Best SC-200 practice tests in 2026: free vs paid, compared

The short version: start with Microsoft Learn's free SC-200 training and Microsoft's own practice material, then add one paid bank — and spend real time in the Microsoft Defender portal. SC-200 is an analyst exam: it expects you to know which Defender XDR or Microsoft Sentinel feature, role, response action or KQL query fits a scenario. Practice questions find your gaps; hands-on work and writing KQL are what close them.

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We build SC-200 prep ourselves, so weigh our own entry accordingly. The rest is an honest account of the practice options for Microsoft Exam SC-200, Microsoft Security Operations Analyst, as of November 9, 2026 — including what we don't do. We haven't listed other vendors' prices or question counts, because they change often and we'd rather send you to the vendor's own page than quote a number that's out of date.

What the exam actually is

Two things about this exam matter for buying practice tests. First, there is one current outline: skills measured as of October 21, 2026. Microsoft's change log lists one minor change in that update, to ingesting data into Microsoft Sentinel, so a bank written to the previous outline is mostly still on target, but check its connector and ingestion questions. Second, the platform has moved, and a bank that isn't maintained will teach answers that are now wrong: Microsoft Sentinel now runs in the Microsoft Defender portal (Microsoft says it's no longer supported in the Azure portal after March 31, 2027); Microsoft 365 Defender is now Defender XDR; the Log Analytics agent retired in favor of the Azure Monitor Agent and data collection rules; Archive and long-term retention have given way to the Analytics and Data lake tiers; and alert suppression is now alert tuning.

Quick comparison

1. Microsoft Learn (free)

BEST FREEMicrosoft's own material is the place to start. Microsoft Learn has free self-paced training for SC-200, and the SC-200 study guide lists the skills measured as of October 21, 2026, with a change log of what moved. Check the SC-200 exam page on Microsoft Learn for Microsoft's free Practice Assessment as well; if it's offered, take it.

Best for: everyone, first. Take any official practice assessment early to see where you stand and again near the end as a check. Trade-off: it isn't a large bank or a hands-on tool, so most people want a second source for more variety, timed practice and KQL reps.

2. Tutorials Dojo

QUESTION BANKTutorials Dojo is a well-known publisher of cloud practice exams and sells an SC-200 practice question bank. We haven't quoted a price or question count; check the product page for the current numbers and any free sample questions.

Best for: anyone who wants a second source of exam-style questions after Microsoft's free material. Trade-off: we didn't find KQL labs in its SC-200 product, so you'll practice writing queries elsewhere.

3. CrushCert

KQL LABS + MOCKThat's us. CrushCert's SC-200 bank is 300 original questions written to the October 21, 2026 outline and its weights — 124 on managing a security operations environment, 110 on responding to security incidents and 66 on threat hunting. Questions use current names (the Microsoft Defender portal, Defender XDR, Microsoft Sentinel in the Defender portal, the Analytics and Data lake tiers, the Azure Monitor Agent, custom detections), and every explanation says why the right answer is right and why each wrong answer is wrong.

You also get ten labs. Six are KQL labs where you type the query yourself and the lab checks each clause and coaches you on what's missing: Hunt Failed Sign-ins in Sentinel, Find Encoded PowerShell on Endpoints, Who Clicked the Phishing Link? (joining EmailEvents to UrlClickEvents), Turn a Hunt into a Custom Detection, Write a Brute-Force Analytics Rule Query and Hunt Lateral Movement over RDP. Four drag-and-drop labs cover the choices the exam likes to test: Work the Incident in Order, Pick the Sentinel Data Connector, Which Defender Raised It? and Choose the Right Data Tier. Add adaptive quizzes that prioritize unseen and missed questions, flashcards with spaced repetition, and a 50-question mock on a 100-minute timer with a 70% pass line. It is $15/mo for SC-200 alone, or included in the $24/mo Professional plan with all 23 exams across Cisco, CompTIA, AWS, ISC2 and Microsoft. 7-day free trial, no card, cancel anytime.

Best for: people who want a large bank, hands-on KQL practice and a full-length timed mock in one place, and anyone stacking several certs. Trade-off: the labs are simulated — no query runs against a real workspace, so you still want time in a real Defender portal. It is practice, not a video course, so pair it with Microsoft's free training, and it's a subscription rather than a one-time purchase. SC-200 is new to CrushCert, so it doesn't have a track record yet. Here's CrushCert's SC-200 prep.

4. CertCrush

QUESTION BANKCertCrush sells SC-200 practice questions. Check its product page for the current price, question count and how often the bank is updated.

Best for: people who already use CertCrush for other exams. Trade-off: we didn't find KQL labs in its SC-200 product; it's a question bank.

5. MeasureUp

ESTABLISHED PUBLISHERMeasureUp, a long-standing publisher of Microsoft practice tests, sells an SC-200 practice test. Check its product page for the current price, question count and any sale.

Best for: people who want a practice test from an established Microsoft-focused publisher. Trade-off: we didn't find KQL labs in its SC-200 product, and Microsoft's own training is free.

How to choose

• Check the names in the sample questions. A correct answer that says "Microsoft 365 Defender portal," "Azure Sentinel," "install the Log Analytics agent," "enable Fusion" in a Defender-portal tenant, or "query ThreatIntelligenceIndicator" means the bank hasn't caught up with the platform.
• Check that it covers all three domains at the right weights. Managing a security operations environment is 40–45% of the exam and responding to incidents is 35–40%. A bank that is mostly KQL, or mostly incident triage, is lopsided.
• Read the explanations, not just the answers. On SC-200 the wrong choices are usually real features that fit a slightly different scenario (an automation rule vs a playbook, NRT vs scheduled rules, Hide vs Resolve in alert tuning, Isolate vs Restrict app execution). You want explanations that cover why each wrong choice is wrong.
• Decide whether you need KQL practice. If you already write KQL every day, a question bank may be enough. If you don't, pick something that makes you write queries, not just choose between them.
• Count hands-on time separately. No practice test replaces working incidents and running hunts in a real Defender portal.

Our honest recommendation

Work through Microsoft Learn's free SC-200 training, get into the Defender portal of a test tenant to work alerts and run advanced hunting queries, and take any free official practice assessment early to find your weak domains. Then add one paid source: Tutorials Dojo, CertCrush or MeasureUp if you only want more exam-style questions; CrushCert if you want a 300-question bank, KQL labs, a 100-minute mock and a plan that also covers your other certs. Skip the dumps. Book the exam when you're passing timed mocks with room to spare. If you're still deciding, read is SC-200 worth it; for the time budget, see how long to study for SC-200, or go straight to the SC-200 study plan.

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