AWS Solutions Architect Associate Exam Syllabus and Weightage Explained
The AWS Solution Architect Associate exam is a very sought-after certification that many IT professionals aim for.
For cloud professionals and designers aspiring to be lead cloud architects, this certification proves your expertise in designing cloud architectures. Knowing the syllabus and weightage of topics in the domain is very important in order to plan your study and increase your score.
In this post, we will delve into the details of each domain in terms of weightage and provide some useful tips to help you prepare smarter for the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam in 2025.
Table of Contents
What is the AWS Solutions Architect Associate Exam?
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) demonstrates your ability to design distributed systems on the AWS platform. The materials introduce a variety of services and practices that apply to most real-world cloud environments.
Exam Details:
- Exam Code: SAA-C03
- Level: Associate
- Format: Multiple-choice, multiple-response
- Duration: 130 minutes
- Cost: $150 USD
- Delivery Mode: Online proctored or test center
This certification is ideal for cloud engineers, developers, and IT professionals aiming to strengthen their AWS architecture skills.
AWS Solutions Architect Associate Exam Syllabus Breakdown
The exam syllabus is divided into four major domains, each with specific weightage:
Domain | Topic Areas | Weightage |
1. Design Secure Architectures | Identity, compliance, and data protection | 30% |
2. Design Resilient Architectures | High availability, scalability, fault tolerance | 26% |
3. Design High-Performing Architectures | Performance optimization and selection of AWS services | 24% |
4. Design Cost-Optimized Architectures | Cost control, resource allocation, right-sizing | 20% |
Let’s understand what each domain includes.
1. Design Secure Architectures (30%)
This is the most weighted section of the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam syllabus. This exam assesses your ability to design secure solutions that leverage AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), encryption, and networking concepts.
You must understand how to protect data at rest and in motion as well as how to trust compliance using KMS, CloudTrail, and Config AWS services.
2. Design Resilient Architectures (26%)
This area will test your comprehension of fault-tolerant design patterns and disaster recovery approaches. Concentrate on Auto Scaling, ELB, Route 53, and multi-AZ deployments. This portion of the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam blueprint requires a solid understanding of availability zones and redundancy models.
3. Design High-Performing Architectures (24%)
Here, AWS examines your ability to tune workloads for speed and efficiency. Topics include selecting the right compute instance, database type, and storage offering. Services like Amazon EC2, RDS, S3, and DynamoDB are highlighted. You will also be quizzed on performance monitoring issues that include questions on CloudWatch and AWS Trusted Advisor.
4. Design Cost-Optimized Architectures (20%)
This last domain tests your capacity to balance cost with performance. It entails selecting cost-friendly options for storage, networking, and compute, as well as using AWS pricing models effectively. You can expect Savings Plans, Reserved Instances, and Cost Explorer questions. Being familiar with this domain guarantees that you create solutions that are cost-effective but deliver on performance — an important aspect of the AWS Solutions Architect Associate study curriculum.
Exam Question Distribution and Format
The AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam consists of 65 questions, divided across the four domains based on their weightage. Expect:
- Scenario-based questions (70%) – requiring analysis of architectures.
- Direct concept questions (30%) – testing your AWS fundamentals.
Passing Score: ~720/1000 (varies slightly by exam version).
Exam Question Distribution and Format
- Understand the exam syllabus first. Align your study plan to high-weight domains like security and resilience.
- Use official AWS whitepapers such as the Well-Architected Framework and Security Best Practices.
- Take regular mock tests to simulate the real exam pattern and timing.
- Enroll in a guided training program like Certify360’s AWS Solutions Architect Associate Course, which includes interactive labs, topic-based quizzes, and real exam-style questions.
Why Choose Certify360 for AWS Certification Prep?
Certify360 facilitates effective learning with guided study paths, practice exams assisted by AI, and mentorship from industry experts. Our platform simulates the actual AWS exam experience, assisting you in mastering the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam syllabus as well as acquiring practical cloud skills.
Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced professional, Certify360 ensures your AWS journey is efficient, confident, and exam-ready.
FAQs
Q1. How many domains are included in the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam syllabus?
There are four primary domains: Secure, Resilient, High-Performing, and Cost-Optimized Architectures.
Q2. Which domain has the most weightage?
“Design Secure Architectures” has the most weightage at 30%.
Q3. Is there any coding involved in the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam?
No, coding is not necessary, but knowledge of cloud automation fundamentals is useful.
Q4. How frequently is the exam syllabus updated?
AWS updates the syllabus every 2–3 years to reflect new services and architecture best practices.
Q5. What is the best way to cover the entire exam syllabus efficiently?
Focus on AWS whitepapers, take Certify360 practice exams, and review key services aligned to each domain weightage.
