- A
Amazon EC2 Reserved Instances (Standard)
Why wrong: Standard Reserved Instances are locked to a specific instance family, size, and Availability Zone within a region. They apply only to EC2, not Lambda or ECS tasks, and cannot be changed without incurring fees.
- B
Amazon EC2 Reserved Instances (Convertible)
Why wrong: Convertible Reserved Instances allow changes to instance families and sizes but still apply only to EC2 usage. They do not cover Lambda or ECS tasks, and the exchange process is manual and may involve value balancing.
- C
Compute Savings Plans
Compute Savings Plans automatically apply to EC2, AWS Lambda, and AWS Fargate usage. They offer significant discounts and allow flexibility across instance families, sizes, regions, and compute services without any modification to the commitment.
- D
AWS Savings Plans (EC2 Instance Savings Plans)
Why wrong: EC2 Instance Savings Plans apply only to EC2 usage and are restricted to a specific instance family within a region. They do not cover Lambda or ECS tasks, and lack the cross-service flexibility of Compute Savings Plans.
Quick Answer
The answer is Compute Savings Plans. This is the correct choice because it offers the most flexible pricing model across EC2, Lambda, and ECS Fargate, automatically applying a significant discount—up to 66% compared to On-Demand—to all three services without requiring you to commit to a specific instance family, region, or even compute service. For the steady 24/7 three-year workload described, Compute Savings Plans allow you to change instance families, switch regions, or migrate from EC2 to Lambda without modifying your commitment, making it ideal for dynamic architectures. On the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding of the key difference between Compute Savings Plans and EC2 Instance Savings Plans: the former covers all three compute services, while the latter locks you into a specific instance family within a single region. A common trap is choosing EC2 Instance Savings Plans for a multi-service workload, so remember that Compute Savings Plans are the “broad umbrella” for EC2, Lambda, and Fargate. Memory tip: “Compute covers everything; EC2 locks the family.”
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 runs a production web application that uses Amazon EC2 instances, AWS Lambda functions, and Amazon ECS tasks. The application runs 24/7 and the company expects steady usage for the next three years. The company wants to commit to a flexible pricing model that provides significant discounts compared to On-Demand and automatically applies to usage across all three compute services. The company also wants the flexibility to change instance families, regions, or even migrate between compute services (e.g., from EC2 to Lambda) without needing to modify the commitment. Which AWS pricing model should the company choose?
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 Plans
Compute Savings Plans offer the required flexibility: they automatically apply to EC2 instances, Lambda functions, and ECS Fargate usage, provide significant discounts (up to 66%) compared to On-Demand, and allow changes to instance families, regions, or compute services without modifying the commitment. This model is ideal for steady 24/7 workloads over a three-year term, as it combines broad compute coverage with automatic discount application.
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.
- ✗
Amazon EC2 Reserved Instances (Standard)
Why it's wrong here
Standard Reserved Instances are locked to a specific instance family, size, and Availability Zone within a region. They apply only to EC2, not Lambda or ECS tasks, and cannot be changed without incurring fees.
- ✗
Amazon EC2 Reserved Instances (Convertible)
Why it's wrong here
Convertible Reserved Instances allow changes to instance families and sizes but still apply only to EC2 usage. They do not cover Lambda or ECS tasks, and the exchange process is manual and may involve value balancing.
