This guide is for anyone preparing for the Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer (ACE) exam who wants to know which course to use and where to get practice questions. All three picks are on Udemy, and I read every fact on the course page.
- Best overall: in28Minutes' course (Ranga Karanam), 25.5 hours updated in September 2026.
- Most hands-on: Ankit Mistry's course, with more than 90 hands-on demos and 2 practice tests.
- Practice exams: Tutorials Dojo's 3 practice exams with 110 questions.
| Course | Level | Length | View course |
|---|---|---|---|
| GCP Associate Cloud Engineer – Google Cloud Certification Udemy Best overall | All levels | 25.5 h | View course |
| GCP Associate Cloud Engineer Certification : Google Cloud Udemy Most hands-on | All levels | 24 h | View course |
| Google Certified Associate Cloud Engineer Practice Exams Udemy Practice exams | All levels | — | View course |
What the Associate Cloud Engineer exam looks like
You get 50 to 60 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions in 2 hours. You can take it online with a remote proctor or at a test center, in English, Japanese, Spanish or Portuguese. There are no prerequisites, but Google recommends 6 months or more of hands-on experience with Google Cloud. The certification is valid for 3 years.
There are four sections:
| Section | Weight |
|---|---|
| Planning and implementing a cloud solution | ~30% |
| Ensuring the successful operation of a cloud solution | ~30% |
| Setting up a cloud solution environment | ~20% |
| Configuring access and security | ~20% |
The first section starts with the resource hierarchy. An organization contains folders, folders contain projects, and each project holds resources such as Compute Engine instances, GKE clusters, Cloud Run services and Cloud Storage buckets. An IAM role or organization policy set at one level applies to everything below it. Since this is an associate exam, a lot of it is everyday work: launching instances, configuring networks, granting access.
in28Minutes (Ranga Karanam): best overall
GCP Associate Cloud Engineer – Google Cloud Certification
Ranga Karanam, in28Minutes • Udemy
25.5 hours of video updated on September 24, 2026, with more than 38,000 reviews. It's the longest and most recently updated course on this list.
- Level
- All levels
- Length
- 25.5 h
- Certificate
- Completion
- Rating
- 4.6 (38k)
- Audio
- English
- Subtitles
- English; 31 more languages, auto-generated
Pros
- 25.5 hours of video, updated September 24, 2026
- 4.6 rating from more than 38,000 reviews
Cons
- No practice tests included
It's aimed at all levels, including people new to Google Cloud. There are no practice tests, so I'd add a practice-exam set before you book.
Ankit Mistry: most hands-on
GCP Associate Cloud Engineer Certification : Google Cloud
Ankit Mistry • Udemy
24 hours of video with more than 90 hands-on demos and 2 practice tests, updated on July 21, 2026. Good if you learn by doing the task in the console.
- Level
- All levels
- Length
- 24 h
- Certificate
- Completion
- Rating
- 4.6 (2.4k)
- Audio
- English
- Subtitles
- English; 5 more languages, auto-generated
Pros
- 24 hours of video with more than 90 hands-on demos
- Includes 2 practice tests, updated July 21, 2026
Cons
- About 2,400 reviews, far fewer than in28Minutes' course
Its 4.6 rating matches in28Minutes', but it comes from about 2,400 reviews, so fewer students have been through it.
Tutorials Dojo: practice exams
Google Certified Associate Cloud Engineer Practice Exams
Jon Bonso, Tutorials Dojo • Udemy
3 practice exams with 110 questions and explanations, updated on April 24, 2026. Take them after a course to get used to the question style.
- Level
- All levels
- Certificate
- None
- Rating
- 4.3 (581)
- Audio
- No video; questions in English
Pros
- 3 practice exams with 110 questions and explanations
- Updated April 24, 2026
Cons
- Practice exams only, no lessons: use it alongside a course
- 4.3 rating from 581 reviews, lower than the courses on this list
There are no lessons. The rating is 4.3 from 581 reviews, lower than the courses here, but of the recently updated ACE practice-test sets I found, this one had the most reviews.
How I chose
I used the same methodology as every other guide. For this exam I looked at hands-on practice (it's an associate exam about real tasks), the date of the last update, and practice tests. For now I only compare courses on Udemy. I read every fact on the course page on September 28, 2026.
I left out Dan Sullivan's course, not updated since March 2024, and his practice tests, not updated since September 2023, even though they have more reviews than Tutorials Dojo's. CloudMasters Academy's 6 practice exams (600 questions, updated August 2026) had only 14 reviews.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are on the exam?
50 to 60 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions, in 2 hours.
Do I need Google Cloud experience?
It is not required, but Google recommends 6 months or more of hands-on experience.
Which languages is the exam offered in?
English, Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese.
How long is the certification valid?
3 years. To renew, there is a shorter renewal exam of 1 hour and 20 questions.