Ultimate Guide to Alibaba Cloud Certifications (2025)
If you’re planning a cloud career in Asia-Pacific or working with companies expanding into the region, earning Alibaba Cloud certifications is one of the smartest moves you can make. The program was refreshed in 2025 to be more role-based and skills-focused, making it easier for students and early-career professionals to build confidence and prove real-world competence. In this guide, you’ll learn exactly how the new Alibaba Cloud certifications work, which one fits your goals, how to prepare efficiently, what it costs, and how to turn your new credential into job opportunities. Along the way, we’ll reference the latest official changes and policies so you’re studying with reliable, up-to-date information.
What Changed in 2025—and Why It Matters
Alibaba Cloud revamped its certification framework to align more closely with job roles and “key skills.” This means less confusion about which exam you need and more emphasis on practical abilities you’ll use on the job. The big idea: certifications that are modern, role-driven, and easier to apply across cloud environments—good news if you already know AWS/Azure/GCP and want to add Alibaba Cloud to your toolkit. The Academy describes this explicitly in its 2025 updates and monthly rollouts
Actionable takeaway: If you’ve been waiting to start because the old ACA/ACP/ACE tracks felt confusing, start now. The new role-based structure is clearer and maps directly to typical cloud jobs.
The Current Alibaba Cloud Certifications (At a Glance)
The refreshed lineup focuses on Associate, Professional, and Expert levels, with live exams you can register for today:
Cloud Engineer (Associate), CEA‑C01
50 questions, 90 minutes, pass score 70, price ~USD 200; online or test center.
Cloud Security Engineer (Associate), CSA‑C01
50 questions, 90 minutes, pass score 70, price ~USD 200; online or test center.
Cloud Architect (Professional), CAP‑C01
50 questions, 90 minutes, pass score 70, price ~USD 200; online or test center.
Solutions Architect (Expert), SAE‑C01
Expert level; delivered at Pearson VUE test centers (no online proctoring). See classroom prep and confirm exam specifics at registration.
There are also targeted options like the ACP Cloud Adoption Framework (governance, migration, operating model), which currently lists a lower exam price (USD 120) and online availability.
Actionable takeaway: Choose your role path first. If you deploy and operate core services, start with Cloud Engineer (Associate). If you design systems end to end, aim for Cloud Architect (Professional). If you’re security-focused, target Cloud Security Engineer (Associate). Very experienced architects can work toward Solutions Architect (Expert).
Legacy Tracks, Retirements, and Replacements
To reduce overlap and simplify paths, Alibaba Cloud retired several older tracks in early/mid‑2025 and introduced direct replacements:
ACA Cloud Computing → Cloud Engineer (Associate), CEA‑C01
ACP Cloud Computing → Cloud Architect (Professional), CAP‑C01
ACE Cloud Computing → Solutions Architect (Expert), SAE‑C01
ACA Cloud Security → Cloud Security Engineer (Associate), CSA‑C01
Transition windows include End‑of‑Sale (EOS), End‑of‑Life (EOL), and a grace period for holders of retiring credentials. The Academy’s official update pages list the precise dates and replacements.
A special note on ACA System Operator: it’s transitioning to SysOps Administrator (Associate). As of October 29, 2025, the official July update states:
EOS: August 28, 2025
EOL: November 28, 2025
Grace period until February 27, 2026
This supersedes an older page that mentioned an October 16 retirement—follow the update-announcement timelines.
Actionable takeaway: If you hold a retiring cert, mark your calendar with its grace period end date. Plan to recertify into the replacement track before your current credential expires.
Exam Delivery, Scheduling, and Policies
You purchase exams via Alibaba Cloud Academy and schedule them with Pearson VUE. Most Associate and Professional exams support online proctoring (OnVUE) and test center delivery; Expert‑level (e.g., SAE/ACE) must be taken at a Pearson VUE center. Important Online Proctoring note: OnVUE is not offered in Mainland China or Japan, and proctoring is conducted in English.
