AZ-104 Labs 2026: The Best Free & Paid Hands-On Exercises for Azure Administrator Prep

If you’ve read even one AZ-104 study guide, you already know the warning: you cannot pass the Microsoft Azure Administrator exam by memorizing slides. AZ-104 is built around scenario questions, drag-and-drop configuration tasks, and case studies that assume you’ve actually clicked around the Azure portal, typed real Azure CLI commands, and watched a Bicep deployment succeed; or fail; in front of you. AZ-104 labs aren’t a nice-to-have supplement to your study plan; they’re the backbone of it.

This guide is built around the exam’s current skills-measured outline, updated by Microsoft on April 17, 2026, which covers five domains:

• Manage Azure identities and governance (20–25%)
• Deploy and manage Azure compute resources (20–25%)
• Implement and manage storage (15–20%)
• Configure and manage virtual networking (15–20%)
• Monitor and maintain Azure resources (10–15%)

Identity/governance and compute now carry the heaviest weight; together nearly half the exam; which means your lab time needs to be deliberately allocated, not just “practice everything equally.”

By the end of this guide, you’ll know exactly which labs to run first (for free), which free community resources are worth your time, when a paid sandbox platform actually earns its price tag, and how to sequence everything into a realistic study timeline without racking up a surprise Azure bill.

Understanding the AZ-104 Exam Domains (2026 Update)

Before you touch a single lab, it helps to see the whole board. Here’s the current breakdown, straight from the official AZ-104 certification page:

Before diving into the labs, make sure you have a clear picture of exactly what Microsoft tests. You can review the complete AZ-104 exam topics breakdown and the full AZ-104 study guide so your lab practice stays tightly aligned with the current skills-measured outline.

Why does hands-on practice need to cover all five domains, not just your favorites? Because AZ-104 scenario questions frequently blend domains in a single question; a networking question that also tests RBAC, or a storage question wrapped inside a governance policy scenario. Labs that isolate one domain at a time are a good starting point, but your later practice should stitch domains together, the same way a real Azure administrator’s day does.

Official Microsoft AZ-104 Labs (Free – Highest Priority)

If you do nothing else, do these. Microsoft publishes the official instructor-led course labs for AZ-104 (course AZ-104T00) on GitHub, and they’re free for anyone to use; you don’t need to be enrolled in the paid course.

How to access them

1. Go to the GitHub repository and either clone it or download the ZIP.
2. Lab instructions live under Instructions/Labs/; supporting ARM/Bicep templates and setup scripts live under Allfiles/.
3. Each lab is a self-contained Markdown file with a scenario, step-by-step tasks, and a cleanup section at the end; always run the cleanup so you don’t leave billable resources running.
4. You’ll need your own Azure subscription (the Azure Free Account, discussed below, works fine for nearly all of these labs).

The lab lineup

Pros

• Written and maintained by Microsoft’s own course authors, so terminology and structure match the exam almost exactly.
• Covers all five domains with no gaps.
• Completely free; you only pay for the Azure resources you consume.
• Updated periodically on GitHub as Azure services change, and the repo accepts community pull requests when something breaks.

Cons

• Written for instructor-led delivery, so the tone occasionally assumes a classroom pace rather than pure self-study.
• A few labs (4, 5, 6, 7, 10, and 11) require you to supply your own admin password when deploying JSON templates, since Microsoft removed hardcoded passwords from the parameter files; a small extra step, but one that trips up first-timers.
• No auto-graded validation; you’re checking your own work against the instructions.

Recommended order

Follow the numbered sequence above. It’s designed to build on itself: identity and governance first (Labs 01–02b), core resource management second (03), then networking (04–06), storage (07), compute (08–09c), and finally monitoring and data protection (10–11). This order also roughly front-loads the two highest-weighted domains, which is exactly where a time-constrained study plan should start.

Best Free Community & GitHub Labs

The official Microsoft labs are your foundation, but a few community resources are worth layering on top, especially if you want more repetitions or a slightly different explanation style.

• Community forks and companion repos on GitHub. Search GitHub for AZ-104 lab task trackers and checklists (several community members maintain condensed task lists mirroring the official Microsoft Learning labs); useful as a quick-reference checklist you can tick off as you complete each official lab.
• Instructor-maintained crash-course repos. A number of Microsoft Certified Trainers publish their own AZ-104 lab collections on GitHub, built with PowerShell, Azure CLI, and Bicep alongside step-by-step labs for every domain. These are useful as a second pass once you’ve completed the official labs, since they often phrase the same tasks differently and reinforce muscle memory with the command line.
• Challenge-based, browser-hosted repos. Community projects like Azure Cert Prep pair GitHub Codespaces with challenge-style tasks (rather than step-by-step instructions) covering AZ-104 and adjacent certifications like AZ-305 and AZ-400. These spin up a pre-configured environment with the Azure CLI, Bicep, PowerShell, and AzCopy already installed, so there’s zero local setup; useful once you’re ready to move from “follow the steps” to “solve the problem yourself.”
• Free, unguided lab challenges. Platforms like QA’s lab challenge library offer a free AZ-104 challenge in a real, provisioned environment; you’re given an end state and a time limit, with no step-by-step hand-holding, which is a useful gut check before exam day.
• Microsoft Learn’s own sandbox-enabled modules. Many Microsoft Learn training modules for AZ-104 include an embedded, time-limited Azure sandbox subscription so you can complete the exercise without touching your own subscription at all. These are shorter and more narrowly scoped than the full GitHub labs, but they’re an easy way to practice a single concept in five minutes without any setup.

