CLF-C02 Billing, Pricing, and Support Practice Question
A company expects a steady baseline usage of AWS compute services (Amazon EC2, AWS Lambda, and AWS Fargate) over the next three years. They want to reduce costs compared to On-Demand pricing while maintaining the flexibility to change instance families, regions, or even switch between compute services (e.g., from EC2 to Lambda) without losing their discount. Which AWS pricing option should the company choose?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse Convertible Reserved Instances with Compute Savings Plans, thinking that Convertible RIs offer similar flexibility, but they are limited to EC2 and cannot switch to Lambda or Fargate, nor change regions.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Compute Savings Plan
The Compute Savings Plan offers the highest flexibility, automatically applying discounts to any compute usage across EC2, Lambda, and Fargate, regardless of instance family, region, or compute service. It provides up to 66% savings over On-Demand while allowing the company to change instance types, regions, or switch between compute services without losing the discount. This matches the requirement for steady baseline usage with maximum flexibility.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Reserved Instances (Standard)
Why it's wrong here
Standard Reserved Instances provide a discount in exchange for a commitment to a specific instance family, size, and region (e.g., m5.large in us-east-1). They do not allow changing the instance family or region, and they only apply to Amazon EC2, not to Lambda or Fargate. Therefore, they do not provide the required flexibility.
When this WOULD be correct
A company expects steady-state usage of a specific EC2 instance type in a specific region for 1 or 3 years and wants the highest possible discount (up to 72%) with no need to change instance family or compute service. They are willing to commit to that exact configuration.
- ✗
Reserved Instances (Convertible)
Why it's wrong here
Convertible Reserved Instances allow you to change the instance family, size, and region during the term by exchanging for another Convertible Reserved Instance, but they still apply only to Amazon EC2. They do not cover Lambda or Fargate usage, so the flexibility across compute services is not achieved.
When this WOULD be correct
A company expects steady EC2 usage for three years but wants the flexibility to change instance families (e.g., from m5 to c5) or modify attributes like tenancy or operating system, while still committing to a specific instance family in a region. Convertible RIs would be correct.
- ✓
Compute Savings Plan
Why this is correct
The Compute Savings Plan offers the highest flexibility among AWS savings options. It applies to all compute services (EC2, Lambda, Fargate), all regions, and all instance families. The discount applies to usage up to the committed amount ($/hour), and any usage beyond the commitment is charged at On-Demand rates. This matches the company's need for both savings and flexibility across compute services.
- ✗
EC2 Instance Savings Plan
Why it's wrong here
The EC2 Instance Savings Plan provides a discount on Amazon EC2 usage but is restricted to a specific instance family within a chosen region. It does not cover Lambda or Fargate usage, nor does it allow changing the instance family. Hence, it does not provide the flexibility required.
When this WOULD be correct
A company expects steady usage of EC2 instances (no Lambda or Fargate) over three years and wants to reduce costs compared to On-Demand while having flexibility to change instance families or regions within EC2. The EC2 Instance Savings Plan would be the correct choice.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The CLF-C02 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓Compute Savings PlanCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
The Compute Savings Plan offers the highest flexibility among AWS savings options. It applies to all compute services (EC2, Lambda, Fargate), all regions, and all instance families. The discount applies to usage up to the committed amount ($/hour), and any usage beyond the commitment is charged at On-Demand rates. This matches the company's need for both savings and flexibility across compute services.
✗Reserved Instances (Standard)Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Standard Reserved Instances lock you to a specific instance family and region for the term, and they cannot be exchanged. The company needs flexibility to change instance families, regions, or switch between compute services (EC2, Lambda, Fargate) without losing the discount, which Standard RIs do not allow.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company expects steady-state usage of a specific EC2 instance type in a specific region for 1 or 3 years and wants the highest possible discount (up to 72%) with no need to change instance family or compute service. They are willing to commit to that exact configuration.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think 'Reserved Instance' is the standard way to get discounts for steady usage, and Standard RIs offer the highest discount, so they might overlook the flexibility requirements in the question.
✗Reserved Instances (Convertible)Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Convertible Reserved Instances allow changing instance families but do not permit switching between different compute services (e.g., from EC2 to Lambda) or changing regions without losing the discount, which the company requires.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company expects steady EC2 usage for three years but wants the flexibility to change instance families (e.g., from m5 to c5) or modify attributes like tenancy or operating system, while still committing to a specific instance family in a region. Convertible RIs would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think 'Convertible' implies full flexibility across services and regions, but it only allows changes within EC2 instance families and certain attributes, not across compute services or regions.
✗EC2 Instance Savings PlanWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The EC2 Instance Savings Plan only applies to EC2 instance usage, not to AWS Lambda or AWS Fargate. The question requires flexibility across compute services, so this plan does not meet the requirement.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company expects steady usage of EC2 instances (no Lambda or Fargate) over three years and wants to reduce costs compared to On-Demand while having flexibility to change instance families or regions within EC2. The EC2 Instance Savings Plan would be the correct choice.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse the EC2 Instance Savings Plan with the Compute Savings Plan, thinking both offer similar flexibility, but the EC2 plan is limited to EC2 instances only.
Analysis generated from the official CLF-C02blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CLF-C02 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CLF-C02 exam.