Free · no account
4-question sample + 10-question diagnostic
Feel the exam style in 3 minutes, then find your weakest domain in 10. Instant per-question explanations. Nothing to sign up for.
The free path
Claude free certification: what is free, what is not
A Claude free certification exists in one sense: Anthropic's courses and course certificates are free, and some partner cohorts sat the exam for $0. The proctored exams cost $99 to $175. All prep here is free - diagnostic, practice, mocks, guides. Here is the exact split.
Prep: 100% freeNo credit card532 questionsExam: $125 (Anthropic)
Free vs paid
The whole path, priced honestly.
Four steps are free; one is paid. Anything that claims otherwise - copied exam questions or guaranteed passes - is selling something else.
Free · account, no card
Adaptive study plan + 532-question bank
A free account saves your diagnostic result and generates a personalized 2/4/8-week plan across the five weighted domains, backed by concepts and production scenarios.
Free · account, no card
30/60-question mock, real 720 pass bar
Timed, stratified to the official blueprint, scored to 1000 with the real 720 cut. 3 lifetime attempts, each followed by a mental-model audit of every miss.
Paid · Anthropic
The official CCA-F exam
The only real cost on the path: a proctored exam administered by Anthropic ($125 per attempt, or $0 for eligible partner employees, currently Partner Network gated).
Why free
Free prep is the model, not a trial.
The certification is new (Anthropic launched it in March 2026), so the honest free path matters: learn on Anthropic Academy (free official courses with completion badges), practice here against the real blueprint weights and the real 720 pass bar, and pay only when you sit the proctored exam. If you cannot register yet - the exam is currently gated through the Anthropic Partner Network - the free prep is how you are ready the day general access opens. The Claude knowledge library connects all of it, and — if your question was really about the product rather than the credential — whether Claude itself is free is answered separately, and the exam guide keeps the sourced facts. Review exam registration and cost before you book.
FAQ
8 questions about the free Claude certification path
Every Q is phrased as a real Google search query. Answers cite the same evidence-tagged sources used elsewhere on the site.
Is there a free Claude certification?
The credential itself - the Claude Certified Architect (CCA-F) - is a proctored exam with a per-attempt fee paid to Anthropic ($125, or $0 for eligible partner-company employees via the 100% partner-network discount). But everything before the exam can be completely free: Anthropic Academy's official courses are free, and all of the prep on this site - the 532-question bank, 10-question diagnostic, adaptive study plan, and 30/60-question mock - is free with no paid tier.
What parts of the Claude certification path are free?
Four of the five steps. Free: learning the body of knowledge (Anthropic Academy + the concepts and scenarios here), the 10-question diagnostic (no account needed), the adaptive study plan (free account), and the 30/60-question mock scored to the real 720/1000 bar (free account, 3 lifetime attempts). Paid: only the official proctored exam, administered by Anthropic.
How much does the Claude certification exam cost?
$125 USD per attempt per Anthropic's v1.0 exam guide, or $0 for eligible partner-company employees via the 100% partner-network discount (during the beta, the first 5,000 partner-employee seats were free). Registration currently runs through the Anthropic Partner Network attestation on Skilljar, and the proctored exam is delivered via Pearson VUE. The fully sourced cost and eligibility facts, with an evidence label on every claim, live on the registration and cost guide.
Can I prepare for the CCA-F completely free?
Yes - that is this site's entire model. The 4-question sample and 10-question diagnostic need no account. A free account (no credit card) unlocks the 30/60-question mock with 3 lifetime attempts, a personalized study plan, and progress tracking. There is no paid tier.
Is Anthropic Academy free?
Yes. Anthropic Academy is Anthropic's free, self-paced learning track - building with the Claude API, MCP, agent skills, and Claude Code - with completion badges. Important distinction: a completion badge is not the certification. The credential is the proctored CCA-F exam. The Claude certification overview explains the two tracks.
Are there free CCA-F exam seats?
At launch, the first 5,000 partner-employee seats were reported free, and partner organizations may receive cohort allocations. There is no public free-seat program for independents today. If you cannot register yet, use the free prep here so you are ready when general access opens.
Do I need a credit card for the free prep?
No. The sample and diagnostic need no account at all. The mock and study plan need a free account - email or Google sign-in, no credit card, no trial that converts to paid. There is no paid tier on this site.
What's the catch with the free prep?
No catch today: every practice mode, the study plan, and all 532 questions are free. Larger paid attempt packs are planned for people who want more than 3 mock attempts, but the core prep path - diagnostic, plan, concepts, scenarios, mock - stays free.