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AWS Certified Solutions Architect — Associate
Everything you need to plan a 6-week study sprint for the SAA-C03 v2: domain weights, the topics each domain actually tests, and the resources that paid back the time we put into them.
Last updated: April 30, 2026 Author: FactualMinds AWS Architects Reviewed by: Palaniappan P · AWS Solutions Architect — Professional, Security Specialty, DevOps Engineer
Exam code
SAA-C03
Duration
130 minutes
Questions
65
Cost
$150 USD
Passing score
720 / 1000
Format
Multiple choice and multiple response
Valid for
3 years
Recommended experience
1 year of hands-on AWS production experience designing solutions that use AWS services
Exam domains
4 domains · 40 topics
1Design Secure Architectures
30%
Design Secure Architectures
- IAM users, groups, roles, identity providers; IAM policies, SCPs, permission boundaries
- IAM Identity Center (formerly AWS SSO) for workforce SSO with external IdPs
- AWS Organizations: OUs, account vending via Control Tower Account Factory
- Encryption at rest with KMS — symmetric vs asymmetric keys, multi-region keys, customer-managed keys
- Encryption in transit with ACM-issued certificates, ALB/NLB/CloudFront termination
- Secrets Manager rotation patterns vs Parameter Store SecureString
- VPC security: security groups, NACLs, VPC endpoints (Gateway and Interface), PrivateLink
- AWS WAF (managed rule groups, rate-based rules, geo-match), Shield Standard vs Advanced
- GuardDuty findings, Macie for S3 PII detection, Security Hub aggregation
- Trade-offs: bastion host vs Systems Manager Session Manager (Session Manager wins)
2Design Resilient Architectures
26%
Design Resilient Architectures
- Multi-AZ vs multi-region — when each is required (RPO/RTO targets, regulatory)
- Auto Scaling groups: target tracking, predictive scaling, lifecycle hooks
- Route 53 routing policies: weighted, latency-based, geolocation, failover, health checks
- RDS Multi-AZ deployments vs read replicas; Aurora Global Database for sub-second cross-region replication
- DynamoDB global tables, point-in-time recovery, on-demand backups
- S3 Cross-Region Replication, Same-Region Replication, S3 Replication Time Control
- Disaster recovery patterns: backup-restore, pilot light, warm standby, multi-site active-active
- SQS dead-letter queues, retry policies, visibility timeout tuning
- Step Functions for orchestrating retries and compensating transactions
- Decoupling: SQS standard vs FIFO, EventBridge buses, SNS fan-out
3Design High-Performing Architectures
24%
Design High-Performing Architectures
- EBS volume types: gp3 (default), io2 Block Express for IOPS-critical, st1/sc1 for throughput
- EFS performance modes (general purpose vs max I/O) and throughput modes
- FSx for Lustre/Windows/NetApp ONTAP — when each is the right answer
- CloudFront caching strategies, origin failover, Lambda@Edge vs CloudFront Functions
- Global Accelerator for non-HTTP traffic that needs anycast routing
- ElastiCache (Valkey/Redis OSS) vs DAX vs DynamoDB on-demand caching trade-offs
- Aurora read replicas vs RDS read replicas (15 vs 5)
- Aurora DSQL for distributed Postgres at scale (added in 2025 exam refresh)
- Lambda concurrency: provisioned concurrency, reserved concurrency, SnapStart for Java/Python
- API Gateway throttling, caching, usage plans
4Design Cost-Optimized Architectures
20%
Design Cost-Optimized Architectures
- EC2 pricing: on-demand vs Savings Plans (Compute vs EC2 Instance) vs Reserved Instances vs Spot
- Compute Savings Plans cover Lambda, Fargate, and EC2 — the most flexible option
- S3 storage classes: Standard, Standard-IA, Intelligent-Tiering (default for unknown), Glacier Instant/Flexible/Deep Archive
- S3 Lifecycle policies, Storage Lens for visibility
- Right-sizing recommendations from Compute Optimizer and Cost Optimization Hub
- Data transfer cost minimization: VPC endpoints, S3 Transfer Acceleration trade-offs, CloudFront for outbound
- NAT Gateway cost — VPC Endpoint alternatives for AWS service traffic
- Serverless cost model: pay-per-request vs provisioned
- Bedrock cost levers: model selection, Prompt Caching, Provisioned Throughput, Batch Inference
- AWS Budgets alerts and Cost Anomaly Detection
How we wrote this guide
Every architect on the FactualMinds team holds the SAA-C03. This guide reflects what we tell engineers we mentor: where the exam actually puts weight, which official resources are worth your time, and where the 2025 content refresh changed things. Treat it as the spine of your study plan — fill in the muscles with hands-on labs and practice exams.
A 6-week study plan that works
Week 1 — Foundation. Read the official exam guide and the Well-Architected framework whitepaper. Set up an AWS Free Tier account if you don’t have one, and a separate AWS Organizations sandbox account for labs. Watch the IAM, VPC, and EC2 sections of your chosen video course.
Week 2 — Compute and storage. Cover EC2, ECS, EKS, Lambda, S3, EBS, EFS, FSx. Build at least one lab: a multi-AZ ASG behind an ALB, with an RDS Multi-AZ database. Take your first Tutorials Dojo practice exam — expect 50–60% on the first attempt.
