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Program comparison

Microsoft AI-901 vs AWS AI Practitioner: Azure implementation or AWS foundations?

For an early-career practitioner choosing a first cloud AI certification

Choose by the cloud context and technical work you need to understand. Both are certification exams, but AI-901 includes implementation objectives while AIF-C01 emphasizes foundational knowledge and use cases.

Facts side by side

Swipe or scroll the table to compare both programs.

Price and duration retain their stated scope.
FactMicrosoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-901)AWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01)
PriceUSD 99 (United States exam-proctoring region selected; single exam attempt. Not a global price. Confirm local pricing before booking.)Official source · checked USD 100 (One initial exam attempt; check applicable regional pricing and taxes. Optional preparation and retakes are not included.)Official source · checked
Duration45 minutes (exam only; not preparation time)Official source · checked 90 minutes (exam only; not preparation time)Official source · checked
LevelNot stated in the source.FoundationalOfficial source · checked
CredentialcertificationOfficial source · checked AWS CertificationOfficial source · checked
FormatCertification examOfficial source · checked Certification exam; Pearson VUE test center or online proctoredOfficial source · checked
PrerequisitesConceptual knowledge of AI solutions in Azure and foundational technical skills; Python coding syntax and programming techniques; familiarity with Azure resources, REST APIs, SDKs, and CLIs.Official source · checked AWS describes familiarity with AI/ML on AWS and up to six months of exposure as the target candidate profile, not a mandatory experience duration. Candidates must be at least 13; ages 13–17 require parent or guardian consent.Official source · checked

Provider-listed modules and exam domains

Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-901)

  • Identify AI concepts and capabilities — Exam domain / not a course module; weighting 40–45% · Source
  • Implement AI solutions by using Microsoft Foundry — Exam domain / not a course module; weighting 55–60% · Source

AWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01)

  • Fundamentals of AI and ML — Exam domain / not a course module · Source
  • Fundamentals of GenAI — Exam domain / not a course module · Source
  • Applications of Foundation Models — Exam domain / not a course module · Source
  • Guidelines for Responsible AI — Exam domain / not a course module · Source
  • Security, Compliance, and Governance for AI Solutions — Exam domain / not a course module · Source

What the credentials are

Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-901)

Credential type
certification · Source
Credential
Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals · Source
Issuer
Microsoft · Source
Sharing
Share through Microsoft Learn, including LinkedIn; downloadable and printable certificate. Public profile required for verification of shared credentials. · Source
Expiry and renewal
Fundamentals certifications do not expire. · Source Source
Exam requirement
Pass AI-901; passing score 700. · Source Source Source

AWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01)

Credential type
AWS Certification · Source
Credential
AWS Certified AI Practitioner · Source Source Source
Issuer
AWS Training and Certification · Source
Sharing
Verifiable Credly digital badge that can be shared on social profiles, websites, and email signatures. · Source
Expiry and renewal
Valid for three years. Before expiry, pass the latest version of the exam or earn AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer - Associate to recertify. · Source
Exam requirement
Pass AIF-C01; minimum passing scaled score 700 on a 100–1000 scale. · Source Source

Cost for the stated scope

Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-901)

Estimate for the stated payment scope: USD 99 × 1 = USD 99.

  • One AI-901 exam attempt, United States region: USD 99 × 1 = USD 99. One exam registration only; no guarantee of passing or complete preparation cost. · Source

Scope: Exam-fee-only estimate: USD 99 × 1 = USD 99. Region: United States. Excludes any applicable taxes, optional preparation and cloud usage. · Source Source

Retakes: Payment is required for retakes if applicable; no numeric retake fee verified. · Source Source

AWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01)

Estimate for the stated payment scope: USD 100 × 1 = USD 100.

