What AZ-900 costs: the exam fee, retakes, and how people cut the bill

Microsoft sets the price by the country where you are proctored, not by where your Microsoft account was created or where you live most of the year. The same exam, with the same 45 minutes and the same 700 pass mark, carries a different price tag in London, Mumbai or Rio de Janeiro. The table shows what the price box on the credential page displayed for a handful of countries on one day.

Two things in that table catch people out. Canada and Australia are quoted in US dollars, not local currency, so the card statement will show a conversion. And the gap between markets is real: the Brazil price is well under the US one, which is why a fee quoted in a forum thread from another country tells you very little about yours.

One fee pays for one sitting of AZ-900, booked through Pearson VUE at a test center or as an online proctored exam, wherever Microsoft offers it for your country. It includes:

• 45 minutes of exam time inside a 65-minute seat, with a 5-minute break allowance that comes out of the exam clock
• a score report with your overall scaled score, pass or fail, and a bar chart per skill area (scoring)
• the Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals credential if you reach 700
• no renewal bill later: Fundamentals certifications do not expire, so the fee is the whole cost of holding the credential

It does not include a second try, training, or practice material. The exam details page covers the format itself; here the point is the money. A quick way to test whether you have the fee straight is to run it as a question:

Every retake is a new paid attempt, and Microsoft spaces them out. These rules come from the exam retake policy, as of 13 Oct 2026:

1. Attempt 1Pay and sit

   Your first booking at your country’s fee.

2. First failWait 24 hours

   Then you can book attempt 2, and pay for it again.

3. Later failsWait 14 days each time

   The gap between attempts 2 and 3, 3 and 4, 4 and 5 is 14 days, not 24 hours.

4. Attempt 5Twelve-month ceiling

   At most five attempts in the 12 months counted from your first. A passed exam can’t be retaken.

If you expect to need a second sitting, look at Exam Replay on Microsoft’s offers page: an exam voucher plus one retake, both to be used within 12 months of purchase, and usable for online exams. Microsoft does not show its price on that page, so compare it with your country’s fee at checkout rather than assuming it saves money.

Students can get academic pricing on Microsoft exams in most countries, after verifying student status in their Microsoft Learn profile. Microsoft’s student discounts page lists the exceptions: India and China are not included. The discounted figure appears at checkout once your status is verified; it is not published on the credential page, and this site does not quote one.

Certiport is the second route: the booking channel Microsoft names for students and educators, and an in-person one, because Certiport does not offer online proctoring. Its pricing can differ from the Pearson VUE fee, so check the price when you register, or ask your school if it arranges the exam.

Not by default. AZ-900 is a paid exam, and the only routes to a lower or zero fee are offers that come and go, each with its own terms. The kinds that have existed:

• Microsoft training events. Microsoft has run free online training days on Azure fundamentals whose attendees received an exam offer. The benefit has changed over time; read the terms of the event you sign up for.
• Offers on Microsoft’s deals page. Bundles such as Exam Replay appear and disappear there.
• Academic pricing for verified students, as above, outside India and China.
• Your employer. Some organizations pay exam fees or hold vouchers through their Microsoft relationship. Ask before you pay yourself.

Microsoft sometimes runs offers, so check the current terms when you are ready to book. What is free without conditions is the preparation, which is the next stop.

You can prepare for AZ-900 without spending anything beyond the exam fee. The free options cover the whole skills outline:

Microsoft Learn path

Microsoft’s free self-paced training, linked from the credential page. It follows the skills measured as of 20 July 2026.

Microsoft practice assessment

Free on Microsoft Learn; you sign in with a Microsoft account. Take it as Microsoft built it.

Exam sandbox

A free demo of the exam interface, so the first screen on exam day is not a surprise.

Practice test on this site

Original practice questions in a 60-question practice test with a timed 45-minute run and a note on every option. No sign-up.

Paid options sit on top of that. Microsoft’s instructor-led course AZ-900T00 runs one day through training partners, at a price the partner sets. Independent video courses and paid practice-question sets also exist, with prices all over the range. If you plan a budget, the AZ-900 study guide shows which skill areas carry the most weight (architecture and services at 35–40%), so you can see what the free material already covers before buying more.

The rule that protects your fee is a single line: move or cancel at least 24 hours before the appointment, or the fee is forfeited, per Microsoft’s reschedule and cancellation policy.

Two booking limits matter here too. You can book up to 90 days ahead, and Pearson VUE allows at most two Microsoft exams scheduled at once (registration rules). Booking the date that fits your preparation, rather than the earliest slot, is the cheapest way to avoid paying twice.

AZ-900 is optional: a beginner exam with no prerequisites, and nothing else depends on it. Whether US$99, or your country’s price, is well spent depends on what you want the credential for, and the worth-it page weighs that without salary claims. For the exam itself in one place, start from the AZ-900 overview.

• Exam detailsThe AZ-900 exam, start to finish: format, the 700 score, booking and retakes
• Practice testFree AZ-900 practice test: 60 explained questions across all three skill areas
• Study guideAZ-900 study guide: every skill Microsoft measures, weighted, with a plan to cover it
• Worth it?Is AZ-900 worth it? An honest answer, and where it leads