| Metric | CKA | CKAD |
|---|---|---|
| Exam Cost | $395 | $395 |
| Study Hours | ~130h | ~100h✓ |
| Exam Duration | 120 min | 120 min |
| Exam Format | Performance-Based | Performance-Based |
| Level | Professional | Associate |
| Overall Score | 9.1/10✓ | 8.7/10 |
| Domain | IT | IT |
| Validity | 3 yrs | 3 yrs |
| Industry Standard | Yes ✓✓ | No |
Choose CKA if...
- →DevOps engineers running Kubernetes in production
- →Platform engineers building internal developer platforms
- →SREs and cloud infrastructure specialists
Choose CKAD if...
- →Developers deploying apps to Kubernetes clusters
- →Backend engineers moving to cloud-native architectures
- →DevOps engineers with development responsibilities
Still not sure which one to pick?
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