SAA-C03 Study Guide: AWS Solutions Architect

The SAA-C03 exam (AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate) costs USD 150, or JPY 20,000 in Japan. It has 65 questions in 130 minutes, and you need a scaled score of 720 out of 1,000 to pass. Security is the largest of its four domains at 30%.

Most people with some AWS experience prepare in 6-8 weeks at 1-2 hours a day. Study the four domains, build labs in a free-tier account, and practise timed 65-question sets. Exam facts are from the AWS pages under Sources, checked October 15, 2026.

Practice this exam in timed mode with the StudyKits SAA-C03 Solutions Architect Associate app. The AWS certification hub lists every AWS exam guide and practice app.

How to Pass AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) in 2026: Complete Study Guide — hero

What is the SAA-C03 exam format and cost?

The SAA-C03 is the current version of the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam. It tests your ability to design cost-optimized, resilient, high-performing, and secure architectures on AWS. You need a scaled score of 720 out of 1,000 to pass. The exam has 65 questions (50 scored, 15 unscored) and you have 130 minutes.

The exam costs USD 150 (JPY 20,000) and can be taken at a Pearson VUE testing center or remotely through online proctoring.

What are the four SAA-C03 domains?

AWS organizes the SAA-C03 exam into four domains. Understanding the weight of each domain helps you allocate study time effectively.

Domain 1: Design Secure Architectures (30%)

This is the heaviest domain. You need to understand:

IAM policies and roles — know the difference between identity-based and resource-based policies
VPC security — security groups vs NACLs, VPC endpoints, PrivateLink
Encryption at rest and in transit — KMS, CloudHSM, ACM, S3 encryption options
AWS Organizations and SCPs — multi-account security strategies
AWS WAF, Shield, and GuardDuty — protecting applications and detecting threats

Spend at least 30% of your study time here. Many candidates underestimate the depth of security questions on the exam.

Domain 2: Design Resilient Architectures (26%)

This domain tests your ability to build fault-tolerant systems:

Multi-AZ and multi-Region strategies for RDS, DynamoDB, S3, and compute
Auto Scaling groups — scaling policies, launch templates, lifecycle hooks
Elastic Load Balancing — ALB vs NLB vs GWLB, health checks, cross-zone load balancing
Disaster recovery patterns — backup and restore, pilot light, warm standby, active-active
Decoupling with SQS, SNS, and EventBridge

Domain 3: Design High-Performing Architectures (24%)

Performance optimization is a major theme:

Compute selection — EC2 instance types, Lambda, ECS, EKS, Fargate
Storage optimization — EBS volume types, S3 storage classes, EFS vs FSx
Database selection — RDS vs Aurora vs DynamoDB vs ElastiCache vs Redshift
Caching strategies — CloudFront, ElastiCache, DAX, API Gateway caching
Networking performance — Global Accelerator, Transit Gateway, Direct Connect

Domain 4: Design Cost-Optimized Architectures (20%)

AWS wants architects who save money:

EC2 purchasing options — On-Demand, Reserved, Savings Plans, Spot
S3 lifecycle policies and Intelligent-Tiering
Right-sizing recommendations with Compute Optimizer
Serverless cost models — Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB on-demand vs provisioned
Cost allocation tags and AWS Cost Explorer

How long should you study, and how?

The 8-Week Plan for Working Professionals

Most candidates with some AWS experience can prepare in 6-8 weeks studying 1-2 hours per day.

Weeks 1-2: Foundation

Complete a structured video course (Stephane Maarek or Adrian Cantrill)
Focus on understanding core services: EC2, S3, VPC, IAM, RDS
Take notes on concepts you find confusing

Weeks 3-4: Deep Dive into Domains 1 and 2

Security and resilience carry 56% of the exam weight
Build labs in a free-tier AWS account
Start doing practice questions for these domains

Weeks 5-6: Domains 3 and 4 + Practice

Study performance and cost optimization
Begin full-length practice exams
Review every wrong answer thoroughly

Weeks 7-8: Review and Refine

Focus on weak areas identified by practice exams
Re-read AWS whitepapers on Well-Architected Framework
Do at least 3 full practice exams scoring above 80%

How Many Practice Questions Do You Need?