  • One initial AIF-C01 exam attempt: USD 100 × 1 = USD 100. One exam registration; not a guarantee of passing or complete preparation cost. · Source

Scope: One attempt: USD100 × 1 = USD100, before applicable taxes and optional preparation. Retakes are not assumed necessary. · Source Source

Retakes: AWS FAQ requires full registration fee each retake and 14 days after failure; current exam fee is USD100. Conditional one-retake scenario: USD100 + USD100 = USD200 before applicable taxes and optional preparation. · Source Source

Who should skip these options

Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-901)

  • Skip this route if you want to avoid technical preparation: Python knowledge and familiarity with Azure resources are expected. · Source
  • Do not choose it as a training-completion-only credential: the certification page requires AI-901. · Source

AWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01)

  • Skip it if you need an assessment of developing or coding AI/ML models: those tasks are explicitly outside the exam's scope. · Source
  • Skip it if you need an assessment of model tuning or deploying AI/ML pipelines: the exam guide excludes both. · Source
  • Skip it if your goal is to demonstrate implementation of security, compliance, or governance controls; the exam covers concepts but excludes those implementation tasks. · Source

Start with the current objectives and your technical starting point

Microsoft's AI-901 is the required exam for Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals. Despite the Fundamentals name, its current study guide expects Python coding knowledge, foundational technical skills, and familiarity with Azure resources, REST APIs, SDKs and CLIs. AWS Certified AI Practitioner targets people who use but do not necessarily build AI and machine-learning solutions on AWS. Consider AI-901 when beginning Azure AI solution development; consider AIF-C01 when your immediate need is foundational AWS AI knowledge for discussing technologies and business use cases.

AI-901 assigns 40–45% to identifying AI concepts and capabilities and 55–60% to implementing solutions with Microsoft Foundry. Objectives include prompts, models, agents, text and speech, vision and information extraction. AIF-C01 covers AI/ML fundamentals, generative AI, foundation-model applications, responsible AI, and security, compliance and governance. Its guide explicitly excludes coding models, tuning them and building or deploying pipelines. These are assessed domains, not a pair of taught courses or a guarantee of production competence.

Compare one exam attempt, not a complete learning budget

The verified AI-901 fee is USD 99 with the United States exam-proctoring region selected. AIF-C01 displays USD 100 and directs candidates to regional pricing information. These are comparable one-attempt registration fees, but neither includes a complete preparation budget or a guarantee of passing. Applicable taxes, optional training and repeat attempts are separate; Azure cloud usage may also matter to a preparation plan. Confirm the selected region and final booking amount rather than treating a one-dollar difference as the main decision.

Microsoft's Fundamentals policy allows 45 minutes of exam time and 65 minutes of seat time. AIF-C01 lists 90 minutes for its assessment. None of these numbers is an official preparation-hour estimate, so a shorter sitting does not establish less study. Microsoft requires a 24-hour wait after the first failure and longer waits thereafter; AWS requires 14 calendar days after failure. Retakes are conditional, not automatically added to the initial comparison.

Check credential maintenance and avoid outdated preparation assumptions

Microsoft Fundamentals certifications do not expire under the current policy. AWS AI Practitioner is valid for three years; before expiry, candidates can pass the latest version or earn AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer - Associate to recertify. Both offer shareable credentials. Microsoft's sharing route uses Microsoft Learn, with a public profile required for third-party verification; AWS provides a verifiable Credly badge. This maintenance difference is useful, but it does not make either credential universally more valuable.

Use the dedicated AI-901 study guide when planning preparation. Microsoft's exam and credential pages retain an older AI-900-style summary and a stale scheduling-link parameter; those do not define the current AI-901 objectives. For AWS, familiarity with core services, access management and pricing is recommended, while formal training is not mandatory. Choose the platform and assessed work that fit your next step, and demonstrate practical ability separately when your role requires implementation evidence.

Which to choose if…

Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-901)

Choose Microsoft AI-901 if you are beginning Azure AI solution development and want assessed coverage of AI concepts and Microsoft Foundry implementation.

AWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01)

Choose AWS AI Practitioner if you want foundational AWS AI knowledge for use cases and responsible adoption rather than model or pipeline implementation.

Alternatives in the registry

Related by topic or level.

Official pages and editorial sources

Editorial checked . No commercial relationship is documented for this comparison.

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