Best Azure Certification Practice Exams 2026 (Free & Paid)
Stop wasting time on question dumps. Here are the practice exams that actually prepare you for AZ-900, AZ-104, AZ-204, AZ-305, and AZ-500.
Table of Contents
Try These Sample Questions
Test your knowledge with these exam-style practice questions covering key certification topics:
Question 1
Your company needs to ensure that all Azure VMs in a resource group are automatically backed up daily with a 30-day retention policy. What should you implement?
Azure Backup with Recovery Services vault provides centralized backup management, automated scheduling, and retention policies. Backup policies can be applied at the resource group level for consistent protection across VMs.
Question 2
You need to configure network security to allow only Azure SQL Database traffic from specific VMs in a VNet. What should you configure?
Azure Private Link provides a private endpoint with a private IP address in your VNet, ensuring traffic stays on the Microsoft backbone network and never traverses the public internet. This is more secure than service endpoints which still use public IPs.
Question 3
Your organization requires Azure resources to be deployed only in specific regions for compliance. How can you enforce this?
Azure Policy provides governance enforcement at scale. The 'Allowed locations' built-in policy can deny resource creation in non-compliant regions across the entire subscription or management group.
Question 4
You need to provide temporary access to an external partner to upload files to Azure Blob Storage without sharing your storage account keys. What is the MOST secure approach?
SAS tokens provide delegated access with granular permissions (write only), IP restrictions, time limits, and protocol constraints without sharing storage account keys. This follows the principle of least privilege for temporary access.
Question 5
Your web application uses Azure App Service and experiences performance issues during peak hours. You need to ensure the app automatically scales out when CPU usage exceeds 75%. What should you configure?
App Service autoscale rules can automatically increase instance count based on metrics like CPU percentage, memory, HTTP queue length, or custom metrics. This provides cost-effective scaling that responds to actual demand.
Question 6
You need to provide developers access to production logs in Azure Monitor without granting them the ability to modify resources. What should you assign?
Log Analytics Reader role provides read-only access to logs and monitoring data without granting permissions to modify resources or infrastructure. This follows least privilege for audit log access.
Question 7
Your company requires that all Azure VMs must have antimalware protection. How can you ensure compliance across all subscriptions?
Azure Policy with DeployIfNotExists effect can automatically deploy the IaaSAntimalware extension to non-compliant VMs. Auto-remediation ensures continuous compliance without manual intervention.
Question 8
You need to connect two Azure VNets in different regions and ensure encrypted traffic between them. What should you implement?
VNet-to-VNet VPN connections provide encrypted IPsec tunnels between VNets across regions. While VNet peering is simpler, it doesn't provide encryption (though traffic is private on Microsoft's backbone). VPN is required when encryption is explicitly mandated.
Question 9
Your Azure SQL Database has grown to 2 TB and backup storage costs are increasing. How can you reduce backup costs while maintaining point-in-time restore capability?
Long-term retention (LTR) stores backups in Azure Blob Storage where you can leverage cheaper storage tiers. Short-term automated backups (7-35 days) use more expensive storage but provide point-in-time restore. LTR is for compliance/archival needs.
Question 10
You deployed an Azure VM but cannot connect via RDP. You verified the NSG allows RDP traffic and the VM is running. What should you check next?
Common RDP issues include: no public IP, Windows Firewall blocking, or RDP service not running. Run Command allows you to execute scripts on the VM to diagnose and fix OS-level issues without RDP access.
Why Practice Exams Matter
If you've ever walked into a Microsoft certification exam feeling confident and then blanked on the third question, you know the pain. Practice exams are the single best predictor of whether you'll pass or fail. Not videos. Not flashcards. Practice questions.
The reason is simple: Azure exams in 2026 don't test memorization. They test application. You'll see scenario-based questions that describe a real-world problem and ask you to pick the right combination of services, configurations, or policies. The only way to get comfortable with that format is to practice it repeatedly.
Question Dumps vs. Real Practice Exams
Let's get this out of the way: question dumps will hurt you more than they help. Sites like ExamTopics publish leaked questions that violate Microsoft's NDA. Using them risks a lifetime ban from all Microsoft certifications. Beyond the ethical problems, dumps give you a false sense of readiness because you memorize answers without understanding the concepts.
Warning: Microsoft actively monitors for dump usage. Candidates who score suspiciously high on memorizable questions but low on new ones get flagged. Your certification can be revoked retroactively.
Legitimate practice exams write original questions that test the same objectives. They include detailed explanations for every answer, so you actually learn from getting things wrong. That's the difference between memorizing and understanding.
AZ-900: Azure Fundamentals
AZ-900 is where most people start, and for good reason. It covers cloud concepts, Azure services, security, pricing, and SLAs. The exam has 40-60 questions and you get 85 minutes.
