Most sites that appear at the top of search results for "free AWS practice exams" are not actually free. They give you 10-15 questions at no cost, then require a purchase. This list covers what is genuinely free, what is partially free, and what the paid options are worth.
Genuinely free resources
AWS Skill Builder (official, free tier)
AWS offers a free tier on AWS Skill Builder that includes official practice question sets for most certifications. The free Official Practice Question Sets are short (20-30 questions) but are authored by the same team that writes the real exam. The question style, difficulty, and explanation quality are the most reliable free resource available.
What is free: Official Practice Question Sets, digital courses, and learning plans for most certifications.
What requires the paid subscription ($29/month): Official Practice Exams (full-length, 65 questions, timed) and the Exam Prep Enhanced courses.
ExamTopics community questions
ExamTopics has community-contributed questions for most AWS certifications. These are not official, and some answers are disputed in the comments. However, the volume of questions is large and the community discussions often clarify the reasoning behind correct answers. For SAA-C03, the question bank is extensive.
Caution: Some questions are outdated or incorrect. Always verify answers against the AWS documentation when in doubt. Do not treat ExamTopics as your primary study source.
AWS free practice assessments
For some certifications, AWS provides a free 20-question practice assessment directly on the certification page at aws.amazon.com. Check the specific certification page for the exam you are targeting.
r/AWSCertifications community resources
The AWSCertifications subreddit maintains a wiki with links to free study resources, including community-contributed practice questions and study guides. The "passed today" posts often include the specific resources that worked for that candidate.
Partially free (limited without account)
Tutorials Dojo (Jon Bonso)
Tutorials Dojo practice exams are considered the gold standard by the AWS certification community. They are not free, but they offer a limited number of free questions. The full practice exam sets cost around $15-20 each and are widely recommended. The explanations are thorough and include references to official AWS documentation.
For SAA-C03: the Tutorials Dojo practice exam set is the most commonly recommended purchase among candidates who passed on their first attempt.
Whizlabs
Whizlabs offers 15-20 free questions per exam and paid full practice exams. The quality is acceptable but below Tutorials Dojo for most AWS exams based on community feedback.
How to use practice exams effectively
- Do not start practice exams until you have covered the exam content. Practice exams reveal gaps; they do not fill them.
- Review every wrong answer against the official AWS documentation. Not against other practice exam explanations, against the source docs.
- If you are getting below 65% on practice exams after studying, you need more content coverage, not more practice exams.
- If you are consistently getting 80%+ on practice exams, book your real exam. Over-preparing with practice questions creates false confidence in specific questions rather than real understanding.
The free study plan for AWS SAA-C03
This is achievable at zero cost beyond the $150 exam fee:
- Week 1-2: Stephane Maarek's SAA-C03 course on Udemy (frequently on sale for $10-15). Not free, but the most recommended paid course.
- Week 3-4: Adrian Cantrill's free SAA-C03 demos on GitHub/YouTube for hands-on context.
- Week 5: Official Practice Question Sets on AWS Skill Builder (free tier). All incorrect answers reviewed against AWS docs.
- Week 6: ExamTopics community questions, cross-referencing disputed answers with AWS documentation.
Check your AWS exam readiness
# Confirm your AWS CLI is configured correctly before labs
aws sts get-caller-identity
# List available practice exams on Skill Builder (requires browser)
# Direct URL: https://explore.skillbuilder.aws/learn/catalog?ct=ft&search=practice+exam
# Check your current certification status
aws certification get-candidate-summary
# Note: this command requires the AWS Certification CLI, not standard AWS CLI
Is paying for practice exams worth it?
For SAA-C03: yes. The Tutorials Dojo set at $15-20 is the most cost-effective exam prep investment after your study course. The pass rate correlation is strong enough that the community consistently recommends it. A $20 purchase on a practice exam is cheaper than a $150 retake.
For simpler exams like AWS Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02): the free official practice question set from AWS Skill Builder is probably sufficient if you have done a full course.