Honest comparison of the best practice tests for Microsoft certifications in 2026 β what to look for, what to avoid, and where to start.
Why Practice Tests Matter for Microsoft Certs
Microsoft certification exams are not knowledge tests in the traditional sense. They're scenario tests. Most questions present a real-world business problem and ask which combination of services, settings, or approaches solves it correctly β often with the added constraint of "minimum cost" or "least administrative effort."
Reading Microsoft Learn modules and watching videos is essential, but it won't prepare you for the format. The only way to get comfortable with Microsoft exam question patterns is to practise with questions that mirror the real exam. That's where practice tests come in.
π‘ How many practice questions do you need? Most candidates who pass Microsoft exams on their first attempt have completed 150β300+ practice questions before exam day. The number matters less than your score β aim to consistently score above 75% on timed practice sessions before booking.
What Makes a Good Microsoft Practice Test
Not all practice tests are created equal. The best ones share these characteristics:
Scenario-based questions: The real exam doesn't ask "what is Azure Blob Storage?" β it asks "a company needs to store 10TB of infrequently accessed images at minimum cost. Which storage tier should they use?" Good practice tests mirror this format.
Detailed explanations: Getting the answer wrong is only useful if you understand why. Every question should have a full explanation covering not just the correct answer but why the incorrect options are wrong.
Up-to-date content: Microsoft updates exam content regularly. Resources from 2023 may still reference "Azure Active Directory" instead of "Microsoft Entra ID." Check when the content was last updated.
Timed exam mode: The real exam has strict time limits. AZ-900 is 60 minutes, SC-300 is 120 minutes. Practise under timed conditions so pacing isn't a surprise on exam day.
Weak area tracking: A good practice tool identifies which topics you're consistently getting wrong so you can focus revision where it matters most.
Practice Tests by Certification
AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals
AZ-900 is the most widely taken Microsoft certification and has the most practice resources available. Be selective β quality varies enormously.
Resource
Questions
Price
Quality
MS Cert Prep
300+
Β£14.99 one-time
Scenario-based, updated June 2026, explanations included
Microsoft Learn
~20 per module
Free
Good for knowledge checks, not exam simulation
MeasureUp
150+
~Β£35
Official Microsoft partner, reliable quality
Udemy (various)
200β400
Β£10βΒ£15 on sale
Varies heavily by instructor β check reviews and date
Whizlabs
200+
~Β£12
Reasonable, some questions are dated
SC-300 Identity and Access Administrator
SC-300 resources are thinner than AZ-900 β it's a more specialised exam with a smaller candidate pool. Quality is more important here since there are fewer options.
Resource
Questions
Price
Quality
MS Cert Prep
100+
Β£19.99 one-time
Scenario-based, Entra ID current naming, explanations
Microsoft Learn
~15 per module
Free
Good baseline, not exam simulation
MeasureUp
100+
~Β£40
Official partner, high quality
Udemy (Scott Duffy)
150+
~Β£15
Solid, regularly updated
AZ-104 Azure Administrator
AZ-104 is harder than AZ-900 and the practice resources reflect that β more scenario complexity, longer questions, case study format.
Resource
Notes
MeasureUp AZ-104
Official Microsoft partner. Reliable, frequently updated. ~Β£40.
Udemy (Scott Duffy / Alan Rodrigues)
Both well-reviewed. Rodrigues updates frequently. ~Β£15 on sale.
ExamTopics
Free, community-sourced. Quality varies β use for exposure but don't rely on it.
Try MS Cert Prep free
10 free questions for AZ-900 and SC-300 β no account needed. See if our question style works for you.
Braindumps: Sites sharing real exam questions verbatim are against Microsoft's exam policies. Using them risks having your certification revoked and being banned from future Microsoft exams. They also don't prepare you to apply knowledge at work.
Outdated resources: Microsoft renamed Azure Active Directory to Microsoft Entra ID in 2023. Any resource still using the old naming extensively is likely behind on other content too.
Free exam simulators with no explanations: Getting a score of 68% tells you nothing useful if you don't know which questions you got wrong and why.
Memorisation-only question banks: If the questions all follow the format "What is X? A) definition B) wrong definition..." they won't prepare you for the real exam's scenario format.
How to Use Practice Tests Effectively
Most candidates use practice tests wrong. They run through a bank of questions once, see a score, and think they're done. Here's a more effective approach:
Take a baseline test first. Before studying, do 20 questions cold. Your score will be low β that's fine. You're identifying which domains you know least.
Study one domain at a time. Use Microsoft Learn to cover the topic, then do 15β20 practice questions on just that domain.
Review every wrong answer in detail. Don't just note the correct answer β understand why each incorrect option was wrong.
Do a full timed mock exam in the final week. 40 questions, 60 minutes for AZ-900. If you're consistently above 75%, you're ready.
Focus on weak areas, not overall score. A 70% overall score with 40% on Security topics is worse than a 68% with balanced performance.