Exam comparison
AZ-400 vs Terraform 004: Azure DevOps or Terraform?
Azure DevOps or Terraform Associate?
AZ-400 (Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert) and Terraform Associate 004 (HashiCorp Certified) are two certifications for DevOps and SRE engineers, but with different focuses. AZ-400 covers continuous integration and deployment on Azure, workflow management, and Microsoft tools. Terraform Associate 004 tests your mastery of infrastructure as code with Terraform, cloud-agnostic.
In short: Choose AZ-400 if you work in Azure environments and practice Microsoft CI/CD. Choose Terraform 004 if you use Terraform to provision infrastructure across any cloud.
Exam format and structure
| Parameter | AZ-400 | Terraform Associate 004 |
|---|---|---|
| Exam code | AZ-400 | 004 |
| Certification | Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert | HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate |
| Duration | Not published | 1 hour |
| Number of questions | Not published | Not published |
| Question types | Not published | Multiple choice only |
| Passing score | 700 | Not published |
| Prerequisites | Required: at least one of Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate or Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate | Basic terminal skills, understanding of on-premises and cloud architecture |
| Available languages | 10 languages | English |
Domains and content weight
AZ-400
- Design and implement processes and communications 10–15 %
- Design and implement a source control strategy 10–15 %
- Design and implement build and release pipelines 50–55 %
- Develop a security and compliance plan 10–15 %
- Implement an instrumentation strategy 5–10 %
Terraform Associate 004
- Infrastructure as Code (IaC) with Terraform
- Terraform fundamentals
- Core Terraform workflow
- Terraform configuration
- Terraform modules
- Terraform state management
- Maintain infrastructure with Terraform
- HCP Terraform
Key differences in scope
AZ-400 spans the full DevOps pipeline on Azure: source control, automated builds, continuous testing, deployment, monitoring, and feedback. Includes Azure DevOps, GitHub, Azure Pipelines, and third-party tools.
Terraform 004 focuses exclusively on Terraform: Terraform fundamentals, the core workflow, configuration, modules, state management, maintaining infrastructure, and HCP Terraform. Cloud-agnostic: concepts apply to AWS, GCP, Azure, and others.
Overlap: Both test automation and infrastructure as code, but AZ-400 is a broad DevOps certification while Terraform 004 is a focused certification on a specific tool.
Which certification for your profile
Choose AZ-400 if…
- You primarily work on Azure platforms.
- You drive CI/CD pipelines for an Azure organization.
- You use Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions extensively.
- You are responsible for the entire DevOps lifecycle.
Choose Terraform 004 if…
- You use Terraform daily to provision infrastructure.
- Your organization is multi-cloud or cloud-agnostic.
- You are new to Terraform or want to validate your skills.
- You manage production Terraform infrastructure as code.
Study approach and resources
- For AZ-400: review the Microsoft AZ-400 study guide.
- For Terraform: review the HashiCorp Terraform Associate certification page.
- For AZ-400: work hands-on with Azure Pipelines, GitHub, and Azure deployment services. For Terraform: write Terraform code on a real project or test lab.
- For AZ-400: master continuous integration, version control, and deployment strategies. For Terraform: understand modules, state management, and the plan/apply workflow.
- Practice with our AZ-400 and Terraform 004 practice exams.
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-400: DevOps Engineer Expert
25 free questions with explanations
Practice Exam: Terraform Associate (004)
25 free questions with explanations