Microsoft · Professional Certification · Associate
Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)
Crydd Score 84
Demand High
Career Value High
Recognition Strong
AZ-104 at a glance
- Provider
- Microsoft
- Credential type
- Professional Certification
- Exam required
- Yes
- Category
- Cloud
- Level
- Associate
- Cost
- $165
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Time to earn
- 2–3 months
- Validity
- 1 year (free online renewal)
- Format
- 40–60 questions, about 120 minutes
- Prerequisites
- None required; 6+ months of Azure experience recommended
What is AZ-104?
Microsoft's core operations certification for Azure: identities, governance, storage, compute, and virtual networks. It's the standard credential for administering the cloud that most large enterprises run on.
Skills it covers
- Azure identities and governance
- Virtual networks
- Storage
- Compute management
Is AZ-104 worth it? The Crydd Verdict
CS 84Choose it if
Your target companies are Microsoft shops — enterprises, government, and most large non-tech organizations — where Azure administration is the daily reality.
Consider alternatives if
You're optimizing for the broadest cloud job market, where AWS SAA still appears in more listings overall.
Why we say so
Enterprise Azure adoption keeps demand high; the annual renewal is free but worth knowing about before committing.
Market demand
Azure roles are heavily concentrated in enterprise and public-sector hiring, where AZ-104 is the assumed baseline for administrators.
Where AZ-104 takes you
- Cloud Engineer
- Systems Administrator
- DevOps Engineer
Career roadmaps show where this certification fits in each path. See the roadmaps.
Related certifications
Curated connections from the catalog — each labelled with how it relates to AZ-104, so you know why it’s here.
Careers AZ-104 leads to
The professional paths this certification genuinely serves — browse every relevant credential for each.
A sensible order
Where AZ-104 sits on the path — build up, then step on.
