ExamTopics alternatives: legit practice questions for AWS, Azure, CompTIA and Cisco, free and paid

Why switching away from dump sites pays off

The vendors spell out what happens. AWS says that accessing brain dumps, "even unintentionally", violates its Certification Program Agreement, and that confirmed violations bring sanctions from warnings up to suspension from the programme. Microsoft lists brain dump material as fraudulent activity that can lead to revoked credentials and a permanent ban. CompTIA says using brain dumps can mean a ban of at least 12 months and invalidated scores, and that memorising unauthorised content breaks its policy whether or not you knew it was unauthorised. Our investigation Is ExamTopics legit? covers the Cisco policy, the enforcement record and how vendors detect dump users.

The second reason is that memorised answers decay. AWS says it regularly rotates exam questions in and out, and Microsoft and CompTIA update objectives on their own schedules. A remembered answer is only worth something if the same item turns up on your form. Understanding the reason behind an answer works on any form.

The third reason is the job afterwards. CompTIA's own blog makes the point bluntly: someone who memorised a dump to pass A+ or Security+ may not be able to do the tasks the certification promises, and the employer notices.

How to tell a practice bank from a dump

Run any site through these checks before you pay for it or give it your email.

1. The questions have an author. Tutorials Dojo, MeasureUp, Boson and Professor Messer name themselves and sell under their own brand. A dump site sells "real" questions from nobody in particular.
2. The marketing promises practice, not the exam. CompTIA's list of red flags includes "actual exam questions", "real exam questions" and "braindumps". Any site promising that its items match the live exam is telling you where they came from.
3. Every answer is explained. A legitimate bank tells you why the right option is right and why each wrong one is wrong, usually with a link to vendor documentation. A dump gives a letter and a comment thread arguing about it.
4. It maps to the exam guide. Look for the exam code (SAA-C03, AZ-104, SY0-701, 200-301) and a breakdown by the official domains.
5. It covers one exam family well. CompTIA flags sites that list questions for every certification from every vendor.

If a free site passes all five checks, use it. Free is fine. Copied exam content is the problem.

AWS: free official sets first, then one paid bank

AWS publishes free Official Practice Question Sets on Skill Builder: 20 questions per exam, written by AWS, with feedback and recommended resources for each. It also offers a free 2-hour Exam Prep course for each exam that walks through the domains with sample questions. Take the question set before you start studying, so you see the style and the length of the scenarios.

For volume, Tutorials Dojo sells its SAA-C03 practice exams for $14.99, with 401 questions, five modes including a timed 65-question final test, and 12 months of access. It also offers a free 30-question sampler, which is the cheapest way to see whether its explanations suit you before paying.

In your final month, consider one month of the AWS Skill Builder Individual subscription at $29. That buys access to the Official Practice Exam, which AWS says has the same question style and rigour as the real exam and gives a scaled score. Cancel after the month if you only need the mock.

AWS charges $150 for Associate exams and $100 for Foundational ones, and a fail means a 14 calendar day wait and the full fee again. A $14.99 bank plus one $29 month is cheap insurance against that. The AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam guide has the domains and a study plan, the best AWS practice exams compares Tutorials Dojo, Skill Builder and the main course creators in depth, and AWS certification discounts covers the 50% voucher and other ways to pay less.

Azure and other Microsoft exams

Microsoft's free practice assessments are the strongest free option on this page. Microsoft says they are created by the same team that develops its certification exams, are updated in step with the certifications, can be attempted as many times as you like, and give a score report with the answer, the rationale and links for every question. They are reached from each exam's page on Microsoft Learn, including AZ-104, and need a Microsoft Learn sign-in. Microsoft notes that the assessments are authored with assistance from AI, and that the real exam can include question types, case studies and labs the assessment does not.

Use the Exam Sandbox on the same page to practise the interface, since unfamiliar question formats cost time on the day.

When you want more questions, MeasureUp lists its AZ-104 practice test at $99, and it was on sale for $64.35 on 2 November 2026. It has 193 questions split across the five AZ-104 domains, with a certification mode that hides answers until the end and a practice mode you can customise. MeasureUp's own readiness rule is to pass its test twice in a row at 90% or higher in certification mode.

If you fail a Microsoft exam, you can retake it 24 hours after the first attempt, with longer waits for later retakes. The AZ-104 exam guide has the domains, Azure practice tests compared goes deeper on MeasureUp and Tutorials Dojo, and free and discounted Microsoft exam vouchers lists the retirements to check before you buy a voucher.

CompTIA: Security+, Network+ and A+

CompTIA publishes a free set of 10 Security+ V7 practice questions with an answer key on its Security+ page. Ten items is enough to check the style and no more.

Two paid banks cover most needs:

• Professor Messer's SY0-701 Practice Exams, $30. Three 90-question exams with detailed explanations, as a PDF, written by the creator of a free Security+ video course on YouTube. The physical book edition is $50.
• Boson ExSim-Max for Security+ SY0-701, $99 a year. Three full-length exams, 270 questions, with simulation mode for timing and reports by domain. It renews automatically until you cancel.

CompTIA's own CertMaster Practice is also legitimate. Its price did not load on the CompTIA store when checked, so it is not listed in the table.

Timing matters for Security+ right now. CompTIA launches V8, exam code SY0-801, on or around 17 November 2026, and on 2 November 2026 both Boson's and Messer's practice exams were SY0-701 editions. Read SY0-701 vs SY0-801 before buying a bank, and Security+ practice tests compared for the full list. CompTIA's study advice is to keep taking practice exams until you consistently score over 85%, and to go back and fix every mistake.

Cisco CCNA

Cisco's 200-301 CCNA exam costs $300, runs 120 minutes, and is offered in English and Japanese. Cisco's exam page links an official practice exam in Cisco U. and Cisco Modeling Labs, which you can start using for free.

CCNA rewards hands-on configuration more than any other exam on this page, so a lab tool matters as much as a question bank. Jeremy's IT Lab offers a free CCNA video course on YouTube with Packet Tracer labs, and recommends Cisco Packet Tracer as a free simulator that needs only a Cisco account.

For practice exams, Boson ExSim-Max for CCNA 200-301 lists at $99 a year, with five exams and 370 questions. Boson also sells NetSim for CCNA at $59 for 3 months if you want guided labs, and an instructor-led 8 Weeks to CCNA course at $799.

Order for CCNA: course and labs first, Boson in the last three to four weeks, and the Cisco U. practice exam as a final check. The CCNA exam guide has the topics, the best CCNA course compares Jeremy's IT Lab, Boson, CBT Nuggets and NetAcad, and CCNA jobs with no experience covers the job search once you pass.

A practice routine that replaces the dump habit

Dump users drill answers. Use a bank to find gaps instead.

1. Take one timed set cold, before you feel ready, to get a baseline by domain.
2. Log every wrong answer with its domain and the reason you missed it: did not know, misread, or ran out of time.
3. Study the two weakest domains from official material for a week. Do not reread the explanations you just saw.
4. Retake a different timed set. Compare domain scores, not the overall number.
5. Book the exam once you clear the vendor's own bar on unseen questions: over 85% on practice exams per CompTIA's advice, or two passes in a row at 90% in MeasureUp's certification mode.

The stakes are concrete. A failed AWS Associate attempt costs another $150 and two weeks. A failed CCNA costs another $300. A failed exam after a dump habit also costs the months you spent memorising instead of learning, and you start the retake no better prepared. If you have already failed once, the retake plans in what to do after failing AWS Solutions Architect and the other failed-exam guides lay out the next attempt week by week.