Claude Associate vs Architect Certification: Which One?
Chapters
- Five Questions
- Side by Side
- Who Each Exam Is For
- Question One: Do You Code
- The Domains Compared
- Question Two: Six Months Building
- Question Three: Partner Credit
- Question Four: How Much Reading
- Can You Take Both
- Our Suggestion
- Recap
Audio from the Open Exam Hub video of the same name; the video shows the numbers and practice questions on screen.
Free Claude Certified Associate practice test
Claude Certified Associate (CCAO-F) or Claude Certified Architect, Foundations (CCAR-F)? Both have 60 items in 120 minutes and a scaled pass mark of 720, valid 12 months. The Associate is $99 with 7 domains for people who use Claude at work; Architect Foundations is $125 with 5 domains for people who build with the Claude API, Agent SDK, Claude Code and MCP, and it counts toward Claude Partner Network tier eligibility (the Associate does not). We compare who each is for, sample questions, blueprints, experience, guide length (11 vs 39 pages, 3 vs 12 sample questions, our count), discounts, retakes and the December 7, 2026 Associate update, then give a five-question decision guide. From Anthropic's exam guides v1.0 and certification pages, read October 27, 2026. Independent guide, not affiliated with Anthropic.
Free practice tests
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Chapters
0:00 Five Questions
0:58 Side by Side
1:38 Who Each Exam Is For
2:28 Question One: Do You Code
3:13 The Domains Compared
4:03 Question Two: Six Months Building
4:52 Question Three: Partner Credit
5:34 Question Four: How Much Reading
6:19 Can You Take Both
7:05 Our Suggestion
7:51 Recap
Exam facts are from the official Anthropic (Claude Certification Program, Anthropic Partner Academy) and Pearson VUE pages as of 2026-10-27. Fees and rules can change, so confirm on the official site before you enroll. Open Exam Hub is an independent study resource, not affiliated with Anthropic or Pearson VUE. Practice questions are not from a real exam. Narration is an AI-generated voice.
Music
"Friday Morning" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
"Carefree" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
"Fresh Air" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
"Reminiscing" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Sound effects: Kenney (kenney.nl), CC0.
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