- A
Switch the instances to Spot Instances and use interruption handling because it is the largest discount.
Why wrong: Spot Instances provide strong discounts, but interruption tolerance is required, which the workload lacks.
- B
Purchase a Compute Savings Plan for the expected steady hourly usage in that Region.
Compute Savings Plans discount the usage while allowing flexibility across instance families and sizes in the Region.
- C
Purchase a Standard Reserved Instance tied to a single specific instance type for the next 3 years.
Why wrong: Standard RIs can reduce cost, but they are less flexible when the team needs instance-type changes.
- D
Keep On-Demand and rely on Auto Scaling to reduce capacity when utilization is low.
Why wrong: Auto Scaling can help, but for interruption-intolerant 24/7 usage it usually cannot match Savings Plans.
SAA-C03 Design Cost-Optimized Architectures Practice Question
This SAA-C03 practice question tests your understanding of design cost-optimized architectures. 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 media company runs a 24/7 recommendation engine on EC2 in one AWS Region. The workload is interruption-intolerant, and the team expects steady usage but may change instance families and sizes during planned optimizations. Compared to the current On-Demand setup, they want the lowest cost while avoiding the rigidity of locking to a specific instance type.
What should the solutions architect recommend?
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 expected steady hourly usage in that Region.
B is correct because a Compute Savings Plan offers the lowest cost for steady-state workloads without locking to a specific instance type, providing up to 66% discount compared to On-Demand while allowing flexibility to change instance families, sizes, OS, or tenancy within a Region. This matches the requirement for cost savings and flexibility during planned optimizations.
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.
- ✗
Switch the instances to Spot Instances and use interruption handling because it is the largest discount.
Why it's wrong here
Spot Instances provide strong discounts, but interruption tolerance is required, which the workload lacks.
- ✓
Purchase a Compute Savings Plan for the expected steady hourly usage in that Region.
Why this is correct
Compute Savings Plans discount the usage while allowing flexibility across instance families and sizes in the Region.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Purchase a Standard Reserved Instance tied to a single specific instance type for the next 3 years.
Why it's wrong here
Standard RIs can reduce cost, but they are less flexible when the team needs instance-type changes.
- ✗
Keep On-Demand and rely on Auto Scaling to reduce capacity when utilization is low.
Why it's wrong here
Auto Scaling can help, but for interruption-intolerant 24/7 usage it usually cannot match Savings Plans.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often choose Spot Instances for cost savings without considering the interruption-intolerant requirement, or they select Standard Reserved Instances for the highest discount without recognizing the rigidity penalty for planned instance family changes.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Compute Savings Plans apply to any EC2 instance usage (including Fargate and Lambda) within a Region, automatically covering the first N dollars of usage at the discounted rate, regardless of instance family or size. This flexibility is achieved by AWS mapping the plan to the On-Demand rate of the specific instance used, applying the discount percentage (e.g., 66% for 3-year all upfront) to the effective hourly cost. In contrast, EC2 Instance Savings Plans lock to a specific instance family within a Region, which would still restrict changes across families.
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 expected steady hourly usage in that Region. — B is correct because a Compute Savings Plan offers the lowest cost for steady-state workloads without locking to a specific instance type, providing up to 66% discount compared to On-Demand while allowing flexibility to change instance families, sizes, OS, or tenancy within a Region. This matches the requirement for cost savings and flexibility during planned optimizations.
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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