What to look for in AZ-900 practice exams
- Cloud concept questions: IaaS vs. PaaS vs. SaaS scenarios, CapEx vs. OpEx
- Core services coverage: Virtual Machines, App Service, Azure Functions, Blob Storage
- Pricing questions: Azure Calculator, TCO Calculator, cost management tools
- Governance: Azure Policy, RBAC, resource locks, management groups
A good practice platform will offer at least 200 questions covering all these areas. Look for questions that present scenarios rather than simple definitions.
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AZ-104: Azure Administrator
AZ-104 is a big step up from AZ-900. This is where you prove you can actually manage Azure environments. Expect questions about virtual networking, storage accounts, identity management, and monitoring. You'll also see case study sections where you analyze a multi-page scenario before answering.
Key areas to drill
- Identity: Azure AD (Entra ID), conditional access, MFA, PIM
- Networking: VNets, NSGs, peering, load balancers, Application Gateway
- Storage: Blob tiers, replication options, Azure Files, disk management
- Compute: VM scale sets, availability zones, Azure Kubernetes Service basics
- Monitoring: Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, alerts, action groups
For AZ-104 specifically, hands-on labs combined with practice questions give the best results. You need to know which PowerShell commands and CLI commands accomplish specific tasks.
AZ-204: Azure Developer
AZ-204 targets developers building cloud-native applications. Expect code snippets in C# and sometimes Python. You'll need to know Azure SDKs, connection strings, API management, and how services integrate in a development workflow.
Must-practice topics
- App Service & Functions: Deployment slots, bindings, triggers, Durable Functions
- Cosmos DB: Partition keys, consistency levels, change feed
- Azure Storage SDK: Blob operations, queue triggers, table storage
- API Management: Policies, products, subscriptions, rate limiting
- Event Grid & Service Bus: Event routing, topics, queues, dead-letter
The best AZ-204 practice exams include actual code snippets where you identify errors or select the correct implementation. Avoid platforms that only offer multiple-choice theory questions for this exam.
AZ-305: Solutions Architect Expert
AZ-305 is one of the hardest Azure exams. You're tested on designing complete solutions that meet business requirements, handle failures gracefully, and optimize costs. Every question requires you to think like an architect, not an administrator.
Architecture areas to focus on
- Identity & governance: Multi-tenant architectures, B2B/B2C, governance at scale
- Business continuity: DR strategies, RTO/RPO calculations, backup policies
- Data solutions: Choosing between SQL, Cosmos DB, Synapse, Data Lake
- Infrastructure: Hub-spoke networking, hybrid connectivity, migration strategies
For AZ-305, you need practice exams that present complex multi-requirement scenarios. Simple one-liner questions won't prepare you. Look for case studies where you must balance cost, performance, and compliance.
AZ-500: Security Engineer
AZ-500 covers Azure's entire security stack. Since Microsoft keeps adding security features (Defender for Cloud, Sentinel, Entra ID Protection), the exam content shifts frequently. You need practice exams that reflect the current version, not something written two years ago.
Security domains to master
- Identity security: Conditional access, PIM, identity protection, access reviews
- Network security: NSGs, ASGs, Azure Firewall, DDoS protection, Private Link
- Data security: Key Vault, disk encryption, TDE, Always Encrypted
- Security operations: Microsoft Sentinel, Defender for Cloud, security alerts
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Security-focused practice covering Defender, Sentinel, and Entra ID
Start AZ-500 PracticeHow to Use Practice Exams Effectively
Most people use practice exams wrong. They take a test, check their score, and move on. Here's a better approach:
- Take your first test cold. No studying beforehand. This baseline shows your real knowledge gaps.
- Review every wrong answer. Read the explanation. Understand why the correct answer is right and why yours was wrong.
- Study the gap areas. Spend 2-3 days learning the topics you missed before taking another test.
- Repeat until you consistently score 85%+. One good score isn't enough. You need three consecutive tests above your target.
- Simulate exam conditions. Time yourself. No notes. No pausing to look things up. The real exam pressure matters.
Pro tip: If your practice scores are between 75-85%, you'll probably pass the real exam. If you're below 70%, keep studying. If you're consistently above 90%, you're ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are free Azure practice exams enough to pass?
Free practice exams are a good starting point, but they usually cover fewer questions and limited scenarios. For the best chance of passing, combine free tests with a paid platform that offers hundreds of questions with detailed explanations.
How many practice questions should I do before taking an Azure exam?
Most successful candidates complete 300-500 practice questions before sitting the real exam. Focus on consistently scoring above 85% across multiple practice tests before booking your exam date.
What's the difference between practice exams and question dumps?
Practice exams use original questions designed to test the same concepts as the real exam, with detailed explanations. Question dumps are leaked or memorized real exam questions, which violate Microsoft's NDA and can result in a lifetime certification ban.
Which Azure certification should I get first in 2026?
Start with AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals if you're new to cloud. It covers core concepts and doesn't require technical experience. From there, move to AZ-104 (admin), AZ-204 (developer), or AZ-500 (security) based on your career goals.
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