- A
Compute Savings Plans (3-year, partial upfront)
Compute Savings Plans provide discounts on compute usage across EC2, Fargate, and Lambda, with flexibility across instance families and regions. This matches the company's need for cross-service flexibility and a 3-year commitment.
- B
EC2 Instance Savings Plans (3-year, no upfront)
Why wrong: EC2 Instance Savings Plans are tied to a specific instance family in a region (e.g., m5 in us-east-1). They do not allow moving to a different instance family or to services like Fargate or Lambda, so they do not meet the flexibility requirement.
- C
Standard Reserved Instances (1-year, all upfront)
Why wrong: Standard Reserved Instances are specific to a particular instance type, size, and Availability Zone. They cannot be used across different instance families or non-EC2 services, and the 1-year term does not match the desired 3-year commitment for maximum savings.
- D
Convertible Reserved Instances (3-year, all upfront)
Why wrong: Convertible Reserved Instances offer flexibility to change instance attributes, but they are limited to EC2 instances and require an exchange process that may not always be available. They do not cover Fargate or Lambda usage, so they are less compatible with the company's multi-service environment.
Compute Savings Plans
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 set of steady-state workloads on Amazon EC2 instances and Amazon ECS Fargate tasks. The company expects consistent usage for the next 3 years and wants to reduce compute costs. The company prefers flexibility to move workloads between different instance families and across different AWS compute services (EC2, ECS, and Lambda) without committing to a specific instance type or family. Which AWS pricing model meets 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
Compute Savings Plans (3-year, partial upfront)
Compute Savings Plans (3-year, partial upfront) is correct because it provides the highest flexibility, allowing workloads to move between EC2 instances, ECS Fargate, and Lambda without committing to a specific instance family or compute service. The 3-year term with partial upfront offers the maximum discount (up to 66%) for steady-state workloads while still enabling the required flexibility across compute services. This pricing model automatically applies the lowest price across any region and compute option, making it ideal for the described steady-state but flexible workload.
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 (3-year, partial upfront)
Why this is correct
Compute Savings Plans provide discounts on compute usage across EC2, Fargate, and Lambda, with flexibility across instance families and regions. This matches the company's need for cross-service flexibility and a 3-year commitment.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
EC2 Instance Savings Plans (3-year, no upfront)
Why it's wrong here
EC2 Instance Savings Plans are tied to a specific instance family in a region (e.g., m5 in us-east-1). They do not allow moving to a different instance family or to services like Fargate or Lambda, so they do not meet the flexibility requirement.
When this WOULD be correct
A company runs steady-state workloads on EC2 instances of a specific instance family (e.g., m5) and expects consistent usage for 3 years. They want the lowest possible cost without needing flexibility across instance families or compute services.
- ✗
Standard Reserved Instances (1-year, all upfront)
Why it's wrong here
Standard Reserved Instances are specific to a particular instance type, size, and Availability Zone. They cannot be used across different instance families or non-EC2 services, and the 1-year term does not match the desired 3-year commitment for maximum savings.
When this WOULD be correct
A company has predictable, steady-state workloads on EC2 instances, knows the exact instance family and region needed, and wants the highest discount without needing flexibility to change instance types or move to other compute services.
- ✗
Convertible Reserved Instances (3-year, all upfront)
Why it's wrong here
Convertible Reserved Instances offer flexibility to change instance attributes, but they are limited to EC2 instances and require an exchange process that may not always be available. They do not cover Fargate or Lambda usage, so they are less compatible with the company's multi-service environment.
When this WOULD be correct
A company needs to run steady-state workloads on EC2 for 3 years, expects to change instance families (e.g., from compute-optimized to memory-optimized) during that period, and does not need to cover ECS or Lambda.
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.
✓Compute Savings Plans (3-year, partial upfront)Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
Compute Savings Plans provide discounts on compute usage across EC2, Fargate, and Lambda, with flexibility across instance families and regions. This matches the company's need for cross-service flexibility and a 3-year commitment.
