How much does an AWS certification exam cost in India?

Last updated: 23 October 2026 · By the Asuraa Team

Quick answer: An AWS certification exam costs USD 100 (Foundational), USD 150 (Associate) or USD 300 (Professional and Specialty), according to the AWS Certification FAQ as of October 2026. At the RBI-published FBIL rate of Rs 94.70 on 22 October 2026, plus 18% GST, that is about Rs 11,175, Rs 16,762 or Rs 33,524. Passing any AWS exam earns a 50% voucher for your next one.

Key takeaways

• As of October 2026, AWS lists exam fees of USD 100 for Foundational, USD 150 for Associate and USD 300 for Professional and Specialty exams.
• At the FBIL reference rate of Rs 94.70 per dollar on 22 October 2026, plus 18% GST, a Foundational exam costs about Rs 11,175 and an Associate exam about Rs 16,762.
• Every AWS certified person gets a 50% discount voucher in their AWS Certification Account, usable for recertification or any other AWS exam.
• AWS requires a 14-day wait after a failed attempt, and every retake costs the full exam fee again.
• AWS certifications are valid for three years; Cloud Practitioner can be renewed free through AWS Cloud Quest, and the AWS Advanced Networking Specialty exam retires on 31 December 2026.

How much does an AWS certification exam cost in India in rupees?

An AWS exam costs Rs 11,200 to Rs 33,500 in India once you add 18% GST, depending on the level. AWS sets its prices in US dollars, and as of October 2026 the AWS Certification FAQ lists USD 100 for Foundational and Business exams, USD 150 for Associate exams and USD 300 for Professional and Specialty exams.

The rupee figure you pay depends on two things AWS does not control: the exchange rate on the day you pay, and the tax added to your bill. The AWS exam policies page says applicable taxes may apply and that the fee covers one attempt only.

To turn dollars into rupees, this guide uses the FBIL reference rate of Rs 94.70 per US dollar published on the Reserve Bank of India home page on 22 October 2026. Since October 2023, foreign providers of online services to individuals in India have been liable for up to 18% IGST, as Business Standard reported when the exemption was removed. Plan on 18% being added to your bill.

What is the fee for each AWS certification level?

The table below shows every AWS exam level as of October 2026. Rupee amounts are rounded estimates, not official AWS prices.

The exam names come from the AWS Certification page. The individual pages for Cloud Practitioner, Solutions Architect Associate, Data Engineer Associate, DevOps Engineer Professional and Generative AI Developer Professional confirm the dollar fee for each of them.

Two dates are worth knowing. AWS says the Advanced Networking Specialty exam retires on 31 December 2026. The Solutions Architect Professional, Developer Associate and Machine Learning Engineer Associate exams are listed as being updated. If you are booking one of these, check the exam page for the current version before you pay.

How do you calculate the exact rupee amount before you book?

Work it out from the dollar fee in three steps, then compare with the checkout screen.

1. Find the USD fee on the official AWS page for your exam.
2. Multiply it by the day's rupee rate. The RBI home page shows the FBIL reference rate, and your bank's card rate will be a little higher.
3. Add 18% GST to the converted amount. For a USD 150 Associate exam at Rs 94.70, that is Rs 14,205 plus Rs 2,557, or about Rs 16,762.
4. Ask your bank whether it charges a foreign currency markup on international card payments, and add that too.
5. At checkout, compare your estimate with the final amount shown before you confirm.

The FAQ lists the currencies AWS prices in locally (Australian dollar, euro, Korean won, Japanese yen and Chinese yuan). The rupee is not one of them, so a weaker rupee makes the exam cost more even when the dollar price stays the same. The FAQ also says AWS revises its exchange-rate pricing once a year.

What discounts can Indian candidates get on AWS exams?

The one guaranteed AWS discount is the 50% voucher you get after passing any AWS exam. According to the AWS Certification benefits page, certified people get a 50% discount voucher for recertification or any other exam. The FAQ says it sits in the Benefits section of your AWS Certification Account.

With the voucher, the second exam costs much less. At the same exchange rate, half of a USD 150 Associate exam is about Rs 7,103, or about Rs 8,381 with GST. That is why the usual order is to pass Cloud Practitioner or AI Practitioner first, then use the voucher on the Associate exam you actually want.

Two rules from the AWS policies page apply. A 50% voucher is worth 50% of the price on the day you pay, and the FAQ says exam vouchers can be used only once. The voucher's expiry date is shown in your account, so check it right after you pass.

What does it cost if you fail and need to retake?

Each retake costs the full exam fee again. The AWS Certification FAQ says you must wait 14 calendar days after a failed attempt, there is no limit on the number of attempts, and every attempt is charged at the full registration fee.

So failing a Professional exam once takes your total from about Rs 33,500 to about Rs 67,000. Spending a little on practice questions is cheaper than a retake. AWS Skill Builder has a large free library of self-paced courses. The full set of official exam-prep resources needs the individual plan, listed at USD 29 a month (about Rs 2,746 before tax at the rate above). One month of the plan, bought only in your final few weeks of revision, usually costs less than one Associate retake.

Rescheduling also matters. The policies page says that if you cancel more than 24 hours before your appointment, you get back the fee you paid. Cancel later than that, or miss the slot, and you lose it.

