- A
Buy a Compute Savings Plan for the predictable baseline usage.
Correct. A Compute Savings Plan discounts predictable compute spend across ECS and Lambda without binding the team to one instance family. That flexibility matches a mixed compute estate and avoids overcommitting.
- B
Move the event-driven tasks to AWS Lambda instead of keeping a separate always-on service.
Correct. Lambda removes idle server cost for small, infrequent tasks and fits event-driven processing well. This lowers operational overhead and avoids paying for a service that mostly waits for work.
- C
Buy an EC2 Instance Savings Plan tied to one instance family for all workloads.
Why wrong: Incorrect. An EC2 Instance Savings Plan is more restrictive than a Compute Savings Plan and does not cover the Lambda portion of the estate. The vendor would lose flexibility without improving coverage.
- D
Use Spot Instances for the control plane because it is the largest bill.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Control planes usually require steady availability and should not depend on interruptible capacity. Spot is a poor fit when service stability matters more than the last increment of savings.
- E
Increase the ECS desired count so Lambda can be removed.
Why wrong: Incorrect. More ECS tasks mean more always-on compute cost, which directly conflicts with the cost-reduction goal. It also adds unnecessary operational burden instead of reducing it.
Quick Answer
The answer is to move the event-driven tasks to AWS Lambda and purchase a Compute Savings Plan. This is correct because a Compute Savings Plan provides the largest discount—up to 66%—across both ECS and Lambda usage without requiring a commitment to a specific instance family, making it the ideal flexible billing option for a mixed workload with a steady baseline. On the SAA-C03 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how Compute Savings Plans differ from EC2 Instance Savings Plans, which lock you into a specific family; a common trap is selecting an EC2 Instance Savings Plan for ECS, but that would not cover Lambda. The key memory tip is: Compute Savings Plan covers compute across EC2, ECS, and Lambda, while Instance Savings Plans are family-specific.
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 SaaS vendor has a steady 24/7 control plane on ECS and several small event-driven tasks that currently run on a separate always-on service. Management wants the billing discount that applies across both ECS and Lambda usage without committing to a specific instance family. Which two actions are best? Select two.
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"best"Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Clue:
"always"Why it matters: Absolute qualifier. An answer using 'always' is only correct if there are genuinely no exceptions — absolute statements are often wrong in networking.
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
Buy a Compute Savings Plan for the predictable baseline usage.
A Compute Savings Plan offers the largest discount (up to 66%) across both ECS and Lambda usage without committing to a specific instance family, which matches the requirement to cover both services flexibly. It applies to any EC2 instance, including those used by ECS, and to AWS Lambda compute, making it ideal for a mixed workload with a predictable baseline.
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.
- ✓
Buy a Compute Savings Plan for the predictable baseline usage.
Why this is correct
Correct. A Compute Savings Plan discounts predictable compute spend across ECS and Lambda without binding the team to one instance family. That flexibility matches a mixed compute estate and avoids overcommitting.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "best", "always" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Move the event-driven tasks to AWS Lambda instead of keeping a separate always-on service.
Why this is correct
Correct. Lambda removes idle server cost for small, infrequent tasks and fits event-driven processing well. This lowers operational overhead and avoids paying for a service that mostly waits for work.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "best", "always" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Buy an EC2 Instance Savings Plan tied to one instance family for all workloads.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. An EC2 Instance Savings Plan is more restrictive than a Compute Savings Plan and does not cover the Lambda portion of the estate. The vendor would lose flexibility without improving coverage.
- ✗
Use Spot Instances for the control plane because it is the largest bill.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Control planes usually require steady availability and should not depend on interruptible capacity. Spot is a poor fit when service stability matters more than the last increment of savings.
- ✗
Increase the ECS desired count so Lambda can be removed.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. More ECS tasks mean more always-on compute cost, which directly conflicts with the cost-reduction goal. It also adds unnecessary operational burden instead of reducing it.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse Savings Plans with Reserved Instances or Spot Instances, assuming a specific instance family commitment is required, or they think Spot Instances can replace a billing discount mechanism for a steady workload.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Compute Savings Plans apply to any EC2 instance (including those in ECS Fargate or EC2 launch type) and to Lambda duration and provisioned concurrency, measured in dollars per hour of compute. The discount is applied automatically to eligible usage, and the plan covers up to 66% savings compared to On-Demand, with no upfront commitment to instance family or region. In real-world scenarios, this allows a SaaS vendor to consolidate billing for a mixed architecture of containerized services and serverless functions under a single commitment.
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.
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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: Buy a Compute Savings Plan for the predictable baseline usage. — A Compute Savings Plan offers the largest discount (up to 66%) across both ECS and Lambda usage without committing to a specific instance family, which matches the requirement to cover both services flexibly. It applies to any EC2 instance, including those used by ECS, and to AWS Lambda compute, making it ideal for a mixed workload with a predictable baseline.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best", "always". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on SAA-C03
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. A SaaS vendor has a steady 24/7 control plane on ECS and several small event-driven tasks that currently run on a separate always-on service. Management wants the billing discount that applies across both ECS and Lambda usage without committing to a specific instance family. Which two actions are best? Select two.
hard- ✓ A.Buy a Compute Savings Plan for the predictable baseline usage.
- ✓ B.Move the event-driven tasks to AWS Lambda instead of keeping a separate always-on service.
- C.Buy an EC2 Instance Savings Plan tied to one instance family for all workloads.
- D.Use Spot Instances for the control plane because it is the largest bill.
- E.Increase the ECS desired count so Lambda can be removed.
Why A: A Compute Savings Plan offers the largest discount (up to 66%) across both ECS and Lambda usage without committing to a specific instance family, which matches the requirement for a flexible discount. It applies to any EC2 instance, including those used by ECS, and also covers AWS Lambda compute usage, making it ideal for mixed workloads with predictable baseline usage.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This SAA-C03 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 SAA-C03 exam.
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