PrivateLink cost: private connectivity to services

Quick answer

PrivateLink (AWS) and Private Endpoints (Azure) provide private connectivity to services (AWS services, SaaS, your own services) without traffic traversing the public internet, billing per endpoint-hour plus per-GB data processed. It improves security and can reduce NAT/egress cost by keeping traffic private, but each endpoint carries an hourly charge, so many endpoints add up. The levers: use PrivateLink where security or egress savings justify it, consolidate endpoints, and weigh endpoint cost against the NAT/egress it replaces.

PrivateLink and Private Endpoints let resources reach services over private connectivity rather than the public internet, improving security and sometimes reducing egress. They bill per endpoint-hour plus data processed, so the cost is the endpoints you run and the traffic through them, weighed against the NAT and egress cost they can replace.

Endpoint-hour plus data

Component	Cost
Endpoint	Per interface endpoint, per hour
Data processed	Per GB through the endpoint

Each interface endpoint bills an hourly charge (often per AZ) plus a per-gigabyte data processing charge on traffic through it. So the cost scales with how many endpoints you run and how much data flows. Many endpoints across many services and AZs accumulate hourly charges, so consolidating and scoping endpoints to what you need matters.

Security plus egress savings

PrivateLink's value is keeping traffic private (not traversing the internet), improving security and compliance, and it can reduce cost by keeping service traffic off the NAT gateway and avoiding internet egress. For heavy traffic to a service, a PrivateLink endpoint's cost can be less than routing that traffic through a NAT gateway, so it can be both more secure and cheaper. But for light traffic, the endpoint hourly charge may exceed the NAT cost it replaces.

Controlling PrivateLink cost

Use PrivateLink where security or compliance requires private connectivity, or where heavy traffic to a service makes the endpoint cheaper than the NAT/egress it replaces, consolidate endpoints and scope them to needed services and AZs rather than proliferating, and weigh each endpoint's hourly cost against the NAT processing and egress it avoids. Because cost is endpoint-hours plus data, right-sizing the endpoint set and using it where it pays off (security or NAT savings) is the discipline, part of broader VPC cost.

FAQ

How is PrivateLink priced?

Per endpoint-hour (each interface endpoint, often per availability zone) plus a per-GB data processing charge on traffic through it. So cost scales with how many endpoints you run and how much data flows. Many endpoints across services and AZs accumulate hourly charges, so consolidating and scoping endpoints matters.

How do I reduce PrivateLink cost?

Use PrivateLink where security or compliance requires private connectivity, or where heavy traffic makes the endpoint cheaper than the NAT/egress it replaces, consolidate endpoints and scope them to needed services and AZs rather than proliferating, and weigh each endpoint's hourly cost against the NAT processing and egress it avoids. Right-sizing the endpoint set is the main lever.

Can PrivateLink save money on NAT and egress?

Yes, for heavy service traffic. Routing traffic to a service through a PrivateLink endpoint keeps it off the NAT gateway (avoiding NAT data processing) and off the public internet (avoiding egress). For a service you send lots of data to, the endpoint's cost can be less than the NAT and egress it replaces, making PrivateLink both more secure and cheaper.

When is PrivateLink not worth the cost?

For light traffic where the endpoint's hourly charge exceeds the NAT processing and egress cost it would replace, and where private connectivity is not required for security or compliance. In that case a NAT gateway or public path may be cheaper. PrivateLink pays off for heavy service traffic or where private connectivity is a requirement, not for occasional light access.

What is the value of PrivateLink beyond cost?

Security and compliance. PrivateLink keeps traffic to services private, not traversing the public internet, which improves the security posture and can satisfy compliance requirements for private connectivity. So even where it does not save on NAT and egress, the private, secure connectivity is its primary value, with cost savings a potential bonus for heavy-traffic cases.

Does C3X estimate PrivateLink cost?

C3X prices PrivateLink and Private Endpoint resources from your Terraform, including the per-endpoint hourly charges, so the endpoint cost appears before deploy. Data processing cost depends on traffic through the endpoints, which you provide as a usage assumption to weigh against the NAT and egress it replaces.

What to do next

Price your private connectivity before you deploy. C3X reads your Terraform and prices your resources against a live catalog. Start with the quickstart.