Advice on Setup Cost, Pricing, and Licensing for EC2: 1. Start Small & Use Free Tier if Possible For new users or small applications, the AWS Free Tier offers limited EC2 usage free for 12 months. It's a great way to test without upfront investment. Always right-size your instances — don’t start with more CPU or RAM than you need. 2. Understand EC2 Pricing Models On-Demand Instances : Best for short-term or unpredictable workloads. No upfront cost, but more expensive per hour. Reserved Instances: Ideal for steady workloads. You commit for 1 or 3 years and get up to 72% discount. Spot Instances: Best for flexible workloads that can tolerate interruptions. Extremely cost-effective — up to 90% cheaper. 3. Use Auto Scaling & Load Balancing Set up Auto Scaling Groups to automatically increase/decrease instances based on demand. * This ensures performance while controlling cost. 4. Monitor and Optimize Regularly Use AWS Cost Explorer , CloudWatch, and **Trusted Advisor** to monitor usage and optimize cost. Set up budgets and alerts to avoid unexpected charges. 5. License Considerations AWS offers License Included EC2 instances for Windows Server and some enterprise software — no separate license purchase needed. If you already have licenses (e.g., Windows, SQL Server), you can use Bring Your Own License (BYOL) in eligible cases. 6. Don’t Forget Hidden Costs Storage (EBS), bandwidth (data transfer out), and additional services (like Elastic IP, snapshots, etc.) can add up. Review all charges regularly in the Billing Console. Final Tip: Plan first. Deploy later. Create a small proof-of-concept, analyze costs, and then scale. EC2 can be extremely cost-effective if used wisely — but also expensive if misconfigured.
Amazon EC2 is on the costlier side compared to competitors like GCP or Azure ( /products/microsoft-azure-reviews ). However, while it may be expensive, its reliability and stability justify the cost. EBS is more costly than competitor storage solutions, although S3 ( /products/amazon-s3-reviews ) block storage provides a more affordable option for long-term storage.
I'm going to mention again that there is quite a bit of complexity within the pricing of EC2 instances. I'm just going to give it six out of ten since there are various standards, upfront and committed pricing, storage options, and data transfer. It's always different.
The pricing of EC2 can vary depending on workloads. It can be expensive for high workloads but more cost-effective for smaller applications. AWS provides various services at competitive pricing, making AWS a favorable choice for startups and smaller projects.
Pricing is a concern as it's considered a bit expensive. With more vendors like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform entering the space, pricing may normalize in the future due to competition.
There is no cost involved for EC2, but sometimes you need to pay for products you run within it. You need to pay additional costs If you're using a lot of outbound Bandwidth. It is difficult to predict the cost, so I suggest setting up account budgets and notifications if you exceed your budget.
Lead Security Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Aug 23, 2023
We need to pay a monthly license fee for the product. The pricing also depends on the type of instance we use. Reserved Instances are dedicated to a single user and cost more. If we use Spot Instances, we must pay for what we use. It will be added to our monthly bill. It is not an expensive solution.
The pricing of this solution is variable. There is an open-source variant that is accessible via the public cloud, and then tiers that range in price depending on the level and amount of usage that is required.
The cost is moderate. It's not too high or too low. It's based on usage. While using AWS cloud ensures there are no hidden costs, if you use other clouds, there might be.
IT and Procurement Executive at iris communications
Real User
Top 5
Aug 29, 2022
I am using the tier three Amazon service. I am not going to use another solution other than Amazon EC2 because here in Pakistan there are some payment issues for solutions abroad.
MSP Architect at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
Real User
Jul 15, 2022
The cost varies depending on how many instances you have and how long you run it. Our most recent customers were running around four instances, and their bill was between $1,500 to $2,000.
IT Systems Administrator at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Real User
May 29, 2022
Licensing costs are paid monthly for the whole package. That includes the resources that the server is utilizing, plus the operating system along with any database license, such as Microsoft SQL, that you are using. It's quite expensive.
Senior Manager -Datacenter Planning and Operations at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Feb 14, 2022
We have a monthly primary account that pays for the licensing, with multiple accounts below it. So whenever we want to have a new solution, we create a new account under the paying account.
If we already have the script and everything available, the deployment takes no more than half an hour. We already have the templates, but the template development, the scripts, all the tools development will take some time, maybe a month or so depending on the use case. But, once you have them set up, it's basically a matter of 15 minutes to half an hour. There were no annual or monthly licensing costs as it's completely based on usage. Depending on how many hours of use, the instance we run, and the storage we use, you get a very detailed account of usage in your billing document.
I think Amazon EC2 has fair pricing. I actually think the pricing is manageable. I have Free Tiers, as well. You can get on the Free Tier pricing and they just charge you for data storage.
Service Delivery Manager / Architect at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Sep 27, 2020
The pricing is fine. It's not too expensive. That said, if you don't have the right model in place, then the cost factor could be one thing that people need to think about because it's based on usage. For example, how long the server is up and running will contribute to the cost. The model needs to be very concrete and work on how we want to use it. Based on that, if these factors are not known and if you don't take care of this, then the cost factor might go up as so it'll only take that one week to take care of any issues. We've never faced such a scenario because we are very clear on how we want to use it every time.
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) is a web service that provides secure, resizable compute capacity in the cloud. It is designed to make web-scale cloud computing easier for developers.
Amazon EC2’s simple web service interface allows you to obtain and configure capacity with minimal friction. It provides you with complete control of your computing resources and lets you run on Amazon’s proven computing environment. Amazon EC2 reduces the time required to obtain and boot new server...
Advice on Setup Cost, Pricing, and Licensing for EC2: 1. Start Small & Use Free Tier if Possible For new users or small applications, the AWS Free Tier offers limited EC2 usage free for 12 months. It's a great way to test without upfront investment. Always right-size your instances — don’t start with more CPU or RAM than you need. 2. Understand EC2 Pricing Models On-Demand Instances : Best for short-term or unpredictable workloads. No upfront cost, but more expensive per hour. Reserved Instances: Ideal for steady workloads. You commit for 1 or 3 years and get up to 72% discount. Spot Instances: Best for flexible workloads that can tolerate interruptions. Extremely cost-effective — up to 90% cheaper. 3. Use Auto Scaling & Load Balancing Set up Auto Scaling Groups to automatically increase/decrease instances based on demand. * This ensures performance while controlling cost. 4. Monitor and Optimize Regularly Use AWS Cost Explorer , CloudWatch, and **Trusted Advisor** to monitor usage and optimize cost. Set up budgets and alerts to avoid unexpected charges. 5. License Considerations AWS offers License Included EC2 instances for Windows Server and some enterprise software — no separate license purchase needed. If you already have licenses (e.g., Windows, SQL Server), you can use Bring Your Own License (BYOL) in eligible cases. 6. Don’t Forget Hidden Costs Storage (EBS), bandwidth (data transfer out), and additional services (like Elastic IP, snapshots, etc.) can add up. Review all charges regularly in the Billing Console. Final Tip: Plan first. Deploy later. Create a small proof-of-concept, analyze costs, and then scale. EC2 can be extremely cost-effective if used wisely — but also expensive if misconfigured.
Amazon EC2 is a bit expensive.
Amazon EC2 is on the costlier side compared to competitors like GCP or Azure ( /products/microsoft-azure-reviews ). However, while it may be expensive, its reliability and stability justify the cost. EBS is more costly than competitor storage solutions, although S3 ( /products/amazon-s3-reviews ) block storage provides a more affordable option for long-term storage.
I'm going to mention again that there is quite a bit of complexity within the pricing of EC2 instances. I'm just going to give it six out of ten since there are various standards, upfront and committed pricing, storage options, and data transfer. It's always different.
The pricing of EC2 can vary depending on workloads. It can be expensive for high workloads but more cost-effective for smaller applications. AWS provides various services at competitive pricing, making AWS a favorable choice for startups and smaller projects.
We are paying about $1,500 a month for one of the services. I'd rate the pricing as six out of ten for being expensive.
Pricing is a concern as it's considered a bit expensive. With more vendors like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform entering the space, pricing may normalize in the future due to competition.
We pay a monthly subscription fee. The price can be improved.
The tool's pricing is not cheap.
I would rate the product pricing around a six. It's competitive but can vary based on instance types and usage patterns.
The solution has different pricing models, and its cost differs when you purchase it for one year or three years.
There is no cost involved for EC2, but sometimes you need to pay for products you run within it. You need to pay additional costs If you're using a lot of outbound Bandwidth. It is difficult to predict the cost, so I suggest setting up account budgets and notifications if you exceed your budget.
We need to pay a monthly license fee for the product. The pricing also depends on the type of instance we use. Reserved Instances are dedicated to a single user and cost more. If we use Spot Instances, we must pay for what we use. It will be added to our monthly bill. It is not an expensive solution.
I find the cost to be reasonable. It's fair.
Amazon EC2 is a very expensive solution.
Amazon EC2 is a pay-as-you-go service.
The price of Amazon EC2 could improve. The Google Cloud Platform is more cost-effective. We pay for Amazon EC2 monthly.
Reducing the price of the solution could lead to an improvement.
It's expensive, and it could be cheaper.
The pricing of this solution is variable. There is an open-source variant that is accessible via the public cloud, and then tiers that range in price depending on the level and amount of usage that is required.
We'd like the solution to be cheaper. We pay a monthly fee for licensing. I'd rate the pricing five out of ten.
EC2 is a little expensive.
I use the free tier, although I have paid for some services that are not free. The overall cost of this solution depends on the services you use.
The cost is moderate. It's not too high or too low. It's based on usage. While using AWS cloud ensures there are no hidden costs, if you use other clouds, there might be.
The license fee for Amazon EC2 is higher than its competitors.
I am using the tier three Amazon service. I am not going to use another solution other than Amazon EC2 because here in Pakistan there are some payment issues for solutions abroad.
The cost of the product is reasonable. It’s not overly expensive.
The cost varies depending on how many instances you have and how long you run it. Our most recent customers were running around four instances, and their bill was between $1,500 to $2,000.
Licensing costs are paid monthly for the whole package. That includes the resources that the server is utilizing, plus the operating system along with any database license, such as Microsoft SQL, that you are using. It's quite expensive.
This is not an expensive solution.
There is a license required to use this solution and we pay on a monthly basis.
We have a monthly primary account that pays for the licensing, with multiple accounts below it. So whenever we want to have a new solution, we create a new account under the paying account.
If we already have the script and everything available, the deployment takes no more than half an hour. We already have the templates, but the template development, the scripts, all the tools development will take some time, maybe a month or so depending on the use case. But, once you have them set up, it's basically a matter of 15 minutes to half an hour. There were no annual or monthly licensing costs as it's completely based on usage. Depending on how many hours of use, the instance we run, and the storage we use, you get a very detailed account of usage in your billing document.
I think Amazon EC2 has fair pricing. I actually think the pricing is manageable. I have Free Tiers, as well. You can get on the Free Tier pricing and they just charge you for data storage.
The pricing is fine. It's not too expensive. That said, if you don't have the right model in place, then the cost factor could be one thing that people need to think about because it's based on usage. For example, how long the server is up and running will contribute to the cost. The model needs to be very concrete and work on how we want to use it. Based on that, if these factors are not known and if you don't take care of this, then the cost factor might go up as so it'll only take that one week to take care of any issues. We've never faced such a scenario because we are very clear on how we want to use it every time.
The costs are quite high. For our usage, the cost is approximately $20,000 to $23,000 per month.
We're charged depending on the run time, but there are other costs as well, including costs for transactions and storage.