Exam comparison
AZ-140 vs AZ-104: Azure Virtual Desktop or administrator
Who Should Take Each Exam
AZ-104 qualifies you as an Azure Administrator with broad responsibility for Azure infrastructure. AZ-140 is a Specialty certification focused on designing and operating Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) environments. AZ-104 is broad; AZ-140 is specialized. Both are 100-minute proctored exams.
In short: Start with AZ-104 to become a generalist Azure administrator. Take AZ-140 if your career focuses on desktop virtualization and user environments in Azure.
Exam Format
| Parameter | AZ-104 | AZ-140 |
|---|---|---|
| Code | AZ-104 | AZ-140 |
| Level | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| Role | Azure Administrator | Administrator |
| Duration | 100 minutes | 100 minutes |
| Passing Score | 700 or higher | 700 or higher |
| Languages | English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Italian, Japanese, Korean | English, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) |
Domains and Weights
AZ-104
- Manage Azure identities and governance 20–25 %
- Implement and manage storage 15–20 %
- Deploy and manage Azure compute resources 20–25 %
- Implement and manage virtual networking 15–20 %
- Monitor and maintain Azure resources 10–15 %
AZ-140
- Plan and implement an Azure Virtual Desktop infrastructure 40–45 %
- Plan and implement identity and security 15–20 %
- Plan and implement user environments and apps 20–25 %
- Monitor and maintain an Azure Virtual Desktop infrastructure 10–15 %
Scope Overlap and Differences
What both cover: Virtual networking (VNets, subnets, NSGs), virtual machines, storage (Azure Files, File Share), Microsoft Entra ID, monitoring with Azure Monitor and Log Analytics, security basics (firewalls, bastions).
AZ-104 adds: Policy and governance, subscriptions and resource groups, backup and site recovery, compute at scale (scale sets), App Service, multiple storage types, cost management, and breadth across Azure services.
AZ-140 adds: Desktop virtualization specifics (host pools, session hosts, personal vs pooled desktops), FSLogix profiles and cloud cache, user environment customization (device redirection, printing), application delivery (RemoteApp, app attach), scaling automation, and user session management.
Question style: AZ-104 emphasizes administration tasks (create, configure, manage resources). AZ-140 focuses on designing user experiences and troubleshooting desktop connectivity, including FSLogix configuration and session host performance tuning.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose AZ-104 if…
- You manage infrastructure broadly across Azure services
- Your role spans identities, storage, compute, and networking
- You want to be a generalist Azure Administrator
Choose AZ-140 if…
- Your primary focus is Azure Virtual Desktop and desktop virtualization
- You design and operate user environments in Azure
- You have experience with virtualization and want specialization
- You already hold, or plan to take, an Associate certification (such as AZ-104)
How to Prepare
- Start with the AZ-104 certification page and AZ-140 certification page.
- Study the AZ-104 study guide or AZ-140 study guide by domain.
- Complete the Microsoft Learn paths: AZ-104 or AZ-140 AVD planning.
- For AZ-140, focus on the highest-weighted domain (40–45 %) on AVD infrastructure: networking, storage for FSLogix, host pool architecture, and session host deployment.
- Practice with our AZ-104 practice exam and AZ-140 practice exam, then review with AZ-104 study mode or AZ-140 study mode.
Both exams may include interactive components, but our practice questions assess knowledge through multiple-choice format aligned with exam content.
Try both, free
Original questions, each answer explained with a link to the documentation. Study mode is free and needs no account.
Practice Exam AZ-140: Azure Virtual Desktop Specialty
25 free questions with explanations
Practice Exam AZ-104: Azure Administrator Associate
25 free questions with explanations