A first cloud certification should validate beginner-level cloud knowledge, yet the real challenge is choosing the easiest exam for your background, employer, and career goal.
The three credentials most often compared are Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals, commonly known by its AZ-900 exam code; AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, currently aligned to exam CLF-C02; and Google Cloud Digital Leader. Each is designed for people who need cloud fluency rather than hands-on engineering depth, but they are not identical. The easiest option depends less on the vendor name and more on the concepts a learner already recognises.
Last updated: 2026. Editor’s note: This guide covers the current entry-level comparison between AZ-900, AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02, and Google Cloud Digital Leader. Exam objectives, fees, and scheduling rules can change, so candidates should confirm the current details on Microsoft Learn, AWS Certification, and Google Cloud Certification before booking.
What “easiest” should mean for a cloud certification
A certification is easy only in relation to scope, format, prior knowledge, renewal effort, and the amount of new vocabulary a candidate must absorb. A business analyst who already discusses cloud migration with stakeholders may find Google Cloud Digital Leader straightforward because it is framed around business value, transformation, data, security, and operational change. A helpdesk technician working in Microsoft 365 or Entra ID may find AZ-900 easier because the terminology feels closer to daily work.
That distinction matters because beginner cloud exams are still exams. They usually test shared responsibility, identity and access, pricing concepts, governance, support plans, availability, and service categories. Candidates who spend all their time memorising virtual machines and storage names often miss the less technical domains that decide many questions.
Renewal also affects the real effort. Microsoft Fundamentals certifications currently do not expire, while AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner and Google Cloud Digital Leader require renewal every 3 years. For someone seeking a low-maintenance first credential, that difference can matter as much as the study time before the first exam.
The main options compared
Microsoft, AWS, and Google Cloud all publish official exam guides that define what each credential measures. None of the three should be treated as a role-based engineering certification. They are foundations credentials: useful for proving cloud literacy, less useful as proof that someone can design production networks, troubleshoot Kubernetes workloads, or automate infrastructure deployments.
| Certification |
Best fit |
Typical challenge |
Long-term effort |
| Microsoft Azure Fundamentals, AZ-900 |
Beginners in Microsoft-heavy organisations, IT support staff, students, and project roles that already touch Microsoft cloud services. |
Understanding Azure service categories, governance, identity, pricing, and compliance terminology without over-focusing on administration tasks. |
Microsoft Fundamentals certifications currently do not expire. |
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, CLF-C02 |
Learners in AWS environments, people who need broad cloud vocabulary, and candidates moving toward architecture, operations, or audit-related cloud roles. |
Distinguishing AWS service families, shared responsibility boundaries, support plans, account concepts, and billing tools. |
Requires renewal every 3 years. |
| Google Cloud Digital Leader |
Business stakeholders, managers, analysts, and non-technical professionals who need to understand cloud value, data, AI, security, and transformation themes. |
Connecting cloud concepts to business outcomes while still learning enough Google Cloud terminology to interpret exam scenarios. |
Requires renewal every 3 years. |
Azure AZ-900: often easiest for Microsoft-aligned beginners
AZ-900 is a conceptual Microsoft Azure exam. It covers cloud concepts, Azure architecture and services, management and governance, pricing, service-level agreements, compliance, and security basics. It is not an administrator exam, and it does not require candidates to build production Azure environments.
For learners already familiar with Microsoft accounts, Microsoft 365, Windows administration, or Entra ID terminology, AZ-900 can feel more approachable than the AWS or Google alternatives. Product names and portal concepts often map to tools they have seen at work, which reduces context switching. This is one reason employer stack should influence the choice of a first credential.
The common mistake is preparing for AZ-900 as though it were a practical Azure administration test. Candidates may practise creating virtual machines and storage accounts while giving too little attention to identity, governance, cost management, compliance concepts, and the shared responsibility model. Short labs can help, but the exam is mainly about recognising concepts and choosing the right service or management approach.
Learners who choose the Azure route and want a structured introduction can use the Azure Fundamentals course as one possible preparation path, alongside Microsoft Learn and hands-on practice in a sandbox or trial environment.
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner: broad and service-heavy
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, currently CLF-C02, is also a foundations exam. It is intended for candidates who need to understand AWS Cloud concepts, security and compliance, cloud technology, billing, pricing, and support. It is suitable for non-engineers as well as technical beginners, but the breadth of AWS services can make the preparation feel vocabulary-heavy.
For someone working in an AWS organisation, AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is often the most sensible first step because the learning immediately connects to account structures, support plans, billing tools, IAM concepts, and the language used by engineering teams. For a learner with no cloud exposure and no AWS context, the number of service names can create friction, even when the exam remains introductory.
The exam’s practical difficulty often comes from business and governance topics rather than deployment mechanics. Shared responsibility, account security, cost allocation, support tiers, and Well-Architected concepts can be more troublesome than recognising that EC2 provides virtual servers or S3 provides object storage. AWS Skill Builder and the official exam guide are useful anchors because they keep study aligned to the current CLF-C02 scope.
Google Cloud Digital Leader: business-friendly, but not empty of cloud detail
Google Cloud Digital Leader is frequently the most natural choice for business stakeholders, product managers, analysts, and leaders who need cloud fluency without preparing for an engineering role. It focuses on how cloud supports digital transformation, data-driven work, infrastructure modernisation, security, and operations.
