- A
Compute Savings Plans provide higher discounts than EC2 Instance Savings Plans
Why wrong: EC2 Instance Savings Plans provide the higher discount (up to 72%) in exchange for committing to a specific instance family and region. Compute Savings Plans offer up to 66% for maximum flexibility.
- B
EC2 Instance Savings Plans are more flexible and apply across all instance families
Why wrong: EC2 Instance Savings Plans are the less flexible option — they're committed to a specific instance family in a specific region.
- 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
Compute Savings Plans offer maximum flexibility (any family, any region, includes Fargate and Lambda) at a slightly lower discount. EC2 Instance Plans offer higher discounts for committing to a specific family and region.
- D
Both Savings Plans types require specifying the exact instance size at purchase
Why wrong: Neither Savings Plans type requires specifying a specific instance size — both apply to any size within their scope (family for EC2 Instance Plans, any for Compute Plans).
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 is using Amazon EC2 and wants to understand the difference between Compute Savings Plans and EC2 Instance Savings Plans. Which statement is accurate?
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 apply to any EC2 instance, Fargate, and Lambda usage, while EC2 Instance Savings Plans apply to a specific instance family and region
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.
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.
- ✗
Compute Savings Plans provide higher discounts than EC2 Instance Savings Plans
Why it's wrong here
EC2 Instance Savings Plans provide the higher discount (up to 72%) in exchange for committing to a specific instance family and region. Compute Savings Plans offer up to 66% for maximum flexibility.
- ✗
EC2 Instance Savings Plans are more flexible and apply across all instance families
Why it's wrong here
EC2 Instance Savings Plans are the less flexible option — they're committed to a specific instance family in a specific region.
- ✓
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
Why this is correct
Compute Savings Plans offer maximum flexibility (any family, any region, includes Fargate and Lambda) at a slightly lower discount. EC2 Instance Plans offer higher discounts for committing to a specific family and region.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Both Savings Plans types require specifying the exact instance size at purchase
Why it's wrong here
Neither Savings Plans type requires specifying a specific instance size — both apply to any size within their scope (family for EC2 Instance Plans, any for Compute Plans).
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume Compute Savings Plans always provide higher discounts due to their broader scope, but in reality, the discount is lower because flexibility is traded for a reduced rate, while EC2 Instance Savings Plans offer higher discounts for committing to a more specific usage pattern.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Savings Plans are hourly commitment-based pricing models where you commit to a consistent amount of compute usage (measured in $/hour) for a 1- or 3-year term. Compute Savings Plans aggregate usage across EC2, Fargate, and Lambda into a single hourly commitment, automatically applying the discounted rate to any eligible compute usage up to the commitment amount, while EC2 Instance Savings Plans require you to commit to a specific instance family (e.g., c5) in a specific region, and any usage beyond the commitment is charged at On-Demand rates. A subtle behavior is that if you change instance families or regions, Compute Savings Plans continue to apply discounts, but EC2 Instance Savings Plans do not, which can lead to unexpected costs if workload migration occurs.
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.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
What to study next
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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: 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 — 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.
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
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