- ✓
Compute Savings Plans
Why this is correct
Compute Savings Plans automatically apply to EC2, AWS Lambda, and AWS Fargate usage. They offer significant discounts and allow flexibility across instance families, sizes, regions, and compute services without any modification to the commitment.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
AWS Savings Plans (EC2 Instance Savings Plans)
Why it's wrong here
EC2 Instance Savings Plans apply only to EC2 usage and are restricted to a specific instance family within a region. They do not cover Lambda or ECS tasks, and lack the cross-service flexibility of Compute Savings Plans.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Compute Savings Plans with EC2 Instance Savings Plans, mistakenly thinking the latter also covers Lambda and ECS, but EC2 Instance Savings Plans are restricted to a specific instance family and region, and only apply to EC2 usage.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Compute Savings Plans operate at the hourly commitment level (e.g., $10/hour) and automatically discount eligible compute usage from EC2, Lambda, and ECS Fargate, regardless of instance family, region, or service migration. Under the hood, AWS applies the discount based on the On-Demand rate of the resource, with the plan covering up to 66% savings for a 3-year term, and any usage beyond the commitment is billed at standard On-Demand rates. A real-world scenario: a company migrating from EC2 m5 instances to Lambda functions for a microservice can keep the same Compute Savings Plan, and the discount automatically applies to the new Lambda usage without any renegotiation.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
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.
- →
Billing, Pricing, and Support — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Billing, Pricing, and Support practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All CLF-C02 questions
1,024 questions across all exam domains
- →
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
CLF-C02 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related CLF-C02 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Cloud Concepts practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to Cloud Concepts.
Security and Compliance practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to Security and Compliance.
Cloud Technology and Services practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to Cloud Technology and Services.
Billing, Pricing, and Support practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to Billing, Pricing, and Support.
AWS shared responsibility model practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS shared responsibility model.
AWS IAM practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS IAM.
AWS pricing practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS pricing.
AWS support plans practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS support plans.
AWS S3 practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS S3.
AWS EC2 practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS EC2.
Practice this exam
Start a free CLF-C02 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
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: Compute Savings Plans — Compute Savings Plans offer the required flexibility: they automatically apply to EC2 instances, Lambda functions, and ECS Fargate usage, provide significant discounts (up to 66%) compared to On-Demand, and allow changes to instance families, regions, or compute services without modifying the commitment. This model is ideal for steady 24/7 workloads over a three-year term, as it combines broad compute coverage with automatic discount application.
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.
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
3 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 runs a combination of Amazon EC2 instances and AWS Lambda functions for its applications. The finance team wants to reduce costs by making a commitment to a consistent amount of compute usage (measured in dollars per hour) for a 1-year term. The team wants the flexibility to change instance families, sizes, and AWS regions, and also wants the commitment to cover both EC2 and Lambda usage. Which AWS pricing option should the team purchase?
medium- ✓ A.Compute Savings Plans
- B.EC2 Instance Savings Plans
- C.Reserved Instances
- D.Spot Instances
Why A: Compute Savings Plans provide the required flexibility to change instance families, sizes, and AWS regions, and they automatically apply to both EC2 and Lambda usage. This plan offers a discounted hourly rate in exchange for a 1-year commitment to a consistent amount of compute spend (measured in dollars per hour), making it the only option that meets all the stated requirements.
Variation 2. 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?
medium- A.Reserved Instances (Standard)
- B.Reserved Instances (Convertible)
- ✓ C.Compute Savings Plan
- D.EC2 Instance Savings Plan
Why C: 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.
Variation 3. A company is using Amazon EC2 and wants to understand the difference between Compute Savings Plans and EC2 Instance Savings Plans. Which statement is accurate?
hard- A.Compute Savings Plans provide higher discounts than EC2 Instance Savings Plans
- B.EC2 Instance Savings Plans are more flexible and apply across all instance families
- ✓ C.Compute Savings Plans apply to any EC2 instance, Fargate, and Lambda usage, while EC2 Instance Savings Plans apply to a specific instance family and region
- D.Both Savings Plans types require specifying the exact instance size at purchase
Why C: Option C is correct because Compute Savings Plans offer the broadest flexibility, automatically applying to any EC2 instance (regardless of family, size, or region), as well as AWS Fargate and AWS Lambda usage. In contrast, EC2 Instance Savings Plans are restricted to a specific instance family within a chosen region, providing a narrower scope of coverage. This distinction is fundamental to understanding how each plan optimizes costs based on workload flexibility.
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.