What makes these valuable: community labs tend to fill gaps the official labs leave open; more CLI/PowerShell repetition, unguided “challenge” formats that better simulate exam pressure, and zero-setup browser environments for quick practice sessions between longer study blocks.

Best Paid / Sandbox Lab Platforms

Free labs will get most learners most of the way there. Paid platforms earn their price tag when you want a managed, disposable Azure environment (no risk of a surprise bill on your own card), auto-graded validation, or a structured curriculum that pairs labs with video instruction and practice exams.

A few honest notes on paid platforms:

• Pricing changes often. Skillable-based vendors, and similar platforms regularly adjust their subscription tiers and bundle labs with courses or practice exams rather than selling labs standalone; check the current pricing page before you commit rather than relying on a number in any blog post (including this one).
• A “real Azure environment” sandbox is not the same as your own subscription. These sandboxes are pre-provisioned, time-limited, and isolated; which is exactly why they’re valuable for testing destructive changes (deleting a resource group, misconfiguring a policy) without any financial risk.
• None of these replace the official labs. Think of paid platforms as an accelerant; faster setup, no billing risk, sometimes auto-graded; not a substitute for covering every domain.

Recommended Lab Learning Path

Here’s a progressive path that respects both domain weighting and realistic study time. Adjust the pace to your schedule, but keep the order; it’s built so each stage reinforces the one before it.

Stage 1: Identity & Governance foundations (Est. 6–8 hours)

• Official Labs 01, 02a, 02b
• Community checklist review to confirm you can explain why, not just how

Stage 2: Core resource management via ARM/Bicep templates (Est. 5–7 hours)

• Official Lab 03 (Manage Azure resources by using Azure Resource Manager Templates)
• Pair this lab with your own repetition of the same resource-deployment task in the Portal, PowerShell, and Azure CLI; AZ-104 tests the same task across multiple tools, so this extra repetition pays off across the whole exam

Stage 3: Networking (Est. 8–10 hours)

• Official Labs 04, 05, 06
• Add a free or paid challenge-mode lab once the guided labs feel comfortable; networking questions are the most scenario-heavy on the exam

Stage 4: Storage (Est. 4–6 hours)

• Official Lab 07
• Practice Blob lifecycle policies and Azure Files/File Sync specifically, since these show up disproportionately in exam scenario questions

Stage 5: Compute (Est. 8–10 hours)

• Official Lab 08 and 09a–09c
• This is the other 20–25% domain; don’t shortchange VM Scale Sets, availability zones, or Azure Container Apps

Stage 6: Monitor & Maintain, plus data protection (Est. 4–6 hours)

• Official Labs 10 and 11
• Pair with a Microsoft Learn sandbox module on Azure Monitor alerting for a quick, low-cost refresher

Stage 7: Mixed, unguided review (Est. 6–8 hours)

• Challenge-mode labs (free or paid) that combine domains
• This stage is where paid sandbox platforms genuinely shine; unguided, timed, real-environment practice most closely mirrors exam pressure

Total estimated hands-on time: roughly 40–55 hours, spread across 4–8 weeks depending on your pace and prior Azure experience. If you already work with Azure daily, you can likely compress Stages 1–4 significantly and spend the saved time in Stage 7.

Once you finish the guided labs, shift into exam-style practice. Timed AZ-104 practice tests and structured mock exams are the fastest way to convert hands-on skill into exam confidence. Most candidates also want a realistic answer to how long it takes to prepare for AZ-104 so they can build a schedule that actually works.

Practical cost-control tips

• Start with the Azure Free Account. New customers get $200 in credit for the first 30 days, plus a set of popular services free for 12 months and 25+ services that are always free; more than enough to complete nearly every official lab.
• Use Microsoft Learn sandboxes when available. Many Learn modules spin up a temporary, pre-scoped subscription that expires automatically, so there’s nothing for you to forget to delete.
• Set a spending alert immediately if you move off the free tier; a $5 or $10 alert threshold will catch a runaway VM or forgotten resource before it becomes a real bill.
• Always run the cleanup step at the end of every lab. The official Microsoft labs include a teardown section for exactly this reason; skipping it is the single most common way learners rack up unexpected charges.
• Prefer B-series burstable VMs and small disk sizes for anything that isn’t specifically testing performance tiers.
• Delete resource groups, not individual resources, when a lab is fully finished; it’s faster and ensures nothing orphaned keeps billing.

