AZ-900 vs AZ-104: Difficulty, Content, and Which to Take First

Should You Take AZ-900 or AZ-104 First?

Take AZ-900 first, then AZ-104. Neither Microsoft exam has a formal prerequisite, but AZ-900 (Azure Fundamentals) is a beginner, describe-level exam Microsoft calls a common starting point, while AZ-104 (Azure Administrator) is a hands-on associate exam that expects real Azure experience. AZ-900 builds the vocabulary; AZ-104 tests whether you can configure and run Azure.

The one exception is experience. If you already administer Azure day to day, you can register for AZ-104 directly and skip AZ-900 with no penalty. The sections below compare cost, passing scores, exam domains, and difficulty in detail, then cover Azure Administrator salaries and how to sequence the two into a wider Azure certification path.

• •AZ-900: beginner, describe-level, no hands-on required, 45-minute exam duration (65-minute seat time).
• •AZ-104: associate, role-based, 100-minute exam duration (120-minute seat time for associate exams without labs), expects hands-on Azure experience.
• •Order for beginners: AZ-900 first for background, then AZ-104. Experienced admins can skip AZ-900.

How Do AZ-900 and AZ-104 Compare Side by Side?

The two exams sit at different levels of Microsoft's certification ladder. AZ-900 is a fundamentals credential aimed at anyone who needs to describe cloud and Azure basics, including non-technical roles in sales, finance, or project management. AZ-104 is an associate credential aimed at the Azure Administrator job role, and it assumes you can already work with the portal, command-line tools, and templates rather than just explain what they do.

The table below lines up the details that most often decide which exam to book. Both share the same 700 out of 1000 passing score and neither carries a formal prerequisite, but they diverge sharply on price, exam duration, and the amount of hands-on experience Microsoft expects. Treat the prices as commonly published US figures; Microsoft varies the fee by country or region, so confirm the exact amount at Pearson VUE checkout. Duration figures below come from Microsoft Learn, retrieved 29 August 2026.

Both exams can be taken at a Pearson VUE test center or online via OnVUE. Microsoft's OnVUE page requires Windows 10 or macOS 14 or higher, a working webcam, microphone and speaker with no headphones, a single display, and at least 6 Mbps download and 2 Mbps upload on a non-VPN home network. One planning note on content: Microsoft revises AZ-900 and AZ-104 skills lists periodically, so check the live exam pages for the current objectives before you register.

What Does the AZ-900 Exam Actually Cover?

AZ-900, Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals, is built to prove you can describe cloud and Azure concepts rather than operate them. Microsoft groups the objectives into three areas: describe cloud concepts, describe Azure architecture and services, and describe Azure management and governance. Every objective is at the recall and explanation level, which is why the exam requires no hands-on lab work and carries only a 45-minute official seat time.

That describe-level scope makes AZ-900 approachable for people who never touch a terminal. Cloud concepts cover the benefits and models of cloud computing, including public, private, and hybrid, along with capital versus operating expense. Azure architecture and services cover core building blocks such as regions, availability zones, compute, storage, and networking. Management and governance cover cost tools, service-level agreements, Microsoft Entra ID basics, and governance features like tags and policies.

Microsoft does not officially publish an exact question count for AZ-900, so ignore any source that states a precise number as fact. The practical takeaway is that AZ-900 rewards broad familiarity across the whole Azure surface rather than deep skill in any one service. It is the fastest way to build the shared vocabulary that the AZ-104 objectives quietly assume you already have.

What Does the AZ-104 Exam Actually Cover?

AZ-104, Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate, is a role-based exam that measures whether you can run Azure in production. Its objectives are organized into five weighted skills areas, and the weightings shown below are current as of Microsoft's April 17, 2026 update. Because Microsoft revises skills lists periodically, re-verify the live objectives on the official study guide before you build a study plan around any single percentage.

The weightings tell you where to spend study time. Identity and governance and compute are the heaviest areas, each at 20 to 25 percent, so Microsoft Entra ID, role-based access control, subscriptions, virtual machines, and containers deserve the most lab hours. Storage and virtual networking each sit at 15 to 20 percent, and monitoring and maintenance rounds things out at 10 to 15 percent. Every area is a configure-and-troubleshoot skill, not a describe-it skill.

