- A
AWS Cost Explorer
Why wrong: AWS Cost Explorer provides visual dashboards and graphs of historical cost and usage data, including the ability to filter by instance type or region. However, it does not generate rightsizing recommendations; it only displays the data. You would need to manually analyze the data to identify over-provisioned instances.
- B
AWS Compute Optimizer
AWS Compute Optimizer uses machine learning to analyze historical utilization metrics of EC2 instances (CPU, memory, network, etc.) and delivers actionable recommendations to downsize or modify instance types to lower costs while maintaining performance. It provides ongoing, automated recommendations.
- C
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why wrong: AWS Trusted Advisor inspects an AWS environment and makes recommendations across cost optimization, performance, security, and fault tolerance. While it includes some cost optimization checks (e.g., idle instances), it does not provide the detailed, utilization-based rightsizing recommendations for over-provisioned instances that Compute Optimizer offers.
- D
AWS Budgets
Why wrong: AWS Budgets allows you to set custom cost and usage budgets and receive alerts when your actual or forecasted usage exceeds thresholds. It is a monitoring and alerting tool, not a resource optimization service. It cannot analyze instance utilization or recommend downsizing.
Quick Answer
The answer is AWS Compute Optimizer. This service is correct because it uses machine learning to analyze historical utilization metrics like CPU, memory, and network I/O from your EC2 instances, then generates automated, ongoing right-size EC2 recommendations to identify and downsize over-provisioned instances, directly reducing monthly costs. On the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding of which service handles automated resource optimization versus manual tools like Cost Explorer or Trusted Advisor; a common trap is confusing it with AWS Cost Explorer, which only shows cost data without specific right-sizing suggestions. Remember the memory tip: “Compute Optimizer computes the right fit” — it’s the only service that continuously learns from your actual usage to recommend downsizing.
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 hundreds of Amazon EC2 instances across multiple accounts. The finance team wants to identify over-provisioned instances that are using more memory or CPU than necessary, so that they can downsize them and reduce monthly costs. The team needs automated, ongoing recommendations based on the actual utilization metrics of the instances. Which AWS service should the team use to meet these requirements?
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
AWS Compute Optimizer
AWS Compute Optimizer is the correct service because it uses machine learning to analyze historical utilization metrics (CPU, memory, and network) of EC2 instances and generates automated, ongoing recommendations for right-sizing or downsizing over-provisioned instances. This directly meets the finance team's requirement for automated, continuous recommendations based on actual utilization to reduce monthly costs.
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.
- ✗
AWS Cost Explorer
Why it's wrong here
AWS Cost Explorer provides visual dashboards and graphs of historical cost and usage data, including the ability to filter by instance type or region. However, it does not generate rightsizing recommendations; it only displays the data. You would need to manually analyze the data to identify over-provisioned instances.
- ✓
AWS Compute Optimizer
Why this is correct
AWS Compute Optimizer uses machine learning to analyze historical utilization metrics of EC2 instances (CPU, memory, network, etc.) and delivers actionable recommendations to downsize or modify instance types to lower costs while maintaining performance. It provides ongoing, automated recommendations.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why it's wrong here
AWS Trusted Advisor inspects an AWS environment and makes recommendations across cost optimization, performance, security, and fault tolerance. While it includes some cost optimization checks (e.g., idle instances), it does not provide the detailed, utilization-based rightsizing recommendations for over-provisioned instances that Compute Optimizer offers.
- ✗
AWS Budgets
Why it's wrong here
AWS Budgets allows you to set custom cost and usage budgets and receive alerts when your actual or forecasted usage exceeds thresholds. It is a monitoring and alerting tool, not a resource optimization service. It cannot analyze instance utilization or recommend downsizing.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS Trusted Advisor's cost optimization checks (which are static and limited to idle instances) with Compute Optimizer's dynamic, ML-driven right-sizing recommendations, leading them to choose Trusted Advisor instead of the more precise Compute Optimizer.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
AWS Compute Optimizer leverages the CloudWatch metrics (e.g., CPUUtilization, MemoryUtilization) collected over a lookback period of up to 93 days and applies machine learning models to identify over-provisioned instances. It provides recommendations with a confidence score and estimated monthly savings, and can be configured to automatically apply rightsizing via AWS Systems Manager or custom automation. In a multi-account environment, it can be enabled through AWS Organizations to provide a centralized view of recommendations across all accounts.
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.
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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: AWS Compute Optimizer — AWS Compute Optimizer is the correct service because it uses machine learning to analyze historical utilization metrics (CPU, memory, and network) of EC2 instances and generates automated, ongoing recommendations for right-sizing or downsizing over-provisioned instances. This directly meets the finance team's requirement for automated, continuous recommendations based on actual utilization to reduce monthly costs.
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.
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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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