As a rule of thumb (our view, not an AWS figure), aim for 500-800 practice questions before exam day. The key is not just answering questions but understanding why each answer is correct and why the others are wrong.

The StudyKits SAA-C03 app has original practice questions with explanations for every answer choice. It works offline and tracks your score by domain.

Try StudyKits practice questions for SAA-C03

How should you use practice questions?

Practice questions help only if you review them well. This is the method we recommend.

The Review-First Method

Answer the question and select your best answer
Read the explanation before moving on — even if you got it right
Understand why wrong answers are wrong — AWS loves plausible distractors
Flag questions you guessed on — revisit these in your next session
Track domain-level scores — if you are below 75% in any domain, study that domain before doing more questions

Recognize AWS Question Patterns

AWS exam questions follow predictable patterns. Learning to spot them saves time:

“Most cost-effective” — eliminate anything over-provisioned
“Least operational overhead” — lean toward managed and serverless services
“Meet compliance requirements” — look for encryption, audit logging, and access controls
“Minimize latency” — consider caching, edge locations, and region placement

Which AWS services matter most for SAA-C03?

Know these services in depth:

S3 — storage classes, versioning, replication, lifecycle policies, encryption, access points
EC2 — instance types, placement groups, ENIs, purchasing options
RDS and Aurora — Multi-AZ, read replicas, Aurora Serverless, Global Database
DynamoDB — partition keys, GSIs, DAX, streams, global tables
VPC — subnets, route tables, NAT gateways, VPC peering, Transit Gateway
Lambda — invocation models, concurrency, layers, destinations
CloudFront — origins, behaviors, OAC, Lambda@Edge

What should you do on exam day?

Read every word of the question. AWS questions often have one word that changes the correct answer entirely.
Eliminate two answers first. Most questions have two obviously wrong choices and two plausible ones.
Flag and move on. Do not spend more than 2 minutes on any single question.
Watch for “most” and “least.” These qualifiers are easy to miss under pressure.
Trust your preparation. If you consistently score 80% or more on fresh practice questions with no domain below 70% (our rule of thumb), you are ready.

Why do candidates fail SAA-C03?

The common causes:

Relying only on video courses without doing practice questions
Memorizing answers instead of understanding architectural reasoning
Ignoring the Well-Architected Framework — AWS bases many questions on its pillars
Not practicing with time pressure — 2 minutes per question goes fast
Skipping hands-on labs — practical experience helps you reason through scenarios

Read more about common exam mistakes in our article on 5 mistakes that cause cloud certification exam failure.

What should you do this week to start SAA-C03 prep?

Read the official exam guide, pick a study window of 6-8 weeks, and book the exam once you meet our rule of thumb: 80% or more on fresh questions, with no domain below 70%.

The StudyKits SAA-C03 app has explanations for every question, a timed exam mode and domain tracking, and works offline.

Download StudyKits and start practicing

Frequently asked questions

How much does the SAA-C03 exam cost?

USD 150. In Japan it is JPY 20,000, and AWS lists local prices for a few other currencies on its before-testing page.

What is the SAA-C03 passing score?

720 on a scale of 100-1,000.

How long is the SAA-C03 certification valid?

3 years.

Is SAA-C04 coming?

AWS has not announced an SAA-C04 as of October 15, 2026. SAA-C03 is the current exam.

Can I take SAA-C03 in Japanese?

Yes. It is offered in Japanese and nine other languages. The Italian version is retired after December 31, 2026.

Keep reading

Sources

Checked October 15, 2026:

How to Pass AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) in 2026: Complete Study Guide