That business orientation can make the exam feel simpler for non-technical candidates. However, it should not be confused with having no technical content. Candidates still need to understand cloud models, security responsibility, data and AI concepts, migration considerations, and how Google Cloud services support common business goals.
It is also important not to confuse Google Cloud Digital Leader with Google Associate Cloud Engineer. Associate Cloud Engineer is a hands-on role-based certification and sits at a different level of practical expectation. A beginner looking for the easiest cloud credential should normally consider Digital Leader first unless they already administer Google Cloud resources.
Where Terraform and other non-provider credentials fit
Terraform is sometimes mentioned alongside cloud certifications, but it is not the same type of credential as AZ-900, AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, or Google Cloud Digital Leader. Terraform is tooling-focused and vendor-neutral. It helps prove familiarity with infrastructure as code concepts, not broad cloud fundamentals across pricing, governance, identity, and shared responsibility.
That makes Terraform valuable later, especially for learners moving into DevOps, platform engineering, or cloud operations. It is usually not the easiest first cloud credential for a complete beginner because it assumes the candidate can already make sense of infrastructure resources and deployment workflows. Cloud fundamentals should usually come first, then tooling credentials can add depth.
How to choose the easiest certification for a specific background
The most reliable decision is to match the certification to the environment and role the learner already understands. Non-technical and business-focused candidates often find Google Cloud Digital Leader the gentlest introduction. Technical beginners, students, and support professionals in a Microsoft environment often find AZ-900 easier to retain. Candidates working around AWS teams, cloud finance, security reviews, or AWS account operations are usually better served by AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner.
Employer stack should carry more weight than abstract difficulty. A candidate in an Azure organisation will usually learn faster from AZ-900 because the screenshots, service names, identity concepts, and governance tools match workplace conversations. The same logic applies to AWS and Google Cloud. Choosing the platform already used at work reduces translation effort and improves retention.
Preparation should stay anchored to official resources first: Microsoft Learn for AZ-900, AWS Skill Builder for CLF-C02, and Google Cloud Skills Boost for Digital Leader. After that, candidates should add 2 or 3 short labs or guided walkthroughs focused on pricing calculators, identity and access, governance settings, and service selection. Those topics create more exam friction than many beginners expect.
A practical study path for a first cloud credential
A first cloud exam does not need months of preparation for most candidates, but it does need structure. The aim is to build a mental map of cloud concepts before memorising service names. Starting with vendor-neutral concepts such as public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud, IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, resilience, scalability, and shared responsibility makes the platform-specific material easier to place.
- Read the official exam guide and turn each domain into a study topic.
- Complete the vendor’s free learning path before using third-party practice material.
- Practise identity, pricing, governance, and support-plan questions early.
- Use 2 or 3 short labs to connect concepts to real portals and calculators.
- Take practice questions only after the core concepts are familiar.
Practice exams are useful, but they should not become the entire study plan. Memorising question banks can create a false sense of readiness because the real exams often test recognition in slightly different wording. A stronger approach is to explain why an answer is right, why the alternatives are wrong, and which official domain the question belongs to.
Which one is easiest overall?
There is no single easiest cloud certification for every beginner. Google Cloud Digital Leader is often the most accessible for business-oriented learners. AZ-900 is often easiest for candidates already close to Microsoft technologies. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is usually the better first credential for learners in AWS environments or people who want a broad cloud vocabulary that connects to AWS teams and services.
If the goal is simply to obtain a first recognised cloud credential with minimal technical depth, the safest choice is the one closest to the learner’s current work. If the goal is to move toward hands-on administration, the first credential should also line up with the next certification. AZ-900 can lead naturally toward Azure Administrator, AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner can lead toward AWS Associate-level paths, and Google Cloud Digital Leader can support a later move into more practical Google Cloud certifications.
Choosing the first step with a clear purpose
The best first cloud certification is the one that teaches useful vocabulary and supports the next professional step. A beginner does not need to prove deep engineering ability at this stage. The priority is to understand cloud models, responsibility boundaries, cost, identity, governance, security, and the business reasons organisations use cloud platforms.
Readynez can support learners who decide that Azure is the right starting point through Azure Fundamentals preparation, broader Microsoft Azure training, and Unlimited Microsoft Training for those planning further Microsoft certifications. Anyone still weighing the options can also contact the team to discuss which route fits their background and goals.
FAQ
What is the easiest cloud certification for beginners?
The easiest option depends on background. Google Cloud Digital Leader is often easiest for business-focused learners, AZ-900 is often easiest for people already working around Microsoft technologies, and AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is usually the natural first choice for candidates in AWS environments.
Is AZ-900 easier than AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner?
AZ-900 may feel easier for learners who know Microsoft products or work in an Azure organisation. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner may feel easier for candidates who already hear AWS terminology at work, but its service breadth can be harder for complete beginners.
Is Google Cloud Digital Leader easier than Google Associate Cloud Engineer?
Yes, Google Cloud Digital Leader is a fundamentals-level credential aimed at cloud fluency and business understanding. Google Associate Cloud Engineer is a hands-on role-based certification and is not usually the easiest starting point for a complete beginner.
Do cloud fundamentals certifications require previous experience?
They are designed for beginners, so previous cloud engineering experience is not normally required. Basic familiarity with IT concepts, business technology, security, and pricing models will still make preparation easier.
Should Terraform be a first cloud certification?
Terraform is usually better after a cloud fundamentals credential. It focuses on infrastructure as code rather than broad cloud concepts, so it is more useful once a learner already understands cloud resources, environments, and deployment basics.
