CKA and CKAD exams on sale on 2026-10-08 at $445 each, or $645 bundled with the matching self-paced course. source
The CKA and CKAD are two-hour, hands-on, proctored Kubernetes exams, bought alone or bundled with a 35-hour self-paced course. They suit engineers who already operate containers and want a credential that tests doing rather than recall. Buy the exam during a sale, and plan practice time in a real cluster, since the bundled course is reading material, not labs.
The facts
| Category | Cloud and DevOps |
|---|---|
| Website | training.linuxfoundation.org/certification/certified-kubernetes-administrator-cka |
| Based | Wilmington, DE · founded 2000 |
| Format | online-self-paced |
| Programs | CKA exam, CKAD exam, LFS258 Kubernetes Fundamentals course, LFD259 Kubernetes for Developers course |
| Length | LFS258 is '35 Hours of Course Material' with 12 months of access; the 2-hour exam is booked separately within an eligibility window. unknown |
| Tuition | $299 to $645 CKA exam only $445 (two attempts); CKA + LFS258 bundle $645; LFS258 alone $299; CKAD exam $445, CKAD + LFD259 $645. verified |
| Financing | upfront One-time purchase. Exam price includes 'Two exam attempts'. No prerequisites. |
| Admission | open No prerequisites for the exam. |
| Stack | Kubernetes, kubectl, etcd, Networking, Storage, Troubleshooting |
Outcomes
This program does not publish job-placement or salary outcomes. Treat any number you hear from admissions as unverifiable.
Interview-prep depth
0 / 5
Exam and course pages: no interview content; the 2-hour command-line exam is the assessment.
Whatever the program covers, the interview itself is free to prepare for here: coding patterns, system design, practice prompts, company guides.
What a careful reader should know
The Linux Foundation is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit formed in 2000 (Wikipedia). Exam prices rise periodically and sales run around Kubecon and year end; many candidates prepare with KodeKloud or similar labs rather than the LF course.
Sources (4)
This directory takes no lead fees or placement payments from any program. Where a program runs an affiliate scheme we say so on its page and mark the link. Facts carry a badge: verified means we read it on a primary source on the date shown, reported means a third party said it, unknown means nobody we trust has published it.
Useful next steps:
