Is AZ-104 worth it? Who should take it
AZ-104 is worth it if you run, support or build on Azure infrastructure, or if you want to become an Azure architect. It is Microsoft’s associate certification for Azure administrators, it covers the day-to-day work of that role, and it is the required prerequisite for the Azure Solutions Architect Expert credential. It is less worth it if your work is mainly writing application code or building AI features, where other Microsoft exams fit better.
Who it is for
Cloud and system administrators. This is the core audience. The exam covers what an Azure administrator does every week: users and roles, policy, storage, VMs, networks, monitoring and backup.
On-premises administrators moving to Azure. If you know Windows Server, Active Directory, networking and virtualization, the audience profile describes you. AZ-104 turns that background into Azure vocabulary and a credential employers recognise.
Future architects. Microsoft awards the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification only to people who also hold the Azure Administrator Associate. If AZ-305 is your goal, AZ-104 is the first step anyway. See AZ-104 vs AZ-305.
Consultants at Microsoft partners. Partner programmes often count associate-level certifications. Check your programme’s current requirements, since they change.
Who should pick something else
| If you | Consider instead |
|---|---|
| Build back-end services and AI app infrastructure in code | AI-200 |
| Build AI apps and agents with Microsoft Foundry | AI-103 |
| Are new to AI and need the vocabulary first | AI-901 |
| Secure cloud and AI workloads for a living | SC-500 |
Developers are the group most often steered to AZ-104 by default. It will not hurt them, but it tests portal and infrastructure settings they may never touch, and says little about the code they write. AI-200 is closer to a developer’s day.
What it costs
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Exam fee | Set per country or region; shown when you book |
| Retake | Full fee again; you can retake after 24 hours, with longer waits for later attempts |
| Renewal | Free, every 12 months, through an online assessment on Microsoft Learn |
| Practice assessment | Free on Microsoft Learn |
| Azure lab time | Low if you deallocate VMs and delete resource groups after each session |
| Study time | About four weeks for someone who already works with Azure |
The free renewal and the free official practice assessment are real advantages. The main hidden cost is lab spend: a VM, a Bastion host or a Site Recovery replica left running for a month costs more than you expect. A budget alert, set up in your first lab, keeps it small.
What it proves
A pass shows that you can:
- manage identities, roles and governance with least privilege and at the right scope;
- create and secure storage accounts and choose redundancy, tiers and protection features;
- deploy VMs, scale sets, containers and App Service, by hand and from templates;
- build, secure and troubleshoot virtual networks, DNS and load balancers;
- monitor resources, set up alerts, and back up and recover workloads.
That is broad, practical coverage of running Azure. Because it is hands-on, it tells an employer more than a fundamentals certificate does.
What it does not prove
It does not show that you can design a solution from business requirements — that is AZ-305. It does not cover application development, databases in depth, or security engineering beyond the basics. And like any associate certification, it opens a conversation rather than replacing experience. A project you can show and explain, such as an environment you built from Bicep files, does more in an interview.
Is it still relevant?
Yes. The skills outline was updated on April 17, 2026, with only minor changes, and Microsoft’s certification page carries no retirement notice. Azure administration remains a large part of cloud work, and AZ-104 is the credential that represents it.
The verdict
Take AZ-104 if you administer Azure, if you are moving from on-premises infrastructure, or if you want the architect credential. The study plan gets most people with some Azure experience there in four weeks. If you mostly write code, look at AI-200 first, and see the Azure AI certification path for how Microsoft’s newer exams fit together.