Free Google Cloud Digital Leader practice exams are available now, and the first set doesn't need an account. The Cloud Digital Leader (CDL) is Google Cloud's foundational certification. It's the Google equivalent of AWS Cloud Practitioner or Azure Fundamentals, and it's the natural first step before the Associate Cloud Engineer exam. Working through realistic questions is the fastest way to find out which product names and concepts you still mix up.
What the Cloud Digital Leader exam covers
The CDL exam checks that you understand what the cloud is and how Google Cloud helps organizations change the way they work. You won't see gcloud commands or configuration screens. Instead you'll get short business scenarios and need to pick the right product, approach, or principle. Expect questions on cloud economics and the move from CapEx to OpEx, Google's global network, choosing between Cloud SQL, Spanner, Bigtable, and BigQuery, when to use pre-trained AI APIs versus Vertex AI, migration paths from lift-and-shift to refactoring, the shared responsibility model, IAM, and controlling cloud spend with budgets and committed use discounts.
You get 90 minutes for roughly 50 to 60 questions. The exam costs USD 99 and the certification is valid for three years.
What's in these practice exams
There are 25 question sets of 20 questions each, so 500 questions in total. Coverage follows the six official domains:
- Digital transformation with Google Cloud (17%)
- Exploring data transformation with Google Cloud (16%)
- Innovating with Google Cloud Artificial Intelligence (16%)
- Modernize infrastructure and applications with Google Cloud (17%)
- Trust and security with Google Cloud (17%)
- Scaling with Google Cloud operations (17%)
Every question comes with an explanation of why the right answer is right and why the other options don't fit. Questions are tagged Easy, Medium, and Hard, and every set covers all six domains. There's also a flashcard deck for quick review of product names and key terms.
How to use these effectively
Take the free first set in one sitting with no notes. Then read every explanation, including the ones for questions you got right. A lot of CDL questions hinge on small differences, like Cloud Run versus GKE or Nearline versus Coldline, and the explanations are where those differences stick.
Keep a list of every product you couldn't place confidently and look each one up on the Google Cloud products page. If you come from a business background, spend extra time on the data and AI domains. If you're an engineer, don't skip the operations and financial governance material, because that's where technical candidates usually lose marks.
Book the real exam once you're scoring 85 percent or higher on three different sets.