aws
356 articles on aws — what drives the cost, how it is priced, and where the savings actually are.
Right-size Lambda memory guide: the setting that sets your bill
Lambda memory controls both cost and CPU, so the cheapest setting is not always the lowest. Right-sizing memory to minimize cost per invocation, factoring in faster execution, is a real optimization. Here is how to tune it.
Right-size RDS instances guide: databases without the bloat
RDS instances are often provisioned larger than the workload needs, and unlike stateless compute, resizing a database takes care. Here is how to right-size RDS instance class, storage, and IOPS to real usage without risking the database.
Route 53 cost explained: DNS pricing and its hidden lines
Route 53 charges per hosted zone, per million queries, and for health checks, so DNS cost is usually small but can surprise you at high query volume or with many zones and health checks. Here is the full pricing picture.
S3 Intelligent-Tiering explained: automatic storage cost savings
S3 Intelligent-Tiering moves objects between access tiers automatically based on usage, cutting storage cost for data with unknown or changing access patterns, for a small monitoring fee. Here is how it works and when to use it.
S3 lifecycle policies cost savings: aging data to cheaper storage
S3 lifecycle policies automatically transition objects to cheaper storage classes and expire them on a schedule, cutting storage cost for data with a known access pattern. Here is how to design policies that save without losing what you need.
S3 request cost surprise: when API calls beat storage on the bill
S3 charges per request, not just per GB stored, so a workload making millions of small GET, PUT, or LIST calls can pay more for requests than for storage. Here is why it happens and how to cut request cost.
S3 storage classes cost compared: picking the cheapest tier
S3 offers storage classes from Standard to Glacier Deep Archive, trading storage price against retrieval cost and latency. Matching each object to the right class is a major cost lever. Here is how the classes compare.
SageMaker cost optimization guide: taming ML infrastructure spend
SageMaker cost spans notebooks, training jobs, and always-on inference endpoints, and each has its own trap. Idle notebooks and over-provisioned endpoints are the usual culprits. Here is how to optimize each stage.
Savings Plans vs Reserved Instances for EC2: which commitment wins
Both Savings Plans and Reserved Instances discount EC2 in exchange for a commitment, but they differ in flexibility and how they apply. Savings Plans commit to a dollar-per-hour spend; RIs commit to specific capacity. Here is how to choose.
Spot vs on-demand savings explained: big discounts with a catch
Spot instances offer steep discounts off on-demand prices for spare capacity that AWS can reclaim with short notice. For fault-tolerant workloads the savings are large; the catch is interruption. Here is how to use spot safely.
SQS vs SNS vs EventBridge cost: pricing three messaging services
SQS, SNS, and EventBridge all move messages between services but price differently, per request, per publish and delivery, and per event with routing. Which is cheapest depends on your fan-out and routing needs. Here is the comparison.
Step Functions cost explained: paying per state transition
AWS Step Functions bills the Standard workflow type per state transition, so a workflow with many steps or high execution volume can cost more than expected. The Express type prices differently. Here is how to keep orchestration cheap.
T3 vs T3a cost: a cheaper burstable instance for the same shape
T3a instances use AMD processors to deliver the same burstable profile as T3 Intel instances at a lower price. For most general-purpose workloads the swap is a simple, low-risk saving. Here is how they compare.
Unexpected AWS charges explained: the usual bill surprises
Most surprise AWS charges come from a short list of usual suspects, data transfer, NAT gateways, idle resources, request fees, and forgotten services. Knowing them turns a mystifying bill into a fixable one. Here is the catalog of surprises.
us-east-1 vs us-west-2 cost: comparing two popular regions
us-east-1 and us-west-2 are two of AWS's cheapest and most feature-complete regions, with pricing that is close but not identical. Here is how they compare on cost, and what else to weigh beyond the sticker price.
VPC peering vs Transit Gateway cost: a deep dive
VPC peering is free to set up and charges only for data transfer; Transit Gateway adds hourly attachment and per-GB processing fees but scales connectivity cleanly. Which is cheaper depends on how many VPCs you connect. Here is the detailed comparison.
WAF cost explained: what web application firewall protection costs
AWS WAF bills per web ACL, per rule, and per million requests inspected, so cost scales with how many rules you run and how much traffic you protect. Here is how WAF pricing works and how to keep protection affordable.
What happens after AWS free tier ends: avoiding the cliff
The AWS free tier covers limited usage for twelve months (and some services always), and when it expires, resources that were free start billing at standard rates. Here is what changes, what to watch, and how to avoid a surprise bill.
When to buy reserved instances: timing the commitment right
Reserved instances save money on steady workloads but lock you into a commitment, so buying at the wrong time or for the wrong capacity wastes the discount. Here is how to decide when a workload is ready to reserve.
Why is my AWS bill so high: finding the real cost drivers
A high AWS bill almost always traces to a few dominant drivers, over-provisioned compute, data transfer, idle resources, and unmanaged growth, rather than a mystery. Here is how to find what is driving your bill and bring it down.
Why is us-east-1 the cheapest region: the default explained
us-east-1 (N. Virginia) is AWS's oldest, largest region, and it is consistently at or near the lowest prices and the first to get new services. Here is why it earned that status, and when the cheapest region is not the right choice.
Airflow cost on AWS: MWAA vs self-managed pricing
Running Apache Airflow on AWS costs money whether you use managed MWAA or self-host on EC2 or EKS. The bill is driven by environment size, worker scaling, and the compute your tasks actually launch. Here is how to size and control it.
API Gateway REST vs HTTP API cost: which is cheaper
AWS API Gateway offers REST APIs and HTTP APIs at very different prices. HTTP APIs are substantially cheaper per million requests but drop some features. Here is the price gap, the feature tradeoffs, and how to choose.
AppSync vs API Gateway cost: GraphQL vs REST pricing
AWS AppSync (managed GraphQL) and API Gateway (REST and HTTP) are priced differently and suit different workloads. AppSync bills per query and real-time message; API Gateway bills per request. Here is how they compare and when each is cheaper.