Azure vs AWS vs Google: Which AI Exam First
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People spend weeks comparing these three. The decision takes about thirty seconds once you know which question to ask.
Direct answer
Take the certification for the cloud platform your employer already runs. Microsoft AI-900 for a Microsoft workplace, AWS AI Practitioner for AWS, Google Generative AI Leader for Google. The three exams are close in price, level and preparation time, so the platform decides and nothing else should.
Based on the AI and Automation Practitioner standard (ST1512), a Level 4 apprenticeship for people already in work. Funding rules described here are the England position and are set by the funding body.
Potentially free for you
The learner never pays. Employers potentially pay nothing either, and where the apprentice is aged 16 to 24 the government funds the whole cost even if the employer does not pay the levy.
Closing any gap. A levy transfer from another employer covers 100% of the cost. Unused transfer allowance is not carried forward at the end of the tax year, and it must be agreed before the apprentice starts.
From 1 August 2026 the government stopped adding the 10% top-up to new funds entering levy accounts, so there is less in the system than there was.
Part of our guide to AI Certifications in the UK: Cost and Real Value.
Why the platform decides
All three exams cost between £80 and £100, take 20 to 40 hours, and require no coding. On those measures there is nothing to choose between them.
What differs is what you can practise on and who will recognise it. Both point the same way, which is towards whatever your organisation already uses.
A badge for a platform your team does not run gives you no chance to apply what you learned. The knowledge fades within months because nothing reinforces it.
It also fails the interview test. Being asked how you used a service and answering that you only read about it is worse than not mentioning it.
Where they genuinely differ
Microsoft AI-900 is the broadest on services. It covers vision, language and generative features across the Azure catalogue, so it is the most product-heavy.
AWS AI Practitioner goes deepest on responsible AI, governance and security. If your sector is regulated, that section is genuinely useful beyond the exam.
Google Generative AI Leader is the only one aimed at decision makers rather than practitioners. No service catalogue to memorise, more judgement about adoption.
On validity, AWS gives three years, Microsoft fundamentals do not expire, and Google Cloud certifications carry a fixed term needing renewal.
If your employer runs nothing in particular
Plenty of smaller UK businesses run Microsoft 365 and nothing else. That still counts as a Microsoft workplace and AI-900 is the right pick.
If you genuinely have no platform, choose by career direction. Microsoft dominates UK corporate desktops, so it is the safest default for a business role.
If you are aiming at a technical career, AWS has the larger share of UK cloud infrastructure work, which makes it the better technical hedge.
If you manage rather than build, Google's leader exam teaches the most useful thinking regardless of platform, and you can accept the weaker recognition.
There is more on this in our guide to AI certifications in the UK.
The option none of the three cover
All three prove you learned about a platform. None of them looks at your own work, and that is the gap employers keep pointing at.
A regulated qualification is assessed against a national standard by someone outside your organisation. It says the same thing to every UK employer.
For someone employed, at any number of hours a week, the funded apprenticeship route costs nothing and produces exactly that. It also takes 14 months, which is the honest trade.
The two are not exclusive. A cheap vendor badge now and an assessed qualification running alongside your job is a sensible combination.
Key takeaways
- Match the certification to the cloud your employer already runs.
- All three cost £80 to £100 and need 20 to 40 hours.
- AWS is strongest on governance, Microsoft on service breadth, Google on judgement.
- AWS lasts three years, Google needs renewal, Microsoft fundamentals do not expire.
- None of the three assess your own work, which is what interviews test.
Frequently asked questions
Which cloud AI certification is best?
Whichever matches the platform your employer runs. The three entry exams are close enough in price and level that the platform is the only sensible tiebreaker.
Is AWS or Azure better for AI certification?
Neither in the abstract. AWS goes deeper on governance and lasts three years. Azure covers more services and is more common on UK corporate desktops.
What if my employer uses no cloud platform?
If you run Microsoft 365 you are a Microsoft workplace, so AI-900 fits. Otherwise choose by career direction rather than by comparing syllabuses.
Can I do more than one?
You can, but there is little return. The second one repeats about 60% of the first at a different vendor's naming convention.
Which is cheapest?
They sit within about £20 of each other, between roughly £80 and £100. Price is not a meaningful differentiator here.
Which is easiest?
Google's leader exam has no service catalogue to memorise, which most people find easier. AI-900 has the most product names to keep straight.
Do any of them require coding?
None of the three entry-level exams require coding. The associate and professional tiers above them do.
What do these certifications not prove?
That you can apply AI to real work. None of them look at anything you have done, which is what an interviewer will ask about.
The funded route, in figures
Figures are the England position. Levy-paying employers usually draw the whole cost from the levy they already contribute, so they pay nothing extra. Employers below the £3 million pay bill threshold pay nothing for an apprentice aged 16 to 24. For an older apprentice the government funds 95 per cent, and a levy transfer from a larger employer can cover the rest. Eligibility and funding rules are set by the funding body and can change.
Where to go next
If the gap between knowing a platform and evidencing your own work matters to you, the funded Level 4 route closes it and costs the learner nothing.
We help UK employers and employees access government-funded AI training. Training is delivered by third-party providers. We do not guarantee a place, a qualification, a job or any particular outcome. Eligibility and funding rules are set by the funding body and can change. Always check the current position before you commit. See our disclaimer.