Best DevOps Certification for Beginners in 2026: Ranked and Compared
The best DevOps certifications for beginners in 2026. We compare AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, and HashiCorp credentials with real salary and ROI data.
April 2026
Google Cloud vs AWS vs Azure Certifications: Full 2026 Comparison
Complete 2026 comparison of Google Cloud, AWS, and Azure certifications. Salary data, difficulty, market share, and career ROI for each cloud provider's path.
Azure Fundamentals AZ-900 vs AWS Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02: Which Foundation Cert Should You Start With in 2026?
Compare AZ-900 and CLF-C02: fees, exam formats, who should take each, and whether a cloud fundamentals cert is worth your time in 2026.
Azure AZ-104 vs AZ-305: Career Paths, Exam Depth, and Which One to Take First in 2026
Compare Azure AZ-104 and AZ-305: exam formats, salary data, prep time, and the correct sequence for Azure admin vs architect career paths in 2026.
AWS SAA-C03 vs Azure AZ-305: Which Cloud Architect Cert to Take First in 2026?
Compare AWS SAA-C03 and Azure AZ-305 in 2026: exam fees, formats, salary data, and a decision matrix to pick the right cloud architect cert first.
AWS DevOps Engineer Professional vs Azure DevOps Expert (AZ-400): Which Senior Cert to Take in 2026?
Compare AWS DOP-C02 and Azure AZ-400: exam formats, prerequisites, salary data, and which senior DevOps capstone fits your cloud in 2026.
AZ-900 vs AZ-104 vs AZ-305: The Azure Progression Decoded
A complete Azure certification progression guide covering AZ-900, AZ-104, and AZ-305, including difficulty jumps, prerequisites, salary data, and sequencing.
Azure Administrator AZ-104: The Complete 2026 Study Guide
A full AZ-104 study plan with domain weighting, lab sequences, question patterns, and a 10-week preparation schedule designed for working professionals.
Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert vs AWS DevOps Pro: Career and Salary
AZ-400 vs AWS DevOps Engineer Professional in 2026: domain comparison, tooling differences, salary data, and how to choose between them.
Azure Virtual Network Peering and Hub-Spoke Topology for AZ-700 Networking Exam
Hub-spoke topology, VNet peering, gateway transit, UDRs, Azure Route Server, and Virtual WAN as tested on the AZ-700 Network Engineer exam.
Microsoft AZ-700 Azure Network Engineer Associate: Complete 2026 Study Guide
Domain-by-domain AZ-700 study guide: hybrid networking, routing, security, Private Link, plus an eight-week plan and lab sequence for 2026.
Azure Storage Account Tiers and Lifecycle Policies: An Exam-Critical Walkthrough
Hot, Cool, Cold, Archive tier selection plus LRS/ZRS/GRS/GZRS redundancy and lifecycle policies as tested on AZ-104 and AZ-204.
Azure Resource Manager ARM Templates and Bicep for AZ-104 Candidates
How AZ-104 tests ARM templates and Bicep: deployment modes, parameters vs variables, what-if previews, and the patterns that decide pass vs fail.
Azure Monitor and Log Analytics Workspaces: The Observability Concepts on AZ-104
Azure Monitor architecture, Log Analytics workspaces, KQL basics, alerts, action groups, and workbooks as tested on AZ-104 in 2026.
Azure Active Directory Entra ID Concepts on AZ-500 and AZ-104 Exams
How AZ-104 and AZ-500 test Entra ID: shared identity content, Conditional Access depth, PIM, RBAC vs Entra roles, and where the exams diverge.
AZ-104 vs AZ-500: Which Should an Azure Admin Take Second in 2026
AZ-500 vs AZ-305 vs AZ-700 as the second exam after AZ-104: overlap, difficulty, time investment, and 2026 career outcomes compared.
March 2026
AZ-204 Azure Developer Associate: What the Exam Actually Tests
A clear breakdown of what AZ-204 actually tests versus what candidates expect — Azure Functions, Durable Functions patterns, Cosmos DB consistency, MSAL authentication flows, and API Management policies.
AZ-104 Azure Administrator: The Domains With the Highest Question Density
A domain-by-domain breakdown of AZ-104 showing which areas carry the most exam weight, what specific topics get tested, and where to focus your study time to pass efficiently.
AZ-400 Azure DevOps Engineer Expert: Dual-Path Study Approach
How to approach AZ-400 based on your background — the dual-path study strategy for developers who know CI/CD but not Azure, and Azure admins who know the infrastructure but not DevOps tooling.
AZ-305 Azure Solutions Architect Expert: Preparing for Scenario Questions
How to build the architectural judgment AZ-305 demands — reading complex scenarios with business requirements and constraints, selecting the right Azure services, and avoiding the trap of satisfying requirements while violating constraints.
AZ-500 Azure Security Engineer: The Hardest Azure Cert Explained
Why AZ-500 has the highest failure rate of any Azure exam, what operational security judgment it actually tests, and how to prepare for Conditional Access, Microsoft Sentinel, and Defender for Cloud.
AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals: Who Needs It and Who Should Skip It
A practical guide to deciding whether AZ-900 is worth your time — who benefits from the Azure fundamentals exam, who should skip it, and how it compares to AWS Cloud Practitioner.
Azure vs AWS Certification Comparison: Which Track Is Right for You
A practical comparison of Azure and AWS certification tracks based on market demand, employer targeting, exam difficulty, cost, and learning resources — not cloud marketing claims.
AZ-900 in One Week: A Realistic Study Plan for Beginners
A day-by-day AZ-900 study plan for complete beginners — what to study each day, how long it actually takes, and what to do on exam day to pass the Azure fundamentals certification in seven days.
Using Microsoft Learn Effectively for Azure Exam Preparation
How to use Microsoft Learn as a primary study resource rather than just a supplement — sandbox labs, knowledge checks, learning path structure, and how to integrate it with practice exams for each Azure certification.
Microsoft Azure Certifications Roadmap: Which Order Makes Sense
Role-based Azure certification roadmaps for cloud engineers, developers, data professionals, and security engineers — including the sequence decisions that actually matter and what to skip.
February 2026
AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals Complete Study Guide 2025
Complete AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals study guide covering all three exam domains, key concepts, study plan, and practice resources for 2025.
January 2026
Cloud Technical Interview Prep: AWS and Azure Questions That Come Up
Prepare for AWS and Azure cloud technical interviews with coverage of IAM, VPC design, compute, storage, RBAC, and architecture questions that hiring managers actually ask.