This is the core difference from AZ-900. AZ-104 expects real command of the Azure portal, PowerShell, the Azure CLI, and ARM or Bicep templates, plus a working grasp of operating systems, networking, and virtualization. Hands-on practice in a live subscription matters far more than memorization. If AZ-104 becomes a stepping stone, it also feeds naturally into the broader Azure certification path toward the AZ-305 Azure Solutions Architect exam.

How Much Harder Is AZ-104 Than AZ-900?

The gap is large and by design. AZ-900 sits at Microsoft's beginner tier and asks only that you describe concepts, so a motivated newcomer can prepare in a few weeks of reading and short videos with no lab environment at all. AZ-104 sits at the associate tier and asks you to actually configure identities, storage, compute, and virtual networking, then troubleshoot when they break. That shift from describing to doing is the single biggest jump between the two.

The experience expectation captures the difference. Microsoft frames the AZ-104 audience as people already comfortable with the Azure portal, PowerShell, the Azure CLI, ARM and Bicep templates, and Microsoft Entra ID, and roughly six months of hands-on work is a commonly cited baseline. AZ-900 has no such expectation. In practice, candidates who pass AZ-900 quickly can still find AZ-104 demanding because the associate exam punishes shallow, memorized knowledge that has never been tested against a real subscription.

If you are staring down AZ-104 with a hard deadline and thin lab time, that is exactly the pressure point where support helps. Exam Assist works with Azure candidates on result-aligned terms through the take my Azure exam service, so you can talk through your timeline and weak areas before committing. Exam Assist is independent and is not affiliated with Microsoft.

How Much Can You Earn With AZ-104 (Azure Administrator)?

First, a clarification that trips up a lot of searches: there is no separate AZ-900 salary. Fundamentals is a knowledge credential, not a job role, so pay data attaches to the AZ-104 role, Azure Administrator, instead. That is the number worth planning around, and it is one reason beginners treat AZ-900 as a stepping stone rather than an end in itself.

The salary picture depends heavily on which aggregator you read, so always pair a figure with its source and access date. Glassdoor (US, accessed July 2026) lists an average base of 163,313 USD per year for Azure Administrator, with a 25th to 75th percentile band of 129,503 to 208,625 USD. ZipRecruiter (US, June 2026) reports a noticeably lower average of 121,476 USD, with most salaries between 110,000 and 136,500 USD. The roughly 42,000 USD gap between those two averages is a reminder to treat any single number as indicative, not authoritative.

For how Azure Administrator pay stacks up against other credentials, the highest-paying IT certifications roundup and the AWS certification salary breakdown give useful cross-cloud context. Actual offers still hinge on location, seniority, and hands-on depth far more than on the certificate alone.

How Should You Plan Your Azure Certification Path?

For most people the sequence is simple: take AZ-900 to build background, then AZ-104 to prove you can administer Azure, then decide whether to specialize. If you already work in Azure, start at AZ-104 and treat AZ-900 as optional. From AZ-104 the natural next step is the AZ-305 Azure Solutions Architect exam, and mapping that out is what the wider Azure certification path guide is for. If you are still choosing a cloud entirely, the AWS vs Azure vs GCP comparison and the guide to which AWS certification to get first are useful sanity checks before you commit.

Budget renewal into the plan. AZ-104 and other Microsoft associate certifications expire one year after you earn them, but renewal is free through an online assessment on Microsoft Learn before the expiration date, so an active Azure Administrator credential is a small annual habit rather than a costly re-sit. AZ-900 and other fundamentals certifications do not expire. Confirm the current renewal wording on Microsoft's official renewal page, since the process is updated from time to time.

When the deadline is real and lab time is short, Exam Assist supports Azure candidates on result-aligned terms, so you pay only after you reach your target result. Explore the pay someone to take my Azure exam service or book exam help to walk through your exam code, registered date, and weakest domains confidentially. Exam Assist is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.