CLF-C02 Billing, Pricing, and Support Practice Question
A company is reviewing their AWS bill and notices charges for Amazon CloudWatch. Which specific CloudWatch usage would NOT incur additional charges beyond the CloudWatch free tier?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently assume all CloudWatch monitoring is free, but AWS specifically charges for detailed monitoring and custom metrics beyond the free tier limits, while basic monitoring remains free to encourage foundational observability without upfront costs.
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
✓
Basic monitoring (5-minute metrics) for EC2 instances
Basic monitoring for EC2 instances provides metrics at 5-minute intervals at no additional cost, as it is included in the CloudWatch free tier. Detailed monitoring (1-minute metrics) incurs charges because it requires more frequent data collection and storage. Therefore, basic monitoring is the only option that does not generate extra charges beyond the free tier.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Detailed monitoring (1-minute metrics) for EC2 instances
Why it's wrong here
Detailed monitoring for EC2 switches CloudWatch from the default 5-minute Basic monitoring to 1-minute metric resolution. This is an opt-in, per-instance paid feature, so it is not included at no additional charge. It can improve Auto Scaling responsiveness and provide denser CPU, network, and disk data, but it will appear as a metered cost on the AWS bill.
- ✓
Basic monitoring (5-minute metrics) for EC2 instances
Why this is correct
Basic monitoring is the default CloudWatch monitoring mode for every EC2 instance, automatically enabled when the instance launches. It publishes standard metrics at 5-minute intervals at no additional cost, regardless of how long the instance runs. Because it is the only EC2 monitoring option that is truly free and requires no setup, this is the correct answer.
- ✗
Publishing 100 custom metrics
Why it's wrong here
The CloudWatch free tier includes exactly 10 custom metrics per month, not 100. Publishing 100 custom metrics would leave 90 metrics beyond the free allowance, and those 90 would incur per-metric monthly charges based on standard or high-resolution pricing. Therefore, this option is wrong because it describes a paid usage pattern, not a no-cost service.
- ✗
Storing CloudWatch Logs beyond the free tier
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs provides a limited free allowance — typically the first 5GB of data ingested per month and one month of archival storage — after which per-GB ingestion and storage fees apply. Storing logs beyond that free tier means you are paying for log ingestion, storage, or both. So while logs might be free in small initial amounts, they are not free once the usage exceeds the advertised tier.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
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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.