CKA vs CKAD: which Kubernetes certification should you take?
In the CKA vs CKAD choice, take the administrator exam (CKA) if you run Kubernetes, software that runs apps across groups of servers, and the developer exam (CKAD) if you build those apps. Of 3,861 US DevOps-engineer ads (software-release jobs) on Adzuna, a job-ad site, in October 2026, 53 named the CKA and 27 named the CKAD.
The CKA (Certified Kubernetes Administrator) and the CKAD (Certified Kubernetes Application Developer) are exams from the Linux Foundation, a non-profit technology organization. Kubernetes runs apps packaged in containers (self-contained bundles of an app and everything it needs) on a cluster, a group of servers that work as one. The Linux Foundation describes the CKA as proof that you can do a Kubernetes administrator's job, and the CKAD as proof that you can design, build and deploy apps for Kubernetes. Neither exam has a prerequisite, so you can take them in either order.
Show the numbers
| Country | CKA | CKAD |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 1.4% | 27 of 3,861 |
| India | 1.6% | 6 of 1,549 |
| United Kingdom | 1% | 0 of 555 |
| Poland | 2 of 483 | 0 of 483 |
| France | 3 of 745 | 0 of 745 |
| Germany | 2 of 1,077 | 0 of 1,077 |
| Italy | 0 of 120 | 0 of 120 |
CKA or CKAD: which do employers name more?
Instant answer from October 2026 job ads. No email needed.
CKA is named in more job ads in the United States.
Source: Adzuna job ads, October 2026.
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Which should you take, the CKA or the CKAD?
Take the exam that matches the side of Kubernetes you work on: the CKA for running the cluster, the CKAD for building what runs on it. The format, price and validity are the same, so the choice rests on the topics.
- You run, set up or fix clusters, or want to: take the CKA. The Linux Foundation describes it as proof of a Kubernetes administrator's skills. Its largest exam domain (topic area) is troubleshooting, which means finding and fixing faults in a running system.
- You write the apps that run on Kubernetes: take the CKAD. Its domains cover designing, configuring, deploying and monitoring applications, and debugging sits inside the monitoring domain.
- You want the security exam later: take the CKA first. The Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS) requires a passed CKA, and it does not ask for the CKAD.
- No Kubernetes job yet: our reading is to start with the CKA if you plan infrastructure, DevOps or site reliability work (keeping live services running), or want the CKS later, and to start with the CKAD if you plan to write and ship apps. No source we checked ranks either exam as the easier start. This page does not cover study material; the Kubernetes documentation at kubernetes.io is free and the exams let you open it, so reading it is a sensible way to begin before you pay the Linux Foundation's $445 US fee for either exam.
A concrete first step, even without a target job: search a job board in your area for devops engineer together with each exam's full name, read ten of the ads and note whether they talk about running clusters or building apps. Then open the CKA file and the CKAD file in the CNCF curriculum repository (named under Sources; each is a PDF of the official topic list) and see which list sounds closer to the work you want.
If you are weighing the CKA against Terraform Associate (a HashiCorp exam on describing servers in text files) or an exam for AWS (Amazon Web Services, a cloud provider), our DevOps-engineer page compares those by situation.
How do the CKA and CKAD exams differ?
The two exams differ in topics; the format is the same. Both are taken online and watched by a remote supervisor while you work (the Linux Foundation calls this proctored). Both are performance-based: instead of multiple-choice questions, you solve tasks at a command line (a text window where you type commands) on running Kubernetes systems.
| CKA | CKAD | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Certified Kubernetes Administrator | Certified Kubernetes Application Developer |
| Who it is for | Kubernetes administrators | People who design, build and deploy apps for Kubernetes |
| Format | Online, watched by a remote supervisor, tasks at a command line | Online, watched by a remote supervisor, tasks at a command line |
| Time | 2 hours | 2 hours |
| Passing score | 66% | 66% |
| Prerequisite | None | None |
| US price | $445, one retake (second attempt) included | $445, one retake (second attempt) included |
| Valid for | 2 years | 2 years |
| Exam languages | English, Simplified Chinese, Japanese | English, Simplified Chinese, Japanese |
Source: Linux Foundation CKA and CKAD pages, certification FAQ and the official curriculum files, read in October 2026.
Kubernetes ships numbered releases, and the two exams may follow different ones. Check each exam's current curriculum on its Linux Foundation page before you pick study material.
During both exams you may open the Kubernetes documentation and blog at kubernetes.io and the documentation for Helm (a tool that installs packaged apps on Kubernetes) in the exam's own browser. You may use the search box on kubernetes.io, but not open outside search results.
Show the numbers
| Item | CKA | CKAD |
|---|---|---|
| Exam time | 120 minutes (2 h) | 120 minutes (2 h) |
| Passing score | 66% | 66% |
| Format | Performance-based tasks, hands-on practical | Performance-based tasks, hands-on practical |
| Languages | 3 languages | 3 languages |
| Where you take it | online, proctored | online, proctored |
What does each exam test?
