC2 · AMI · EBS · Instance Store · Spot/Reserved/Savings Plans · Placement Groups
  2. VPC — Networking Deep Dive · 90 min · 10-question quiz
    Your private corner of AWS — subnets, route tables, gateways
    VPC · Subnets · IGW · NAT · Route Tables · NACLs · Security Groups · VPC Peering · Transit Gateway · VPC Endpoints
  3. S3 — Object Storage Mastery · 75 min · 10-question quiz
    The infinite hard drive — buckets, classes, lifecycle, security
    S3 · Storage Classes · Lifecycle · Versioning · Replication · S3 Select · Pre-signed URLs · Object Lock
  4. EBS, EFS & Storage Services · 60 min · 10-question quiz
    Block, file, and beyond — choosing the right storage
    EBS · EBS Volume Types · EFS · FSx · Storage Gateway · Snowball/Snowmobile · AWS Backup

Security & Identity

  1. Encryption & KMS · 55 min · 10-question quiz
    Locking your data at rest & in transit — KMS, CloudHSM, certificates
    KMS · CloudHSM · ACM · Secrets Manager · Parameter Store · SSE-S3 / SSE-KMS / SSE-C
  2. Security Services · 65 min · 10-question quiz
    Detection, protection & compliance — GuardDuty, WAF, Shield, Macie
    WAF · Shield · GuardDuty · Macie · Inspector · Detective · Security Hub · Config · Artifact

Data & Databases

  1. Relational Databases — RDS & Aurora · 80 min · 10-question quiz
    Managed SQL databases without the ops headache
    RDS · Multi-AZ · Read Replicas · Aurora · Aurora Serverless · Aurora Global
  2. NoSQL & Specialized Databases · 75 min · 10-question quiz
    DynamoDB, ElastiCache, Neptune, DocumentDB & friends
    DynamoDB · DAX · Global Tables · ElastiCache (Redis/Memcached) · Neptune · DocumentDB · Timestream · Keyspaces · QLDB
  3. Data Analytics & Big Data · 70 min · 10-question quiz
    Redshift, Athena, Glue, Kinesis, EMR — turning data into insight
    Redshift · Athena · Glue · EMR · Kinesis (Data Streams, Firehose, Analytics) · MSK · QuickSight · OpenSearch · Data Pipeline · Lake Formation

Advanced & Integration

  1. Elastic Load Balancing & Auto Scaling · 65 min · 10-question quiz
    Building bullet-proof, self-healing fleets
    ALB · NLB · GWLB · CLB · ASG · Launch Templates · Scaling Policies · Health Checks
  2. Route 53 & CloudFront · 55 min · 10-question quiz
    DNS, CDN, global routing — making apps fast everywhere
    Route 53 · Routing Policies · Health Checks · CloudFront · OAC/OAI · Lambda@Edge · Global Accelerator
  3. Serverless — Lambda, API Gateway, Step Functions · 85 min · 10-question quiz
    No-server compute — the future of cloud-native
    Lambda · Lambda@Edge · API Gateway (REST/HTTP/WebSocket) · Step Functions · EventBridge · AppSync
  4. Containers — ECS, EKS, Fargate · 60 min · 10-question quiz
    Docker on AWS — managed orchestration without the pain
    ECS · EKS · Fargate · ECR · App Runner · Copilot
  5. Decoupling & Messaging — SQS, SNS, MQ · 50 min · 10-question quiz
    Loosely-coupled systems that never lose a message
    SQS (Standard/FIFO) · SNS · EventBridge · Amazon MQ · Kinesis Streams (recap) · AppSync (recap)
  6. Monitoring, DR & Cost Optimization · 70 min · 10-question quiz
    CloudWatch, CloudTrail, DR strategies, billing tools
    CloudWatch (Metrics/Logs/Alarms/Insights) · CloudTrail · X-Ray · EventBridge (recap) · Trusted Advisor · Cost Explorer · Budgets · Organizations · Control Tower · DR Strategies (Backup, Pilot Light, Warm Standby, Multi-Site)

Final preparation

  • Interactive tools — CIDR calculator, S3 class picker, EC2 pricing comparator, EBS picker, DR strategy picker, Lambda cost estimator, messaging picker and a matching game.
  • 40 flashcards for quick revision.
  • Final mock exam — 65 scenario questions in 130 minutes with a per-domain score breakdown.

4-week study plan

  • Week 1: Modules 1–5: cloud fundamentals, global infrastructure, IAM, EC2, VPC. About one module a day.
  • Week 2: Modules 6–11: S3, EBS/EFS, encryption, security services, RDS/Aurora, DynamoDB.
  • Week 3: Modules 12–18: analytics, load balancing, Route 53/CloudFront, serverless, containers, messaging, monitoring & DR.
  • Week 4: Tools and flashcards, then the full mock exam two or three times. Book the real exam once you score 80%+ consistently.

Tips for exam day

  • You have about two minutes per question. Flag anything you're stuck on and come back.
  • Read the qualifier carefully: MOST cost-effective, LEAST operational overhead and BEST performing usually point to different answers.
  • When two answers both work, the managed or serverless option is usually the one AWS wants.
  • Unscored questions are mixed in and not marked, so treat every question as if it counts.

Keep going

Practise explaining these services out loud with our AWS interview questions & answers, and once you're certified, check your resume against cloud job descriptions to make sure the certification and skills show up where recruiters look.

Independent study material written by SkillFitly. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Amazon Web Services. AWS and AWS Certified are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.