- A
Purchase a Compute Savings Plan for the always-on API fleet.
Correct. Compute Savings Plans discount steady usage across EC2 and other compute services without forcing a specific instance family. The API has predictable 24/7 demand, so a commitment fits the usage pattern and lowers cost safely.
- B
Move the transcoding workers to EC2 Spot Instances and checkpoint progress.
Correct. Spot Instances are the best fit for interruptible, restartable batch work. Checkpointing limits the impact of interruption, so the company can absorb Spot interruptions while paying substantially less than On-Demand capacity.
- C
Replace the API fleet with Dedicated Hosts to lock in lower rates.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Dedicated Hosts are primarily for licensing or isolation requirements, not cost reduction. They are usually more expensive and do not solve the cost problem for a steady web API.
- D
Buy Standard Reserved Instances for the batch workers and keep them running 24/7.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Reserved Instances assume predictable long-running usage, but the batch workers are mostly idle. Paying for always-on capacity defeats the purpose of cost optimization for this workload.
- E
Increase the worker Auto Scaling minimum to prevent Spot interruptions.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Raising the minimum keeps more capacity running continuously and increases cost. It also does not eliminate Spot interruptions, so it undermines the savings goal.
SAA-C03 Design Cost-Optimized Architectures Practice Question
This SAA-C03 practice question tests your understanding of design cost-optimized architectures. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 media company runs a 24/7 ingestion API on EC2 behind an Application Load Balancer and a nightly transcoding job that can resume from checkpoints. The API fleet runs at roughly 65 percent CPU all day, while the batch workers sit idle most of the time. The company wants to cut compute cost without risking the API. Which two changes should they make? Select two.
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
Purchase a Compute Savings Plan for the always-on API fleet.
A is correct because a Compute Savings Plan offers the largest discount (up to 66%) in exchange for a 1- or 3-year commitment to a consistent amount of compute usage (measured in $/hour), regardless of instance family, region, or OS. The API fleet runs at a steady 65% CPU 24/7, making it an ideal candidate for this flexible, cost-saving commitment without locking into a specific instance type.
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.
- ✓
Purchase a Compute Savings Plan for the always-on API fleet.
Why this is correct
Correct. Compute Savings Plans discount steady usage across EC2 and other compute services without forcing a specific instance family. The API has predictable 24/7 demand, so a commitment fits the usage pattern and lowers cost safely.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Move the transcoding workers to EC2 Spot Instances and checkpoint progress.
Why this is correct
Correct. Spot Instances are the best fit for interruptible, restartable batch work. Checkpointing limits the impact of interruption, so the company can absorb Spot interruptions while paying substantially less than On-Demand capacity.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Replace the API fleet with Dedicated Hosts to lock in lower rates.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Dedicated Hosts are primarily for licensing or isolation requirements, not cost reduction. They are usually more expensive and do not solve the cost problem for a steady web API.
- ✗
Buy Standard Reserved Instances for the batch workers and keep them running 24/7.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Reserved Instances assume predictable long-running usage, but the batch workers are mostly idle. Paying for always-on capacity defeats the purpose of cost optimization for this workload.
- ✗
Increase the worker Auto Scaling minimum to prevent Spot interruptions.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Raising the minimum keeps more capacity running continuously and increases cost. It also does not eliminate Spot interruptions, so it undermines the savings goal.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Dedicated Hosts with cost savings (they are for licensing, not cost reduction) and assume Reserved Instances are always the best choice for any workload, ignoring that Spot Instances are far more cost-effective for interruptible batch jobs.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Compute Savings Plans apply to EC2, Fargate, and Lambda usage, automatically covering any instance family or region up to the committed $/hour amount, which is ideal for variable or evolving workloads. Spot Instances can be up to 90% cheaper than On-Demand and are perfect for fault-tolerant, checkpointable batch jobs like transcoding; the checkpoint mechanism allows the job to resume from the last saved state if the instance is interrupted, ensuring no data loss. Under the hood, Spot interruptions give a 2-minute warning via the EC2 Instance Metadata Service and Amazon EventBridge, which the application can use to save progress before termination.
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 SAA-C03 question test?
Design Cost-Optimized Architectures — This question tests Design Cost-Optimized Architectures — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Purchase a Compute Savings Plan for the always-on API fleet. — A is correct because a Compute Savings Plan offers the largest discount (up to 66%) in exchange for a 1- or 3-year commitment to a consistent amount of compute usage (measured in $/hour), regardless of instance family, region, or OS. The API fleet runs at a steady 65% CPU 24/7, making it an ideal candidate for this flexible, cost-saving commitment without locking into a specific instance type.
What should I do if I get this SAA-C03 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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