Each curriculum splits the exam into topic areas, called domains, with a weight for each. The table uses the official domain names; the paragraph below it translates them.
| Exam | Domains and their weight in the exam |
|---|---|
| CKA | Troubleshooting 30%; Cluster Architecture, Installation and Configuration 25%; Services and Networking 20%; Workloads and Scheduling 15%; Storage 10% |
| CKAD | Application Environment, Configuration and Security 25%; Application Design and Build 20%; Application Deployment 20%; Services and Networking 20%; Application Observability and Maintenance 15% |
Source: CKA and CKAD curriculum files from the CNCF (Cloud Native Computing Foundation), read October 11, 2026.
In plain words, the CKA asks you to set up and configure the cluster itself (cluster architecture, installation and configuration), run apps on it and decide which server runs them (workloads and scheduling), connect apps to each other and to users (services and networking), manage the disk space apps keep data on (storage), and find and fix faults (troubleshooting). The CKAD asks you to package, configure, release and monitor an application, and to debug it: its application environment domain covers an app's settings, passwords and permissions, and observability means watching an app through its logs and health checks. Its services and networking domain covers how users reach the app.
Our reading: if you study for one exam, part of the other is already covered, though at different depth. The two topic lists overlap. Both include ConfigMaps and Secrets (settings and passwords that Kubernetes stores for an app), network policies (rules for which apps may talk to each other), Helm, and CRDs (custom resource definitions, add-on object types that extend Kubernetes).
Which is harder, the CKA or the CKAD?
There is no official answer, because the Linux Foundation publishes no pass rate for either exam. Time, format and passing score are the same. What differs is the weight on fixing faults: troubleshooting is a named domain, at 30%, only in the CKA. The CKAD curriculum covers debugging inside its Application Observability and Maintenance domain (15%), alongside logs and health checks. The exam whose topics match your daily work will probably feel easier.
How much do the CKA and CKAD cost together?
Both exams together cost $890 at the Linux Foundation's US list price: two exams at $445 each come to $890. Each fee includes one retake (a second attempt if you fail the first), two sessions on Killer.sh (a practice-exam simulator) and 12 months in which to take the exam.
| CKA | CKAD | Both | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exam fee, US | $445 | $445 | $890 ($445 x 2) |
| Renewal every 2 years (pass the exam again) | $445 | $445 | $890 ($445 x 2) |
| Four years: earn once, renew once | $890 | $890 | $1,780 ($890 x 2) |
Source: Linux Foundation CKA and CKAD pages and certification FAQ, read October 3 and 11, 2026. The totals are our sums at the October 2026 price. The Linux Foundation pages give no separate renewal price, so the renewal and four-year rows assume a new exam at the $445 list price.
Both certifications are valid for two years. To keep one, you pass the same exam again before its expiration date, and the renewed certification lasts two more years. This only matters if you hold an older certificate: a CKA or CKAD earned before April 1, 2024, was issued for three years instead of two.
Training courses and books are extra.
Does the CKA renew the CKAD?
The Linux Foundation states no such rule. Its certification FAQ describes one way to renew: retake and pass the same exam before the expiration date. It says nothing about the CKA renewing the CKAD or the other way around. Plan to renew each one with its own exam, as costed in the section on how much the CKA and CKAD cost together.
CKA vs CKAD in job ads: how often do DevOps-engineer ads name each?
Both names appear in ads for DevOps engineers, the people who build and run the systems that test and release a company's software. Of the 3,861 US DevOps-engineer ads we counted on Adzuna in October 2026, 53 contained the CKA's full name, certified kubernetes administrator, and 27 contained the CKAD's, certified kubernetes application developer.
| Country | Job title searched | Ads counted | With the CKA's full name | With the CKAD's full name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | devops engineer | 3,861 | 53 | 27 |
| United Kingdom | devops engineer | 555 | 7 | 0 |
| India | devops engineer | 1,549 | 25 | 6 |
| Germany | devops engineer | 1,077 | 2 | 0 |
| France | ingénieur devops | 745 | 3 | 0 |
| Poland | devops engineer | 483 | 2 | 0 |
Source: Adzuna API, DevOps-engineer ads by local job title, collected in October 2026, searched for the two full exam names. Analysis: CertWorthIt.
Plainly: of the 3,861 US ads, only the 53 and 27 above spell out an exam's full name. Outside the US, a table cell that shows our small-sample label means the sample was too small to report that exam's name.
In October 2026 (Adzuna), the CKAD's full name appeared in none of the 555 UK DevOps-engineer ads, none of the 1,077 German, none of the 745 French and none of the 483 Polish ones. For Italy, Brazil, Mexico and Spain the samples were too small to report either exam: 120 Italian, 25 Brazilian, 14 Mexican and 19 Spanish DevOps-engineer ads in October 2026.
