- A
Compute Savings Plan
Why wrong: Incorrect. Compute Savings Plans provide flexibility across EC2 instances, Fargate, and Lambda, but they offer the lowest discount among the options because of this flexibility.
- B
EC2 Instance Savings Plan
Why wrong: Incorrect. EC2 Instance Savings Plans offer discounts for a specific instance family in a region, with flexibility across instance sizes within that family. However, Standard Reserved Instances offer a slightly higher discount for committing to a specific instance type.
- C
Convertible Reserved Instances (3-year, All Upfront)
Why wrong: Incorrect. Convertible Reserved Instances allow you to change the instance family, which provides some flexibility but results in a lower discount compared to Standard Reserved Instances.
- D
Standard Reserved Instances (3-year, All Upfront)
Correct. Standard Reserved Instances with a 3-year term and All Upfront payment offer the highest possible discount for a fixed, predictable workload because they lock in a specific instance type and region with no flexibility.
CLF-C02 Billing, Pricing, and Support Practice Question
This CLF-C02 practice question tests your understanding of billing, pricing, and support. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 steady-state production workload on a fixed number of m5.large EC2 instances in the us-east-1 region. The workload runs 24/7 and the instance type and region are not expected to change. The company wants to obtain the highest possible discount for this workload with a 3-year commitment. Which purchasing option 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
Standard Reserved Instances (3-year, All Upfront)
Standard Reserved Instances (3-year, All Upfront) offer the highest discount for a steady-state workload with a fixed instance type and region because they provide a significant discount over On-Demand pricing in exchange for a commitment to a specific instance family, size, and Availability Zone. Since the workload runs 24/7 on m5.large instances in us-east-1 and the configuration is not expected to change, Standard RIs maximize savings without the flexibility trade-offs that reduce discount rates.
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 Plan
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Compute Savings Plans provide flexibility across EC2 instances, Fargate, and Lambda, but they offer the lowest discount among the options because of this flexibility.
When this WOULD be correct
A company runs multiple instance families (e.g., m5, c5, r5) in different regions and expects to change instance types or regions over the 3-year term. Compute Savings Plans provide flexibility across families and regions while still offering significant discounts.
- ✗
EC2 Instance Savings Plan
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. EC2 Instance Savings Plans offer discounts for a specific instance family in a region, with flexibility across instance sizes within that family. However, Standard Reserved Instances offer a slightly higher discount for committing to a specific instance type.
When this WOULD be correct
A company runs a mix of EC2 instance families (e.g., m5, c5, r5) in the same region and expects to change instance types or sizes over time, but wants to commit to a consistent amount of compute (measured in $/hour) for 3 years to get a discount.
- ✗
Convertible Reserved Instances (3-year, All Upfront)
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Convertible Reserved Instances allow you to change the instance family, which provides some flexibility but results in a lower discount compared to Standard Reserved Instances.
When this WOULD be correct
A company expects to change instance families (e.g., from m5 to c5) or modify other attributes like tenancy or operating system during the 3-year term, but still wants a reservation discount. Convertible RIs provide flexibility to exchange for different instance types while maintaining a discounted rate.
- ✓
Standard Reserved Instances (3-year, All Upfront)
Why this is correct
Correct. Standard Reserved Instances with a 3-year term and All Upfront payment offer the highest possible discount for a fixed, predictable workload because they lock in a specific instance type and region with no flexibility.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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.
✓Standard Reserved Instances (3-year, All Upfront)Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
Correct. Standard Reserved Instances with a 3-year term and All Upfront payment offer the highest possible discount for a fixed, predictable workload because they lock in a specific instance type and region with no flexibility.
✗Compute Savings PlanWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Compute Savings Plans apply to any EC2 instance family, but the question specifies a fixed instance type (m5.large) and region, making EC2 Instance Savings Plan or Standard Reserved Instances more cost-effective. Compute Savings Plans offer less discount (up to 66%) compared to Standard RIs (up to 72%) for steady-state workloads.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company runs multiple instance families (e.g., m5, c5, r5) in different regions and expects to change instance types or regions over the 3-year term. Compute Savings Plans provide flexibility across families and regions while still offering significant discounts.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think Compute Savings Plans always provide the highest discount due to their flexibility, but for a fixed, steady-state workload, Standard RIs offer a higher discount.
✗EC2 Instance Savings PlanWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
EC2 Instance Savings Plan applies to a specific instance family within a region, but the question specifies a fixed number of m5.large instances and no expected changes. Standard Reserved Instances offer a higher discount (up to 72%) than Savings Plans (up to 66%) for steady-state, predictable workloads with a 3-year commitment.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company runs a mix of EC2 instance families (e.g., m5, c5, r5) in the same region and expects to change instance types or sizes over time, but wants to commit to a consistent amount of compute (measured in $/hour) for 3 years to get a discount.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Savings Plans with Reserved Instances, thinking Savings Plans always offer the best discount, or they may not realize that Standard RIs provide a higher discount for steady-state, predictable workloads with no flexibility needs.
✗Convertible Reserved Instances (3-year, All Upfront)Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Convertible Reserved Instances allow changing instance attributes (family, OS, tenancy) during the term, but the question states the instance type and region are fixed and not expected to change. Standard Reserved Instances offer a higher discount (up to 72%) than Convertible (up to 54%) for the same commitment, making Convertible unnecessary and more expensive.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company expects to change instance families (e.g., from m5 to c5) or modify other attributes like tenancy or operating system during the 3-year term, but still wants a reservation discount. Convertible RIs provide flexibility to exchange for different instance types while maintaining a discounted rate.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think Convertible RIs are always better because they offer flexibility, not realizing that flexibility comes at a cost of lower discounts and is unnecessary when requirements are fixed.
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 Savings Plans with Reserved Instances, assuming the flexibility of Savings Plans always yields the best discount, but for a fixed, unchanging workload, Standard RIs provide the highest possible savings due to the stricter commitment.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Standard Reserved Instances provide a capacity reservation in a specific Availability Zone and offer discounts up to 72% compared to On-Demand, while Convertible RIs offer up to 54% and Savings Plans up to 66% for a 3-year All Upfront commitment. The All Upfront payment option maximizes the discount by paying the entire term upfront, eliminating monthly payments and reducing total cost. In real-world scenarios, if the workload were to change instance types or regions, Standard RIs would incur exchange fees or forfeiture, but for a steady-state workload, they are the most cost-effective choice.
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: Standard Reserved Instances (3-year, All Upfront) — Standard Reserved Instances (3-year, All Upfront) offer the highest discount for a steady-state workload with a fixed instance type and region because they provide a significant discount over On-Demand pricing in exchange for a commitment to a specific instance family, size, and Availability Zone. Since the workload runs 24/7 on m5.large instances in us-east-1 and the configuration is not expected to change, Standard RIs maximize savings without the flexibility trade-offs that reduce discount rates.
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 →
Keep practising
More CLF-C02 practice questions
- A company publishes a message each time a new product is added to its catalogue. Three services need to receive this mes…
- A media company stores frequently accessed video thumbnails in Amazon S3. The thumbnails are read multiple times every d…
- A company needs a service to translate domain names (like www.example.com) into IP addresses, check the health of their…
- A startup runs an application on AWS and receives a monthly bill that charges exactly for the number of compute hours us…
- A financial institution runs its core banking application on-premises due to regulatory requirements. It has connected i…
- A company wants to run a MySQL database in AWS without managing database software installation, applying patches, settin…
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.