Skip to content
Independent certification guide · exam data reviewed November 2026 Study guidesBrowse by fieldHow we review
Find a certification

IBM AI Engineering Professional Certificate

IBM AI Engineering Professional Certificate vs 3 alternatives compared

Exam fee, level, duration, validity and salary side by side. Blank cells mean we do not have verified data yet.

IBM AI Engineering Professional CertificateMicrosoft Azure Data Fundamentals (DP-900)Google Cloud Professional Data EngineerMicrosoft Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900)
VendorIBMMicrosoftGoogle CloudMicrosoft
LevelIntermediateBeginnerAdvancedBeginner
Exam fee$49/mo$99$200 (plus tax where applicable)$99
Duration——2 hours—
Passing score————
Valid for——2 years—
Typical salary$110K–$145K$80K–$105K$145K–$175K$75K–$100K
Prerequisites——None—

Which should you choose?

Should I take IBM AI Engineering Professional Certificate or DP-900 first?

DP-900 is the lower-level certification (Beginner vs Intermediate), so it is usually the better first step.

Should I take IBM AI Engineering Professional Certificate or Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer first?

IBM AI Engineering Professional Certificate is the lower-level certification (Intermediate vs Advanced), so it is usually the better first step.

Should I take IBM AI Engineering Professional Certificate or AI-900 first?

AI-900 is the lower-level certification (Beginner vs Intermediate), so it is usually the better first step.