What IT certifications cost in 2026
Exam fees for the certifications covered here run from 75 to 599 US dollars, and several vendors do not publish a price at all. This page lists what each one actually costs, and is explicit about where a figure is unavailable rather than inventing one.
Published fees
| Exam | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| MLA-C02 | 75 USD | Beta pricing; expect it to rise once the beta ends |
| AIF-C01 | 100 USD | Foundational level |
| AI-103 | 165 USD | US price; varies by country |
| Agentforce Specialist | 200 USD | |
| Data Analyst | 200 USD | |
| Data Engineer Associate | 200 USD | |
| Data Engineer Professional | 200 USD | Same fee as the associate |
| GenAI Engineer | 200 USD | |
| ML Associate | 200 USD | |
| ML Professional | 200 USD | |
| Spark Developer | 200 USD | |
| AAIA | 459 USD member / 599 USD non-member | Plus a 50 USD application fee after passing |
| AAIR | 459 USD member / 599 USD non-member | Plus application fee |
| AAISM | 459 USD member / 599 USD non-member | Plus application fee |
Where no price is published
This is not an oversight on our part. These vendors genuinely do not put a figure on the certification page.
| Exam | Situation |
|---|---|
| AI-901 | Microsoft sets the fee per country or region; it appears at the booking step |
| SC-500 | Same — regional pricing, shown when you book |
| AB-620 | Same |
| N10-009 | CompTIA does not list a price on the certification page; it varies by region and voucher route |
| CY0-001 | Same as Network+ |
If you find a confident single price for any of these quoted elsewhere, it is either region-specific or invented. Check at the booking step.
The costs nobody advertises
The exam fee is rarely the real number.
Retakes. Most vendors charge full price for a second attempt, and impose a waiting period. A 200 USD exam you fail twice is a 600 USD exam.
Prerequisites. The three ISACA certificates require an existing designation — CISA for AAIA, CISM or CISSP for AAISM, a recognised designation for AAIR. If you do not hold one, the honest cost includes earning and maintaining it first. That is months and several hundred dollars before you start.
Maintenance. ISACA credentials require continuing professional education, for the new certificate and for the base credential underneath it. Databricks certifications are valid for two years; MLA-C02 for three. Renewal is a recurring cost, not a one-off.
Membership. ISACA membership costs money but reduces the exam fee by 140 USD. For a single exam it roughly breaks even; for two it pays.
Your time. At four to six weeks of evening study, the fee is usually the smallest part of what the certification costs you.
Cheapest route into each ecosystem
| Ecosystem | Cheapest entry | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| AWS | AIF-C01 | 100 USD |
| Microsoft | AI-901 | Regional |
| Databricks | any associate | 200 USD |
| CompTIA | N10-009 | Regional |
| Salesforce | Agentforce Specialist | 200 USD |
| ISACA | none — all require a prerequisite | 459 USD plus prerequisite |
Before you pay
Read the exam changes tracker first — paying for an exam whose objectives shifted last month is an expensive way to discover it. Then take the free practice test in the relevant exam section, because the cheapest exam is the one you pass first time.
If you are still choosing, the certification paths order the exams by vendor and say which to skip.