How to Practice Effectively (Pro Tips)

Rotate through all four interfaces

Don’t just click through the Azure Portal and call it done. AZ-104 explicitly tests your ability to perform the same task via:

• Azure Portal; for visual, point-and-click familiarity
• Azure CLI; for scripting and automation-style questions
• Azure PowerShell; Microsoft’s other first-party CLI, tested separately from Azure CLI
• Bicep (increasingly favored over raw ARM JSON); for infrastructure-as-code scenario questions

A good habit: after completing a lab task in the Portal, immediately redo it in the CLI, then in PowerShell. It triples your repetition time investment but roughly quadruples your retention.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Skipping cleanup; leads to billing surprises and, worse, a messy subscription that makes later labs confusing.
• Only using guided labs; guided labs build familiarity, but the real exam gives you a scenario, not a checklist. Budget time for unguided challenge labs before test day.
• Ignoring the lower-weighted domains; storage (15–20%) and networking (15–20%) combined outweigh either single “big” domain. Don’t let compute and identity crowd out your storage and networking practice.
• Treating labs as a checkbox exercise; the goal isn’t “I completed Lab 07,” it’s “I can explain why I chose Cool tier over Archive tier for this scenario.” Pause and articulate your reasoning at each major step.

Track your progress

Keep a simple spreadsheet or checklist mapping each lab to its exam domain and your confidence level (1–5) after completing it. Revisit anything scored 3 or below in your final review week. This is also the moment to layer in a practice exam; labs build the hands-on skill, but a full-length practice test tells you whether that skill translates to exam-style questions under time pressure.

For a deeper walkthrough of the entire preparation process (study order, resources, and common pitfalls), see the complete AZ-104 exam guide. You can also review real AZ-104 Microsoft Azure Administrator exam questions style scenarios to understand how lab skills appear on the actual exam.

Frequently Asked Questions FAQ’s

Do I need an Azure subscription for AZ-104 labs?

For the official Microsoft Learning GitHub labs, yes; you’ll need your own Azure subscription, though the Azure Free Account ($200 credit for 30 days, plus a year of popular free services) covers nearly all of them. Some Microsoft Learn modules include a temporary built-in sandbox subscription, so you don’t need your own account for those specific exercises. Paid platforms like Skillable-based labs provide their own isolated sandbox, so you don’t need a personal subscription for those either.

How many hours of labs are enough for AZ-104?

Most learners need somewhere between 40 and 60 hours of hands-on lab time to comfortably cover all five domains, though this varies a lot based on prior Azure experience. Someone already working with Azure daily might need 20–25 hours of targeted gap-filling; someone new to cloud administration should plan closer to 60–80 hours including repetition across the Portal, CLI, and PowerShell.

Free vs. paid labs; which is better?

Start free. The official Microsoft Learning labs cover every exam domain and cost nothing beyond the Azure resources you consume, which the Free Account largely offsets. Paid platforms add value once you want: a sandboxed environment with zero billing risk, auto-graded or unguided challenge-mode practice, or a bundled curriculum (video + labs + practice exams) in one subscription. Most successful candidates use free official labs as their core curriculum and add a paid platform selectively for unguided review in the final weeks.

Do the labs match the April 2026 exam update?

The five-domain structure and weighting held steady through the April 17, 2026 update, and topics like Bicep, Microsoft Entra ID terminology, Azure Container Apps, Azure Bastion, and Network Watcher were already part of the blueprint before the update; despite some articles claiming otherwise. As always, spot-check the current objectives on Microsoft Learn before you study, since Microsoft periodically makes minor edits to sub-objectives even when the overall domains and weights don’t change.

Should I do labs before or after reading the study guide?

Neither exclusively; alternate. Read enough about a topic (Entra ID, for instance) to understand the vocabulary, then immediately do the corresponding lab while it’s fresh, then go back and read the parts of the documentation that didn’t make sense until you’d done the hands-on work.

Can I pass AZ-104 with only free labs?

Yes. The official Microsoft Learning labs, supplemented with free community resources and Microsoft Learn’s built-in sandboxes, cover every domain on the exam. Paid platforms are a convenience and a confidence-builder, not a requirement.

Conclusion: Your Next Steps

The best AZ-104 labs strategy for 2026 is straightforward: start with Microsoft’s own official labs on GitHub; they’re free, they’re authoritative, and they map directly onto the current five-domain, April 2026 skills outline. Layer in free community and GitHub resources for extra repetition and unguided practice. Then, if your budget and timeline allow, add a paid sandbox platform in your final review weeks for risk-free, exam-pressure-style challenges.

Here’s your concrete next step: clone the AZ-104-MicrosoftAzureAdministrator GitHub repository today, spin up an Azure Free Account if you don’t already have Azure access, and complete Lab 01 this week. Momentum matters more than a perfect plan; the administrators who pass AZ-104 aren’t the ones who read the most, they’re the ones who clicked, typed, and troubleshot the most. Get your hands on Azure, and the exam will feel a lot more familiar on test day.

After you finish the labs, the next logical steps are:

• Download the free resources below to keep your practice organized
• Review career outcomes and salary data in the AZ-104 jobs, salary & career opportunities guide
• Continue with structured practice using the linked study materials

Free Downloadable Resources (2026):

• AZ-104 Practice Tests + Labs Hands-on Practice PDF
• AZ-104 Labs Checklist & Study Path PDF
• PassITExams AZ-104 Study Guide – Free Checklist & Notes PDF