Azure Certification Comparisons

AI-900, DP-900, AI-102, and DP-100 compared so you can choose the right path for your goals.

Official details may change: use this guide for orientation and always check the specific exam pages when booking.

Quick overview

Certification Goal Prerequisites Best for Next step
AI-900 Foundational AI/ML literacy and Azure AI services. No coding required. Students, non-technical roles, entry-level. AI-102
DP-900 Foundational Data concepts, SQL/NoSQL, analytics on Azure. No coding; basic SQL helpful. Students, data entry-level. DP-100
AI-102 Advanced Design & integrate Azure AI solutions. Hands-on Azure and AI services. Developers, AI/ML engineers, tech leads. Production/MLOps specializations.
DP-100 Advanced End‑to‑end data science with Azure ML. Python/ML, Azure ML, pipelines. Data scientists and ML engineers. Senior data roles/MLOps.

AI-900 vs DP-900

Choose AI-900 when

  • You want AI/ML concepts and Azure AI services.
  • You’re in a non-technical/business role needing AI literacy.
  • Your target is AI-102.

Choose DP-900 when

  • You want strong data, SQL, NoSQL and analytics foundations.
  • You’re aiming at DP-100 or data roles.
  • Your team is becoming more data‑driven on Azure.

AI-900 vs AI-102

AI-900 (foundational)

Concepts and service overview; no coding required.

AI-102 (advanced)

Design, integration, and productionization of Azure AI services; Azure experience recommended.

AI-102 vs DP-100

AI-102 – AI Engineering

Integrates Vision, Language, Speech, and Decision into apps/workflows; security, cost, reliability.

DP-100 – Data Science

Experiments, training, deployment, and MLOps in Azure ML; monitoring and Responsible AI.

Take the next step

Open the certification page and start with tailored resources and a guided study plan.

Go to AI-900 Go to DP-900 Go to AI-102 Go to DP-100

FAQ

Best certification for business profiles?

AI-900 for AI literacy on Azure; DP-900 if you work with data and reporting.

How long to prepare?

Typically 2–4 weeks for fundamentals (AI-900/DP-900); 4–8+ weeks for AI-102/DP-100 depending on prior experience.

Do I need to code?

No for AI-900/DP-900; recommended for AI-102 and required for DP-100.