Common policies to remember:
Retake rule: wait 14 days between professional exams.
Validity: most certifications are valid for 2 years. Credentials earned before an exam’s EOL remain valid for two years; the Academy communicates recertification options/discounts as programs evolve.
Actionable takeaway: If you need online delivery, verify OnVUE availability before you purchase. If you’re going Expert‑level, plan for a test‑center visit.
What Each Exam Covers (Skills and Domains)
Alibaba Cloud certifications emphasize practical skills you’ll use on day one. While each exam’s official outline provides the precise scope and sample questions, here’s the common skill map you can expect:
Cloud Engineer (Associate), CEA‑C01:
Provisioning and operating core services (ECS, VPC, SLB, OSS, RDS)
Identity and access with RAM; basic policies and permissions
Monitoring and logging (CloudMonitor, ActionTrail) and basic troubleshooting
Foundational security and cost-awareness across services
Format: 50 questions, 90 minutes, 70/100 pass, ~USD 200
Cloud Security Engineer (Associate), CSA‑C01:
Security Center, Cloud Firewall, WAF, encryption, RAM
Audit/forensics with ActionTrail and configuration governance
Incident response, threat detection, secure-by-default practices
Format: 50 questions, 90 minutes, 70/100 pass, ~USD 200
Cloud Architect (Professional), CAP‑C01:
Enterprise VPC design, high availability (HA) and disaster recovery (DR)
Data services and performance (RDS, Analytic DB), caching/CDN
Secure-by-design architectures; cost/performance optimization
Global acceleration/edge patterns (GA, CDN), hybrid connectivity (CEN, Express Connect)
Format: 50 questions, 90 minutes, 70/100 pass, ~USD 200
Solutions Architect (Expert), SAE‑C01:
Deep architecture scenarios and best practices; historically longer and more complex than Associate/Professional
Delivery: test center only; confirm current details during registration
Prep path: 3‑day classroom training recommended
Actionable takeaway: Before you buy an exam, download the official outline and sample questions on its page. Use them as your “table of contents” for study.
How to Choose Your First Alibaba Cloud Certification
If you’re a student or transitioning professional, pick a path that matches your day‑to‑day responsibilities and the jobs you want:
Choose Cloud Engineer (Associate) if:
You’ll be deploying and operating core services, writing basic scripts, and supporting app teams with infrastructure needs.
Choose Cloud Security Engineer (Associate) if:
You’re drawn to security controls, policy enforcement, and incident response across Alibaba Cloud.
Choose Cloud Architect (Professional) if:
You design end‑to‑end solutions, integrate multiple services, and care about resilience, performance, and cost.
Choose Solutions Architect (Expert) if:
You already have deep experience and want to validate advanced, enterprise‑grade design skills in a proctored test‑center exam.
Actionable takeaway: Search job posts in your target city for “Alibaba Cloud” to see which certifications employers prefer. Many listings in Singapore and Indonesia note ACA/ACP/Alibaba Cloud certifications as “preferred” or “required”.
The 8–10 Week Study Plan (Reusable for Any Track)
You can compress or stretch this plan depending on your background, but this cadence works for most learners.
Week 1–2: Foundation and Setup
Download the exam outline and sample questions; identify your gaps.
Complete the core e‑learning modules or enroll in the classroom course for your track (2‑day CAP, 3‑day SAE).
Build a personal lab: deploy ECS + VPC with subnets, attach SLB, configure OSS and an RDS instance, create RAM users/policies, and set up CloudMonitor alarms.
Week 3–5: Core Domains and Hands‑On Labs
Networking and connectivity: VPC design, NAT, security groups, basic CEN/GA patterns.
Operations: logging (ActionTrail), metrics, dashboards, alerting, backup/restore.
Security (for CSA/architects): WAF, Cloud Firewall, Security Center, KMS/encryption, compliance scenarios.