✗EC2 Instance Savings Plans (3-year, no upfront)Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
EC2 Instance Savings Plans apply to specific instance families within a region, so they do not provide flexibility to move workloads across different instance families or to other compute services like ECS Fargate and Lambda.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company runs steady-state workloads on EC2 instances of a specific instance family (e.g., m5) and expects consistent usage for 3 years. They want the lowest possible cost without needing flexibility across instance families or compute services.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse EC2 Instance Savings Plans with Compute Savings Plans, assuming both offer similar flexibility, or they may overlook the requirement for cross-service flexibility and focus only on the 3-year term and cost savings.
✗Standard Reserved Instances (1-year, all upfront)Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Standard Reserved Instances require a commitment to a specific instance family and region, and do not offer flexibility across different instance families or compute services like ECS and Lambda.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company has predictable, steady-state workloads on EC2 instances, knows the exact instance family and region needed, and wants the highest discount without needing flexibility to change instance types or move to other compute services.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think Reserved Instances are the best way to reduce costs for steady-state workloads, overlooking the flexibility requirement that makes Compute Savings Plans more suitable.
✗Convertible Reserved Instances (3-year, all upfront)Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Convertible Reserved Instances require commitment to a specific instance family and do not cover ECS Fargate or Lambda, failing the requirement for flexibility across compute services.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company needs to run steady-state workloads on EC2 for 3 years, expects to change instance families (e.g., from compute-optimized to memory-optimized) during that period, and does not need to cover ECS or Lambda.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think 'Convertible' implies flexibility across services, but it only allows changes within EC2 instance families, not across compute services like ECS or Lambda.
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?”
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse EC2 Instance Savings Plans (which lock to a family) with Compute Savings Plans (which offer cross-service flexibility), or they assume Convertible RIs provide the same flexibility as Compute Savings Plans, but Convertible RIs cannot cover Fargate or Lambda and require manual exchanges.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Compute Savings Plans apply to any EC2 instance (including those in Auto Scaling groups), ECS Fargate, and Lambda usage across any region, automatically applying the lowest hourly rate. The discount is based on a commitment to a consistent dollar amount per hour (e.g., $10/hour) rather than a specific instance count, which means if you exceed the commitment, you pay on-demand rates for the excess. Under the hood, AWS uses a 'blended rate' calculation where the Savings Plan discount is applied to the first matching usage in each hour, and any remaining usage is billed at on-demand rates, making it ideal for unpredictable but steady workloads.
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 (3-year, partial upfront) — Compute Savings Plans (3-year, partial upfront) is correct because it provides the highest flexibility, allowing workloads to move between EC2 instances, ECS Fargate, and Lambda without committing to a specific instance family or compute service. The 3-year term with partial upfront offers the maximum discount (up to 66%) for steady-state workloads while still enabling the required flexibility across compute services. This pricing model automatically applies the lowest price across any region and compute option, making it ideal for the described steady-state but flexible workload.
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
2 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. Which AWS pricing model allows customers to commit to a consistent amount of compute usage (measured in $/hour) for a 1 or 3-year term in exchange for significant discounts, without being locked to specific instance types?
hard- A.Standard Reserved Instances
- B.Spot Instances
- ✓ C.Compute Savings Plans
- D.Convertible Reserved Instances
Why C: Compute Savings Plans offer the flexibility to commit to a consistent amount of compute usage (measured in $/hour) for a 1- or 3-year term, providing significant discounts (up to 66%) without requiring you to lock into specific instance types, families, or regions. This model automatically applies the discount to any EC2 instance, Fargate, or Lambda usage within the committed compute commitment, making it the correct answer.
Variation 2. A company runs a containerized application on Amazon ECS using a mix of Amazon EC2 On-Demand instances from different instance families (e.g., M5, C5, R5). The workload is consistent, and the company is willing to commit to a 1-year term to reduce costs. However, the team expects to change instance families within the next 12 months due to new hardware requirements and wants the flexibility to switch instance families without incurring a financial penalty. Which pricing option best meets these requirements?
medium- ✓ A.Compute Savings Plans
- B.EC2 Instance Savings Plans
- C.Convertible Reserved Instances
- D.Standard Reserved Instances
Why A: Compute Savings Plans provide the most flexibility by applying a discounted hourly commitment (e.g., $10/hour) across any EC2 instance family, region, OS, or tenancy, and also cover Fargate and Lambda usage. Since the company expects to change instance families within the 1-year term, Compute Savings Plans allow switching without penalty, unlike instance-specific plans.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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