AWS Cost Estimation Checklist: 15 Costs to Check Before Deploying

AWS Cost Estimation Checklist: 15 Costs to Check Before You Deploy

Plan Your AWS Costs Before You Deploy

Estimating AWS cost is rarely as simple as choosing an EC2 Instance and Multiplying the hourly price by the number of Hours in a Month.

A production workload can generate costs across Compute, Storage, Databases, Networking, Backups, Monitoring and Availability.

This AWS Cost Estimation Checklist gives you a simple way to review the major cost Components before deploying your Workload.

Free Download • One-Page Checklist • No SignUp Required

What's Included In The Checklist?

The checklist covers 15 AWS Cost Areas worth reviewing before Deployment:

EC2 Compute — Instance Size, Region, Runtime and Purchasing Model.
EBS Volumes — Storage Type, Provisioned Capacity and Unused Volumes.
EBS Snapshots — Snapshot Growth and Retention.
Amazon RDS — Database Compute, Storage and Configuration.
RDS Backups & Snapshots — Retention and Additional Backup Storage.
Multi-AZ & Redundancy — The Cost Impact of High Availability.
Amazon S3 — Storage Classes, Requests, Retrieval and Lifecycle.
NAT Gateway — Gateway Usage and Data Processing.
Load Balancers — Infrastructure required for Traffic Distribution.
Data Transfer — Internet, Cross-AZ and Cross-Region Traffic.
CloudWatch & Observability — Logs, Metrics and Retention.
Public IPv4 Addresses — Public IP Requirements.
Route 53 & DNS — Hosted Zones, Queries and Health Checks.
AWS Support — Support Costs when Applicable.
Discounts & Commitments — Savings Plans, Reserved Pricing and other Commitment Options.

Why Use An AWS Cost Checklist?

One of the easiest mistakes during Cloud Planning is Estimating the obvious Resource while overlooking the supporting Architecture.

For Example, a Workload that initially looks like:

EC2

may actually require:

EC2 + EBS + RDS + S3 + Load Balancer + NAT Gateway + CloudWatch + Backups + Data Transfer

Each component can affect the monthly AWS bill.

The checklist helps you think about the Complete Workload, rather than estimating individual AWS services in isolation.

Estimate Your AWS Costs

Once you’ve identified the Services your Architecture requires, the next step is putting numbers against them.

Use the AWS Pricing Calculator on AllenMutum.com to create a planning Estimate across common AWS services including EC2, RDS, S3, EBS, Lambda and Outbound Data Transfer.

Go Deeper Into AWS Pricing

AWS Pricing Explained
Understand how AWS pricing works across Compute, Storage, Databases and Networking.

Amazon EC2 Pricing
Understand EC2 Pricing Models and the Additional costs surrounding an EC2 Workload.

Amazon RDS Pricing
Understand Database Instance, Storage, Backup and Multi-AZ costs.

Amazon S3 Pricing
Understand Storage Classes, Requests, Retrieval and Data-Transfer considerations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an AWS cost Estimation Checklist?

An AWS cost estimation checklist is a planning tool used to identify the Services and Infrastructure components that may contribute to the cost of an AWS workload before deployment.

What AWS Costs are Commonly Overlooked?

Depending on the Architecture, overlooked costs can include EBS Storage, Snapshots, Database Backups, NAT Gateway Usage, Load Balancers, Data Transfer, monitoring and Public IPv4 Addresses.

Is the checklist an official AWS pricing tool?

No. This is an independent planning resource from AllenMutum.com and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Amazon Web Services.

Can I use the checklist for an existing AWS Environment?

Yes. Although designed for Pre-Deployment planning, it can also be used as a starting point when reviewing the cost components of an existing AWS Architecture.

How can I calculate the Estimated Monthly Cost?

After identifying the required services, use the AWS Pricing Calculator on AllenMutum.com to model common Infrastructure components and create a Planning Estimate.