Week 3 — Networking and databases. VPC, Route 53, CloudFront, RDS, Aurora, DynamoDB, ElastiCache. Lab: VPC peering, transit gateway, VPC endpoints. Read the FAQs for each service.
Week 4 — Security and identity. IAM, KMS, Secrets Manager, Parameter Store, GuardDuty, Macie, WAF, Shield. Lab: IAM Identity Center with an external IdP, KMS-encrypted S3 with bucket policies, WAF with managed rule groups.
Week 5 — Cost optimization and monitoring. Cost Explorer, Cost Optimization Hub, Compute Optimizer, Budgets, CloudWatch, X-Ray. Take a second full-length practice exam — aim for 70%+.
Week 6 — Final ramp. Take three more full-length practice exams. Review every wrong answer. Re-read the exam guide. Book the exam for the end of the week. Sleep.
What changed in the 2025 refresh
- Aurora DSQL appears in cost-optimization and high-performance architecture questions. Know when distributed Postgres is the right call vs traditional Aurora.
- S3 Vectors is referenced in GenAI scenarios as a Bedrock Knowledge Base vector store option.
- Cost Optimization Hub replaces older question patterns about Trusted Advisor for right-sizing recommendations.
- Bedrock Provisioned Throughput appears in cost-optimization scenarios as the steady-traffic alternative to on-demand.
How we use this in our consulting
Most of the architecture decisions covered in SAA-C03 — multi-AZ vs multi-region, Savings Plans strategy, KMS key design, VPC endpoint usage — show up in real engagements. Our AWS Architecture Review is essentially a Well-Architected pass over the same six pillars the exam tests, just at a workload level instead of a question level.
Study resources we recommend
AWS Solutions Architect Associate Exam Guide (Official PDF)
The official exam guide. Read it twice — once at the start of your study plan, once a week before your scheduled exam.
AWS Skill Builder learning plans (free tier)
AWS-published courses, including official practice questions. The free tier covers most exam-relevant material.
Stephane Maarek — Ultimate AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate (Udemy)
The most-recommended SAA-C03 video course. Stephane updates it for every refresh.
Adrian Cantrill — AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate
Deeper than Stephane, with extensive hands-on labs. The right pick if you want to over-prepare and use the same material for the Professional later.
Tutorials Dojo — SAA-C03 Practice Tests
Six full-length exams with the same difficulty as the real exam. The "review mode" explanations are worth the money.
AWS Well-Architected Framework whitepaper
Read the whole thing once. The exam is structured around its six pillars; many scenario questions are direct applications.
AWS FAQs for the heavily-tested services
EC2, S3, VPC, IAM, RDS, Aurora, DynamoDB, Lambda, SQS, SNS, ECS, EKS, CloudFront, Route 53. The FAQs answer real exam questions almost verbatim.
AWS Pricing Calculator
Build cost estimates for a couple of architectures. Cost-optimization questions are easier when you have built real estimates.
FactualMinds AWS Cost Optimization Hub coverage
Our written guide on Cost Optimization Hub features that the 2025 exam refresh added.
Recommended reading from our blog
AWS Well-Architected Framework & Review Guide: The 6 Pillars Explained
A practical guide to the 6 pillars of the AWS Well-Architected Framework and review process — what each pillar covers, why it matters, and how to apply it to your AWS workloads.
10 AWS DevOps Practices We Actually Use in Production in 2026
Real AWS DevOps practices from production: GitOps on EKS, OpenTelemetry, supply chain security, chaos engineering with FIS, and AI-assisted DevOps with Amazon Q.
Where this certification's topics show up in our consulting
AWS Well-Architected Review — Free Assessment
Free AWS Well-Architected Review from FactualMinds. Identify risks, compliance gaps, and optimization opportunities.
AWS Cost Optimization & FinOps Consulting
AWS cost optimization and FinOps consulting from FactualMinds — reduce spend by 20-40% with expert right-sizing and strategy.
Frequently asked questions
How long should I study?
For someone with 1 year of hands-on AWS experience: a focused 6 weeks of evenings and weekends usually clears it. With less experience, plan 8–10 weeks and double the lab time. The most common mistake is over-investing in video content and under-investing in practice exams — Tutorials Dojo + the official AWS Skill Builder questions surface knowledge gaps faster than any course.
Do I need the Cloud Practitioner first?
No. Cloud Practitioner is genuinely a beginner certification. If you have the recommended 1 year of hands-on experience, skip straight to Solutions Architect Associate. Cloud Practitioner is most valuable for non-technical stakeholders or as a free path for engineers entirely new to cloud.
Is SAA-C03 still the current version in 2026?
Yes. AWS updates SAA-C03 in place — content was refreshed in August 2025 to add Aurora DSQL, S3 Vectors, and updated cost optimization (Cost Optimization Hub) topics. The exam code does not change. Always check the official exam guide on the day you book your exam.
What is the pass rate, and what score should I aim for in practice tests?
AWS does not publish a pass rate, but the consensus among instructors is around 65–70%. Aim for 80%+ consistently on Tutorials Dojo before booking the real exam — practice exams are typically a notch harder than the real thing, so 80% practice usually translates to a comfortable pass.
Should I take the Professional cert next or a Specialty?
Depends on your role. If you are headed toward architecture leadership, Solutions Architect Professional (SAP-C02) is the natural next step. If you are deepening into security, networking, or data, the Specialty exams pair better with your day-to-day work. The Professional and Specialty cover materially different topics — pick based on what you are actually building.
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