- A
The entire 1,000 hours are free because each instance is eligible for 750 free hours per month.
Why wrong: This is incorrect. The Free Tier offers 750 total hours per month across all t2.micro instances, not 750 hours per instance.
- B
The first 500 hours of each instance are free, and the remaining 500 hours are charged.
Why wrong: This is incorrect. The Free Tier does not split free hours evenly per instance; it applies to the cumulative usage across all instances.
- C
The first 750 hours of combined usage across both instances are free, and the remaining 250 hours are charged.
This is correct. The Free Tier provides 750 free hours per month aggregated across all t2.micro instances. 750 of the 1,000 hours are free; the additional 250 hours incur charges.
- D
The entire 1,000 hours are charged because the Free Tier only applies to the first month.
Why wrong: This is incorrect. The 12-month Free Tier applies each month for the first 12 months, not only the first month.
Quick Answer
The correct answer is that the first 750 hours of combined usage across both instances are free, and the remaining 250 hours are charged. This is because the AWS Free Tier EC2 750 hours shared pool is a monthly allowance aggregated across all eligible t2.micro or t3.micro instances in any region, not per instance or per account. In the second month, running two instances for 500 hours each totals 1,000 instance-hours, so the pool covers the first 750 hours, and the excess 250 hours incur standard On-Demand charges. On the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 exam, this concept tests your understanding that the Free Tier resets each month for the first 12 months and is a shared bucket, not a per-instance grant. A common trap is assuming each instance gets its own 750 hours or that the Free Tier only applies to the first month. Remember the memory tip: think of the 750-hour pool as a single gas tank shared by all your EC2 cars—once the tank is empty, every extra mile costs you.
CLF-C02 Billing, Pricing, and Support Practice Question
This CLF-C02 practice question tests your understanding of billing, pricing, and support. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company recently signed up for AWS and is using the 12-month Free Tier offer. In the first month, they launched a single Amazon EC2 t2.micro instance and used it for exactly 750 hours. In the second month, they launched a second t2.micro instance and ran both instances simultaneously for 500 hours each (a total of 1,000 instance-hours for the month). Which statement accurately describes the charges for the second month under the Free Tier?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"first"Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
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
The first 750 hours of combined usage across both instances are free, and the remaining 250 hours are charged.
Option C is correct because the AWS Free Tier for EC2 provides 750 hours of t2.micro (or t3.micro) instance usage per month across all regions, aggregated across all instances. In the second month, the combined usage of both instances is 1,000 hours, so the first 750 hours are free, and the remaining 250 hours are charged at standard On-Demand rates. The Free Tier applies each month for the first 12 months, not just the first month, and the 750-hour limit is a pool shared by all eligible instances.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The entire 1,000 hours are free because each instance is eligible for 750 free hours per month.
Why it's wrong here
This is incorrect. The Free Tier offers 750 total hours per month across all t2.micro instances, not 750 hours per instance.
- ✗
The first 500 hours of each instance are free, and the remaining 500 hours are charged.
Why it's wrong here
This is incorrect. The Free Tier does not split free hours evenly per instance; it applies to the cumulative usage across all instances.
- ✓
The first 750 hours of combined usage across both instances are free, and the remaining 250 hours are charged.
Why this is correct
This is correct. The Free Tier provides 750 free hours per month aggregated across all t2.micro instances. 750 of the 1,000 hours are free; the additional 250 hours incur charges.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
The entire 1,000 hours are charged because the Free Tier only applies to the first month.
Why it's wrong here
This is incorrect. The 12-month Free Tier applies each month for the first 12 months, not only the first month.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates mistakenly believe the 750 free hours apply per instance rather than as a shared monthly pool, or that the Free Tier only applies to the first month of account creation.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The AWS Free Tier for EC2 is a monthly aggregate of 750 hours of Linux or Windows t2.micro (or t3.micro in some regions) instance usage, calculated across all instances in all AWS regions. This means if you run two instances simultaneously for 500 hours each, you consume 1,000 instance-hours from the 750-hour pool, leaving 250 hours that incur standard On-Demand charges. In real-world scenarios, this pooling often surprises users who launch multiple instances mid-month, assuming each instance gets its own free allocation, leading to unexpected bills.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CLF-C02 question test?
Billing, Pricing, and Support — This question tests Billing, Pricing, and Support — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The first 750 hours of combined usage across both instances are free, and the remaining 250 hours are charged. — Option C is correct because the AWS Free Tier for EC2 provides 750 hours of t2.micro (or t3.micro) instance usage per month across all regions, aggregated across all instances. In the second month, the combined usage of both instances is 1,000 hours, so the first 750 hours are free, and the remaining 250 hours are charged at standard On-Demand rates. The Free Tier applies each month for the first 12 months, not just the first month, and the 750-hour limit is a pool shared by all eligible instances.
What should I do if I get this CLF-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on CLF-C02
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company wants to use AWS free tier for testing new services. Which statement about the AWS Free Tier is accurate?
medium- A.The Free Tier is available indefinitely for all AWS services
- ✓ B.The Free Tier includes a mix of 12-month free, always free, and short-term trial offers
- C.The Free Tier applies equally to all AWS accounts including Enterprise support customers
- D.AWS does not charge if you stay within Free Tier limits for any service
Why B: Option B is correct because the AWS Free Tier is structured into three categories: 12-month free offers (e.g., 750 hours of EC2 t2.micro per month), always free offers (e.g., 1 million Lambda requests per month), and short-term trials (e.g., 30-day free trial of Amazon Inspector). This mix allows customers to test services without incurring costs for the specified limits and durations.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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