- A
Create a budget in AWS Budgets for the account, set the budget amount to $10,000, configure an alert for actual cost at 80% of the budget amount, and specify an email address to receive the notification.
Correct. AWS Budgets allows you to set a cost budget and define alerts for actual or forecasted costs. When the actual costs reach the 80% threshold, Budgets sends a notification to the specified email address. This is a fully managed feature with no custom code or infrastructure required.
- B
Create a cost allocation tag in the Billing and Cost Management console, then configure an Amazon SNS topic to send an email when the tag's cost reaches $8,000.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Cost allocation tags are used to categorize costs (e.g., by project or department) for reporting in Cost Explorer and the Cost and Usage Report. They do not have any built-in alerting or budget enforcement capabilities. Tags cannot trigger notifications.
- C
Create a usage report in AWS Cost Explorer, set a forecast alert at 80% of the monthly budget, and configure the report to be sent via email.
Why wrong: Incorrect. AWS Cost Explorer is a tool for visualizing, analyzing, and exploring your AWS costs and usage over time. It can generate reports, but it does not provide alerting or notification features based on cost thresholds. Forecasts are displayed visually, not sent as alerts.
- D
Create an AWS Lambda function that queries the AWS Cost Explorer API daily, compares actual cost to the budget, and sends an email if costs exceed $8,000.
Why wrong: Incorrect. While this approach could technically work, it is unnecessarily complex. The project manager wants a solution that requires no custom code or managed infrastructure. AWS Budgets already provides this exact functionality as a free, built-in service, making a custom Lambda function an incorrect choice when a simpler managed option exists.
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 has a monthly budget of $10,000 for its development AWS account. The project manager wants to receive an automated email alert when the actual costs for the current month reach 80% of the budget. The project manager does not want to build any custom code or manage any infrastructure for this alert. Which approach should the project manager take 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
Create a budget in AWS Budgets for the account, set the budget amount to $10,000, configure an alert for actual cost at 80% of the budget amount, and specify an email address to receive the notification.
AWS Budgets allows you to set a monthly budget of $10,000 and configure an alert to trigger when actual costs reach 80% ($8,000). The alert can send an email notification directly without requiring any custom code or infrastructure management, meeting the project manager's requirements exactly.
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.
- ✓
Create a budget in AWS Budgets for the account, set the budget amount to $10,000, configure an alert for actual cost at 80% of the budget amount, and specify an email address to receive the notification.
Why this is correct
Correct. AWS Budgets allows you to set a cost budget and define alerts for actual or forecasted costs. When the actual costs reach the 80% threshold, Budgets sends a notification to the specified email address. This is a fully managed feature with no custom code or infrastructure required.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Create a cost allocation tag in the Billing and Cost Management console, then configure an Amazon SNS topic to send an email when the tag's cost reaches $8,000.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Cost allocation tags are used to categorize costs (e.g., by project or department) for reporting in Cost Explorer and the Cost and Usage Report. They do not have any built-in alerting or budget enforcement capabilities. Tags cannot trigger notifications.
When this WOULD be correct
This approach would be correct if the requirement was to receive a notification when costs associated with a specific tag (e.g., a project or department) reach a certain threshold, and the company is willing to build a custom solution using Lambda or similar to query the API and publish to SNS.
- ✗
Create a usage report in AWS Cost Explorer, set a forecast alert at 80% of the monthly budget, and configure the report to be sent via email.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. AWS Cost Explorer is a tool for visualizing, analyzing, and exploring your AWS costs and usage over time. It can generate reports, but it does not provide alerting or notification features based on cost thresholds. Forecasts are displayed visually, not sent as alerts.
When this WOULD be correct
If the requirement were to generate a recurring cost analysis report (e.g., weekly usage report) without alerts, and the user wanted to receive it via email, Cost Explorer reports with scheduled delivery would be correct.
- ✗
Create an AWS Lambda function that queries the AWS Cost Explorer API daily, compares actual cost to the budget, and sends an email if costs exceed $8,000.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. While this approach could technically work, it is unnecessarily complex. The project manager wants a solution that requires no custom code or managed infrastructure. AWS Budgets already provides this exact functionality as a free, built-in service, making a custom Lambda function an incorrect choice when a simpler managed option exists.
When this WOULD be correct
This option would be correct if the requirements included custom logic (e.g., complex cost calculations, multi-account aggregation) or integration with other systems, and the candidate was willing to manage serverless infrastructure.
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.
✓Create a budget in AWS Budgets for the account, set the budget amount to $10,000, configure an alert for actual cost at 80% of the budget amount, and specify an email address to receive the notification.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
Correct. AWS Budgets allows you to set a cost budget and define alerts for actual or forecasted costs. When the actual costs reach the 80% threshold, Budgets sends a notification to the specified email address. This is a fully managed feature with no custom code or infrastructure required.
✗Create a cost allocation tag in the Billing and Cost Management console, then configure an Amazon SNS topic to send an email when the tag's cost reaches $8,000.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Cost allocation tags are used for tracking and categorizing costs, not for setting budgets or alerts. Amazon SNS alone cannot monitor costs or trigger alerts based on tag cost thresholds without custom code.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
This approach would be correct if the requirement was to receive a notification when costs associated with a specific tag (e.g., a project or department) reach a certain threshold, and the company is willing to build a custom solution using Lambda or similar to query the API and publish to SNS.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think cost allocation tags can directly trigger alerts, or that SNS can monitor costs, because both are related to billing and notifications, but they lack the built-in budget alerting capability of AWS Budgets.
✗Create a usage report in AWS Cost Explorer, set a forecast alert at 80% of the monthly budget, and configure the report to be sent via email.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
AWS Cost Explorer does not support setting alerts or automated email notifications; it is a visualization and analysis tool only.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the requirement were to generate a recurring cost analysis report (e.g., weekly usage report) without alerts, and the user wanted to receive it via email, Cost Explorer reports with scheduled delivery would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Cost Explorer's reporting capabilities with alerting features, assuming it can trigger notifications like AWS Budgets.
✗Create an AWS Lambda function that queries the AWS Cost Explorer API daily, compares actual cost to the budget, and sends an email if costs exceed $8,000.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The project manager does not want to build any custom code or manage any infrastructure, but this option requires creating and managing an AWS Lambda function, which violates that constraint.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
This option would be correct if the requirements included custom logic (e.g., complex cost calculations, multi-account aggregation) or integration with other systems, and the candidate was willing to manage serverless infrastructure.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think AWS Budgets is insufficient for custom thresholds or alerts, and assume a Lambda-based solution offers more flexibility, overlooking the 'no custom code' requirement.
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 may overcomplicate the solution by choosing a custom-coded approach (Lambda) or a reporting tool (Cost Explorer) when AWS Budgets provides a simple, managed, and code-free alerting mechanism directly in the Billing and Cost Management console.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
AWS Budgets uses the AWS Budgets API to track costs against a defined budget and can send notifications via Amazon SNS or email. The alert is evaluated multiple times per day, and the threshold is based on actual costs (not forecasted), ensuring timely notification when spending reaches 80% of the $10,000 budget. This service is fully managed, requiring no server or code maintenance.
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
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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: Create a budget in AWS Budgets for the account, set the budget amount to $10,000, configure an alert for actual cost at 80% of the budget amount, and specify an email address to receive the notification. — AWS Budgets allows you to set a monthly budget of $10,000 and configure an alert to trigger when actual costs reach 80% ($8,000). The alert can send an email notification directly without requiring any custom code or infrastructure management, meeting the project manager's requirements exactly.
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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