CLF-C02 Billing, Pricing, and Support Practice Question
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?
⚠ Common exam trap
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.
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.
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.
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
The Free Tier does not grant 750 free hours per instance; it grants 750 aggregate instance-hours per month across all t2.micro/t3.micro instances in an account. With two instances running, the combined usage is counted toward that single monthly limit, not independently per instance. Therefore, 1,000 total hours would exhaust the pool at 750 hours, leaving the remaining 250 hours billable, not free.
When this WOULD be correct
This option would be correct if the Free Tier offered 750 free hours per instance per month, rather than aggregated across all instances. For example, if the question stated 'each t2.micro instance receives 750 free hours per month,' then two instances would each have 750 free hours, making 1,000 total hours free.
- ✗
The first 500 hours of each instance are free, and the remaining 500 hours are charged.
Why it's wrong here
The Free Tier does not divide the monthly allowance evenly among running instances; it applies to the total cumulative usage across all instances, regardless of how many instances are used. A 500/500 split is an arbitrary assumption that does not reflect AWS metering. Since the combined usage is 1,000 instance-hours, the pooled 750-hour free allowance is consumed first, and the excess is charged—there is no per-instance free allocation.
When this WOULD be correct
This option would be correct if the Free Tier offered 750 free hours per instance per month, rather than aggregated across all instances. For example, if the question stated: 'Each t2.micro instance receives 750 free hours per month under the Free Tier,' then running two instances for 500 hours each would leave 250 free hours per instance unused, and all 1,000 hours would be free.
- ✓
The first 750 hours of combined usage across both instances are free, and the remaining 250 hours are charged.
Why this is correct
The AWS Free Tier for EC2 includes 750 hours of Linux t2.micro (or t3.micro in certain regions) usage per month for the first 12 months, aggregated across all eligible instances. Running two t2.micro instances for 500 hours each totals 1,000 instance-hours; the first 750 are free and the remaining 250 are billed at standard on-demand rates. This aggregation is key: the allowance is a single monthly pool, not a per-instance credit.
- ✗
The entire 1,000 hours are charged because the Free Tier only applies to the first month.
Why it's wrong here
This answer misstates the duration of the Free Tier. The 12-month Free Tier is not a one-time benefit; it renews monthly, providing a fresh 750-hour allowance each month for 12 consecutive months. After the first month, you would still get 750 free hours, so running two instances for 500 hours in a later month would also be partially free. Only after the 12-month window expires do all eligible usage hours become billable.
When this WOULD be correct
This option would be correct if the question stated that the Free Tier only applies to the first month of account activation, and the second month is outside the Free Tier period, so all usage is charged.
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.
✓The first 750 hours of combined usage across both instances are free, and the remaining 250 hours are charged.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
The AWS Free Tier for EC2 includes 750 hours of Linux t2.micro (or t3.micro in certain regions) usage per month for the first 12 months, aggregated across all eligible instances. Running two t2.micro instances for 500 hours each totals 1,000 instance-hours; the first 750 are free and the remaining 250 are billed at standard on-demand rates. This aggregation is key: the allowance is a single monthly pool, not a per-instance credit.
✗The entire 1,000 hours are free because each instance is eligible for 750 free hours per month.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The Free Tier provides 750 hours of Amazon EC2 t2.micro instance usage per month, aggregated across all instances. Running two instances for 500 hours each totals 1,000 hours, so only the first 750 hours are free, not the entire 1,000 hours.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
This option would be correct if the Free Tier offered 750 free hours per instance per month, rather than aggregated across all instances. For example, if the question stated 'each t2.micro instance receives 750 free hours per month,' then two instances would each have 750 free hours, making 1,000 total hours free.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may mistakenly think the Free Tier applies per instance rather than aggregated, or they may misinterpret '750 hours per month' as a per-instance allowance instead of a total monthly limit.
✗The first 500 hours of each instance are free, and the remaining 500 hours are charged.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The Free Tier provides 750 hours of Amazon EC2 t2.micro instance usage per month, aggregated across all instances. It does not allocate 750 free hours per instance; instead, it covers the first 750 hours of total usage. Running two instances for 500 hours each results in 1,000 total hours, so only the first 750 hours are free, and the remaining 250 hours are charged.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
This option would be correct if the Free Tier offered 750 free hours per instance per month, rather than aggregated across all instances. For example, if the question stated: 'Each t2.micro instance receives 750 free hours per month under the Free Tier,' then running two instances for 500 hours each would leave 250 free hours per instance unused, and all 1,000 hours would be free.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may mistakenly think the Free Tier allocates free hours on a per-instance basis, similar to how some other cloud providers or promotional offers work, leading them to believe each instance gets its own 750-hour allowance.
✗The entire 1,000 hours are charged because the Free Tier only applies to the first month.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The Free Tier offer applies for 12 months, not just the first month. In the second month, the first 750 hours of combined usage across all EC2 instances are free, so the entire 1,000 hours are not charged.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
This option would be correct if the question stated that the Free Tier only applies to the first month of account activation, and the second month is outside the Free Tier period, so all usage is charged.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may misinterpret the '12-month Free Tier' as only covering the first month, or they may confuse it with a one-time free trial that expires after the first month.
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?”
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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.