A Practical Guide to Cutting Your AWS Bill

Cloud cost audits tend to find the same patterns repeated across different companies. Before assuming you need a major re-architecture, these are the checks that typically deliver the fastest, lowest-risk savings.

Right-sizing is usually the biggest win

Instances provisioned for peak load that run at a fraction of capacity most of the time are the single most common source of waste we find - right-sizing alone often cuts compute costs significantly.

Reserved capacity and savings plans

For predictable, steady-state workloads, reserved instances or savings plans typically cut costs substantially compared to on-demand pricing, with minimal operational change required.

• Right-size instances based on actual utilization data, not initial estimates
• Apply reserved pricing to predictable, steady-state workloads
• Set up billing alerts before costs spike, not after

Storage and data transfer are the quiet costs

Unused snapshots, orphaned volumes and cross-region data transfer often account for a surprising share of the bill - usually invisible until someone actually audits them.

Frequently Asked Questions