Complete at least 6–8 guided labs from the exam page/course path.
Week 6–7: Architecture and Scenarios
Build multi‑tier architectures with HA and failover.
Add CDN/GA for global acceleration, and practice performance/cost tuning.
Run through scenario-based practice questions; note weak areas and revisit docs.
Week 8–9: Final Review and Booking
Do 2–3 rounds of practice questions.
Summarize “gotchas” (IAM boundary cases, quota limits, SLB behaviors, ossutil).
Purchase the exam and schedule it 7–10 days out via Pearson VUE (confirm OnVUE eligibility; Expert must be test center).
Week 10: Light Touch + Rest
Review your notes; avoid heavy cramming the day before.
Sleep well, test your system (if OnVUE), and arrive early (if test center).
Actionable takeaway: Treat hands‑on labs as non‑negotiable. Even for multiple‑choice exams, lab time locks in concepts and boosts your speed on scenario questions.
Costs, Discounts, and Ways to Save
Typical prices (USD):
Associate/Professional (CEA/CSA/CAP): about $200 per exam.
Specialty example: ACP Cloud Adoption Framework around $120.
Expert pricing varies; confirm at checkout. Expert exams are test‑center only.
How to reduce costs:
Alibaba Cloud Academy Membership (advertised around $19.90/year) can unlock free/discounted Clouders/Specialties and occasional challenges that award free ACA attempts; verified students via Student Central may receive benefits.
Join live challenges or regional events promoted by Alibaba Cloud Academy—they sometimes include exam vouchers as prizes.
Actionable takeaway: If you’re a student, verify your status early. Free training and occasional vouchers can make your first certification nearly cost‑free.
Registration Steps (No Surprises)
Step 1: Decide your track and read the latest update-announcement (to confirm codes/dates).
Step 2: Purchase the exam on Alibaba Cloud Academy (log in with your Alibaba Cloud account).
Step 3: Schedule via Pearson VUE—choose test center or online (OnVUE), depending on eligibility.
Step 4: Prepare your ID, testing environment (for OnVUE), and arrive early (for test center). Expert exams require a test‑center appointment.
Step 5: If you don’t pass, use the 14‑day retake gap for targeted review.
Actionable takeaway: Book your slot 1–2 weeks ahead. The commitment pressure helps you stay on track with your study plan.
Career Value and ROI (Especially in APAC)
Alibaba Cloud remains a top global IaaS provider and an APAC mainstay. Gartner’s worldwide IaaS report confirms Alibaba’s continuing global share and role among the top cloud providers. That translates to hiring demand across Southeast Asia, East Asia, and companies with China-related workloads.
Certifications also matter for partners. Channel and training guidance often specify minimum certification counts (e.g., multiple ACPs for distributors/resellers), which means employers value team members who hold Alibaba Cloud credentials.
Actionable takeaway: Add your new certification to your resume and LinkedIn, and explicitly mention the services and scenarios you mastered (e.g., “Designed HA VPC architecture with CEN and GA; implemented WAF + Cloud Firewall policies”). Recruiters search for these keywords.
Real-World Focus Areas You’ll Use on the Job
Across the new tracks, you’ll repeatedly practice:
Multi‑VPC and hybrid connectivity patterns (VPC, NAT, security groups, CEN/GA, Express Connect).
Highly available architectures with SLB, Auto Scaling, and fault domains.
Data platform options (RDS, AnalyticDB, MaxCompute), caching/CDN for performance.
Observability and audit (CloudMonitor, ActionTrail), governance (Config), and cost awareness.
Secure-by-default designs using RAM, KMS/encryption, Security Center, WAF, and Cloud Firewall.
You’ll also see Alibaba Cloud share enterprise‑scale scenarios in 2024–2025 emphasizing modern, containerized workloads and media/AI scalability—reassuring signals that the skills you learn map to live deployments.