How long is an AWS certification valid, and what does renewal cost?

AWS certifications are valid for three years. The AWS recertification page gives two ways to keep one active:

• Renewal (adds three years): pass the latest version of the same exam or a higher-level exam. You can usually use your 50% voucher for this.
• Maintenance (adds one year): available for many Associate, Professional and Specialty certifications through AWS Skill Builder. It needs an active Skill Builder subscription, and the certification must be within 90 days of expiry.

Cloud Practitioner holders can renew for free by completing the AWS Cloud Quest recertification game, once the certification is within six months of expiry.

Over three years, then, a fresher who earns Cloud Practitioner and one Associate certification and renews only the Associate by exam pays roughly Rs 11,175 + Rs 8,381 + Rs 8,381 at today's rate. That is under Rs 28,000 for two certifications kept active.

What do most guides on AWS exam cost in India get wrong?

Most guides quote a single fixed rupee price, such as "Rs 8,500" for Cloud Practitioner, as if AWS charged in rupees. It doesn't. The fee is in dollars, the rupee is not one of AWS's local pricing currencies, and GST is added on top. A figure from 2024 is now well out of date, because the rupee has weakened. Always recalculate from the USD fee using the current rate.

Three other common mistakes:

• Treating "free AWS exam vouchers" as normal. Free vouchers come only from specific, short AWS promotions, training programmes or employers. Paid "voucher dumps" sold on Telegram or WhatsApp often turn out to be invalid. Buy only through your AWS Certification Account, Pearson VUE, or a voucher your employer gives you.
• Assuming the Specialty exam is cheaper than Professional. Both cost USD 300.
• Skipping the Foundational exam to save money. If you are going to sit an Associate exam anyway, passing Cloud Practitioner first and using the 50% voucher costs about Rs 19,500 in total. That buys two certifications for only about Rs 2,800 more than the Associate exam alone. Whether this is worth it depends on how much the extra certification helps you with recruiters.

Which AWS exam should a fresher in India pay for first?

Most freshers should start with one Foundational exam, then move to Associate within about six months. Our IT certifications guide for India compares the main options across vendors. If you have never used the cloud, read whether AWS Cloud Practitioner is worth it. If you are aiming for AI roles, see the AWS AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) guide.

For cloud and DevOps jobs, the Solutions Architect Associate guide is the usual next step, and the cloud engineer roadmap shows where certifications fit alongside projects. For hands-on practice before you pay any exam fee, our guide on how to learn AWS for jobs explains how to use the AWS Free Tier. It currently gives new accounts up to USD 200 in credits on a six-month free plan.

A certification alone rarely gets you hired. Pair it with one or two projects you have deployed yourself, and practise with AWS interview questions for freshers before you start applying.

Related guides

• IT Certifications in India: Which Are Worth It for Jobs (2026)
• AWS AI Practitioner (AIF-C01): is it worth it for Indian freshers?
• Azure AI Fundamentals AI-901: what changed from AI-900

FAQ

What is the AWS Cloud Practitioner exam fee in rupees?

AWS lists the Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) fee as USD 100 as of October 2026. At the FBIL reference rate of Rs 94.70 per dollar on 22 October 2026, that is about Rs 9,470. Adding 18% GST brings it to about Rs 11,175. Your card's foreign-exchange markup can add a little more, so check the final amount at checkout.

Is GST charged on AWS certification exams in India?

AWS's exam policies say applicable taxes may apply to the exam fee. Since October 2023, foreign providers of online services to individuals in India have been liable for up to 18% IGST, so Indian candidates should budget 18% on top of the converted dollar fee. Your checkout or invoice shows the exact tax charged.

How do I get the AWS 50% exam discount voucher?

Pass any AWS certification exam. According to the AWS Certification FAQ, the 50% voucher then appears in the Benefits section of your AWS Certification Account. You can use it for recertification or for any other AWS exam. It is worth half the exam price on the day you pay, and vouchers can be used only once.

How much does it cost to retake a failed AWS exam?

A retake costs the full exam fee again. AWS also makes you wait 14 calendar days after a failed attempt, though there is no limit on the number of attempts. For an Associate exam, each attempt costs about Rs 16,762 with GST at October 2026 rates. Official practice tests cost less than a retake.

Are there free AWS certification exam vouchers in India?

There is no standing free-voucher programme on the AWS Certification pages. AWS says it runs certification challenge promotions from time to time with discounted vouchers, and employers can buy bulk vouchers through Xvoucher or Pearson VUE. Don't buy cheap vouchers on Telegram or WhatsApp, because many of them turn out to be invalid.

Does an AWS certification expire?

Yes. AWS certifications are valid for three years. You can renew by passing the latest version of the exam or a higher-level exam, usually with the 50% voucher. Many certifications can also be extended by one year through AWS Skill Builder maintenance. Cloud Practitioner can be renewed free through AWS Cloud Quest within six months of expiry.

Final thoughts

An AWS exam is a dollar payment with GST added, so budget from the official USD fee and the current exchange rate, not from an old rupee figure. Use the 50% voucher to make your second exam cheaper, and treat practice as cheaper than a retake. Once you're certified, check your resume against real cloud job descriptions with the Asuraa AI resume reviewer.