We also count the CKA in ads for cloud engineers, who build and run systems on cloud platforms. The phrase certified kubernetes administrator appeared in 36 of the 7,726 US cloud-engineer ads on Adzuna in October 2026. We do not count the CKAD for cloud engineers. Our cloud-engineer page lists the other skills those ads name.
The counts have limits. An ad that writes only the short form, CKA or CKAD, is not counted. An ad can name both exams, so the two counts overlap and cannot be added. We also count the name whether the ad lists it as required or as a plus. The methodology page explains how we count.
CKA vs CKAD vs CKS: where does the security exam fit?
The CKS (Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist) is the third Kubernetes exam in this set, and it builds on the CKA, not the CKAD. The Linux Foundation requires CKS candidates to have taken and passed the CKA before they attempt the CKS. Its CKS page does not say whether a CKA that has since expired still qualifies, and it names no waiting period after the CKA.
The CKS is also a two-hour online exam of command-line tasks, watched by a remote supervisor. It costs $445 in the US with one retake and 12 months to take it, and it is valid for two years. The Linux Foundation aims it at advanced professionals working in DevOps, site reliability (keeping live services running), system administration (looking after company servers) and cloud roles.
The path from the CKA to the CKS is two exams. If you take all three (CKA, CKAD and CKS), three exams at $445 each come to $1,335. Renewing all three would cost the same again every two years, but that assumes a new exam at the October 2026 list price, because we found no renewal price.
What we did not check
- Pay: we did not look for pay figures for CKA or CKAD holders, so this page gives none.
- Prices outside the US and in local currencies.
- How often job ads name the CKS: we do not count it.
Sources
All Linux Foundation and CNCF pages below were read on October 3 or October 11, 2026.
- Linux Foundation: CKA exam page, CKAD exam page, CKS exam page, CKA, CKAD and CKS FAQ and resources allowed during the exam.
- CNCF curriculum files for the CKA and CKAD on GitHub, a code-hosting site. Open the file whose name starts with CKA_Curriculum and the one that starts with CKAD_Curriculum.
- Job ads: Adzuna API, DevOps-engineer and cloud-engineer ads collected in October 2026.
Questions people ask
Which is harder, the CKA or the CKAD?
There is no official answer: the Linux Foundation, which runs both exams, publishes no pass rate for the Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD). The format is the same for both: two hours of hands-on tasks at a command line (a text window where you type commands) on running Kubernetes systems, with 66% needed to pass. Kubernetes is software that runs apps across groups of servers. The topics differ. In the CKA curriculum, troubleshooting (finding and fixing faults in a running system) is the largest domain at 30% of the exam, and cluster setup and configuration adds 25%; the CKAD domains are about designing, configuring, deploying and monitoring applications, and debugging sits inside its observability and maintenance domain. The exam whose topic list matches your daily work will probably feel easier.
Should I take the CKA or the CKAD first?
Neither has to come first: the Linux Foundation sets no prerequisite for the Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD). Take the CKA first if you run Kubernetes clusters (groups of servers that Kubernetes, a system for running apps, manages as one). Take it first too if you want the security exam, the Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS), later, because the CKS requires a passed CKA. Take the CKAD first if you write and deploy the apps. Of the 3,861 US DevOps-engineer ads we counted on Adzuna, a job-ad search site, in October 2026, 53 contained the CKA's full name and 27 contained the CKAD's.
Can I take the CKAD without the CKA?
Yes. The Linux Foundation lists no prerequisite for the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) exam, so you can book it without holding the Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA). Each exam costs $445 in the US and includes one retake, a second attempt if you fail the first.
How much do the CKA and CKAD cost together?
$890 in the US. The Linux Foundation lists the Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) and the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) exams at $445 each (read October 2026), and two exams at $445 each come to $890. Each fee includes one retake (a second attempt if you fail) and two sessions on Killer.sh, a practice-exam simulator. Both certifications are valid for two years, and you renew one by passing the same exam again before its expiration date, so keeping both costs another $890 every two years. No separate renewal price is published, so that sum assumes a new exam at the $445 list price.
Does the CKA renew the CKAD?
The Linux Foundation states no such rule. Its certification FAQ says you renew each of its Kubernetes certifications by retaking and passing that exam before the expiration date, after which the certification is valid for two more years. It says nothing about one exam renewing another, so plan to renew the Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) and the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) separately. We found no renewal price on its pages, so $445 each, the US list price read in October 2026, assumes a new exam.
CKA vs CKS: do I need the CKA before the CKS?
Yes. The Linux Foundation requires candidates for the Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS) to have taken and passed the Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) exam before they attempt the CKS. Its CKS page does not say whether a CKA that has since expired still qualifies. The CKS is also a two-hour, hands-on exam taken online and watched by a remote supervisor, and it costs $445 in the US with one retake included. Any renewal sum assumes a new exam at that list price, since no renewal price is published.