Actionable takeaway: When you lab, don’t just “click through.” Capture architecture diagrams and brief writeups. These become powerful portfolio assets for interviews.
Mapping the Old to the New (So You Don’t Get Lost)
If you’re transitioning from earlier tracks:
ACA Cloud Computing → Cloud Engineer (Associate), CEA‑C01
ACP Cloud Computing → Cloud Architect (Professional), CAP‑C01
ACE Cloud Computing → Solutions Architect (Expert), SAE‑C01
ACA Cloud Security → Cloud Security Engineer (Associate), CSA‑C01
ACA System Operator → SysOps Administrator (Associate) (transition in progress)
Refer to the official update pages for EOS/EOL/grace dates, which changed across Q1–Q4 2025 as the Academy rolled out the refresh.
Actionable takeaway: If your old cert is close to expiring, don’t wait. The new replacement paths are available now and better aligned with hiring manager expectations.
Smart Study Habits That Make a Difference
Focus on hands‑on labs. Reading is not enough. Practice deploying VPCs, setting RAM policies, and configuring WAF/Cloud Firewall rules, so you build “muscle memory.”
Teach back what you learn. A simple blog post or GitHub repo with your diagrams and notes solidifies your understanding and doubles as a portfolio.
Practice scenario questions. Don’t just memorize facts—think: “Which design meets X requirement under Y constraints?”
Pace yourself. A steady 8–10 weeks (1–2 hours per weekday, 4–6 hours on weekends) beats last‑minute cramming.
Actionable takeaway: After each lab, write three bullet points: what you did, why you did it that way, and one alternative you considered. This trains you to think like an architect.
Bonus: Student and Budget-Friendly Tactics
Use Academy Membership to access free/discounted micro‑certs and watch for challenges that award exam attempts—especially for ACA-level exams.
If you’re a verified student (Student Central), ask about current benefits and vouchers.
Mix in Capability & Competency Certifications to deepen product knowledge at low or no cost.
Actionable takeaway: Schedule your big cert right after a micro‑cert sprint. The momentum transfers and your recall is sharper.
FAQs
Q1: Which Alibaba Cloud certification should I start with?
If you’re new to Alibaba Cloud and work in deployment/operations, begin with Cloud Engineer (Associate), CEA‑C01. If your role centers on solution design, target Cloud Architect (Professional), CAP‑C01. Security-focused learners should pursue Cloud Security Engineer (Associate), CSA‑C01. Experienced architects can plan for Solutions Architect (Expert), SAE‑C01.
Q2: Can I take Alibaba Cloud exams online?
Most Associate/Professional exams support online proctoring (OnVUE) or test center delivery. OnVUE is not available in Mainland China or Japan and is proctored in English. Expert-level (SAE/ACE) must be taken at a Pearson VUE test center.
Q3: How long are the certifications valid?
Generally two years. If a track retires, credentials earned before EOL remain valid for two years. Recertification paths and any discounts are communicated by Alibaba Cloud Academy during transitions.
Q4: What’s the retake policy?
You must wait 14 days between professional exams. Use that time to review weak areas and complete additional labs.
Q5: How much do exams cost, and are there discounts?
Associate/Professional exams typically cost around USD 200; some specialty exams (e.g., Cloud Adoption Framework) list lower prices (around USD 120). Academy Membership, student benefits, and periodic challenges can reduce your costs or offer exam attempts for free.
Conclusion:
Alibaba Cloud’s 2025 certification refresh makes it easier than ever to choose a role-aligned path and prove job-ready skills. Start by picking the certification that matches your day-to-day work—Cloud Engineer, Cloud Security Engineer, or Cloud Architect—and commit to a practical, hands-on study plan. If you’re already an experienced architect, set your sights on the Expert exam. Use official outlines, do the labs, and take advantage of membership/student perks and challenges. With steady effort over 8–10 weeks, you’ll build real confidence—and a credential that opens doors across APAC and beyond.
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