Understanding Amazon EBS Pricing: A Complete Guide

Introduction

Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) is a highly scalable and reliable block-level storage solution for Amazon EC2 instances. It provides persistent storage volumes that remain available independently of an EC2 instance’s lifecycle, making it a foundational element of many AWS-based infrastructures. For cloud architects, DevOps engineers, and business decision-makers, understanding EBS pricing is essential for controlling and optimizing cloud costs.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the different types of EBS volumes, the key factors that affect their pricing, and practical tips for cost optimization. By the end, you’ll have a concrete strategy for aligning storage performance with cost in your AWS workloads.

EBS Volume Types

EBS offers several volume types to accommodate different performance profiles:

1. General Purpose SSD (gp2 & gp3)

• gp3 is the newer generation of general-purpose SSD, offering a baseline of 3,000 IOPS and 125 MB/s throughput, with the option to independently provision additional IOPS and throughput.
• gp2 is the older generation SSD where performance (IOPS) scales with the volume size, generally suited for a broad range of applications but can become more expensive if you need to scale performance.

2. Provisioned IOPS SSD (io1 & io2)

• io2 provides very high IOPS, low latency, and increased durability (99.999%), making it ideal for business-critical applications such as high-performance databases.
• io1 has slightly lower durability than io2 but also targets high-performance workloads with intensive I/O requirements.

3. Throughput Optimized HDD (st1)

• st1 is designed for workloads requiring high throughput rather than high IOPS, such as big data, data warehousing, and log processing. It provides a cost-efficient solution for sequential read/write access patterns.

4. Cold HDD (sc1)

• sc1 offers the lowest cost among EBS volumes but with correspondingly lower performance. It’s well-suited for infrequently accessed data, archives, and cold backups.

5. Magnetic (Standard)

• Magnetic (also called “Standard”) is the legacy EBS volume type. While it remains available for older workloads, newer SSD (gp2, gp3) or HDD (st1, sc1) volumes generally provide better performance and cost efficiency.

Below are pricing examples in us-east-1 (N. Virginia). Pricing may change over time, so always check the latest rates on Amazon EBS Pricing or use the AWS EBS Calculator for precise cost estimates.

EBS Volumes Pricing

1. General Purpose SSD (gp3 and gp2) Pricing

• gp3:
  • Storage: $0.08 per GB-month
  • IOPS: 3,000 IOPS included for free; additional IOPS priced at $0.005 per provisioned IOPS-month beyond the baseline.
  • Throughput: 125 MB/s included for free; additional throughput costs $0.04 per MB/s-month beyond the baseline.
  • Use Case: Cost-efficient SSD with flexible performance scaling.
• gp2:
  • Storage: $0.10 per GB-month of provisioned storage.
  • Performance scales with volume size at 3 IOPS per GB, with a minimum of 100 IOPS and up to 16,000 IOPS.
  • Use Case: Older generation SSD. Suitable for general-purpose workloads, but often more expensive than gp3 for higher performance needs.

2. Provisioned IOPS SSD (io2 and io1) Pricing

• io2:
  • Storage: $0.125 per GB-month
  • Provisioned IOPS:
    • $0.065 per provisioned IOPS-month for up to 32,000 IOPS.
    • $0.046 per provisioned IOPS-month for 32,001 to 64,000 IOPS.
    • $0.032 per provisioned IOPS-month for over 64,000 IOPS.
  • Use Case: Best for high-performance, business-critical applications with durability requirements of 99.999%.
• io1:
  • Storage: $0.125 per GB-month of provisioned storage.
  • Provisioned IOPS: $0.065 per provisioned IOPS-month.
  • Use Case: Similar to io2 but with slightly lower durability. Often replaced by io2 for critical workloads.

3. Throughput Optimized HDD (st1) Pricing

• st1:
  • Storage: $0.045 per GB-month of provisioned storage.
  • Use Case: Ideal for workloads requiring high throughput, such as big data processing, data warehousing, and log processing.

4. Cold HDD (sc1) Pricing

• sc1:
  • Storage: $0.015 per GB-month of provisioned storage.
  • Use Case: Best suited for infrequently accessed data, such as archives and cold backups. Offers the lowest cost among EBS volumes.

EBS Snapshots Pricing

Amazon EBS Snapshots are a versatile and cost-effective way to back up your data. They store point-in-time copies of your EBS volumes incrementally, meaning you only pay for the data that has changed since your last snapshot. Whether for compliance, disaster recovery, or operational flexibility, EBS Snapshots offer various pricing options tailored to different needs.

‍Snapshot Storage Pricing

• Standard Tier:
  • $0.05 per GB-month. Ideal for frequently accessed snapshots or short-term backups.
  • Restoring from this tier is free, making it suitable for regular recovery scenarios.
• Archive Tier:
  • $0.0125 per GB-month. Designed for long-term storage with a minimum retention period of 90 days.
  • Retrieval from the archive costs $0.03 per GB, making it best for infrequently accessed backups.

Snapshot Restore Pricing

• Standard Tier: Restores are free, making it cost-effective for operational needs.
• Archive Tier: Retrieval incurs $0.03 per GB, with costs increasing based on the amount of data restored.

Recycle Bin for Snapshots

‍The Recycle Bin protects against accidental deletions, giving you a grace period to recover snapshots before permanent deletion. Snapshots stored in the Recycle Bin are billed at the same rate as regular snapshots.

‍Fast Snapshot Restore (FSR)

‍FSR allows for instant restoration of EBS volumes, regardless of their size. It is priced at $0.75 per DSU-hour (Data Services Unit-hour) per snapshot in each Availability Zone. FSR is ideal for workloads with strict recovery time requirements, though it’s best enabled selectively to manage costs.

‍Snapshot Management Through APIs

‍For advanced snapshot management, AWS provides APIs that allow granular control. However, these operations come with specific costs:

• ListChangedBlocks and ListSnapshotBlocks: $0.0006 per 1,000 requests.
• GetSnapshotBlock: $0.003 per 1,000 SnapshotAPIUnits.
• PutSnapshotBlock: $0.006 per 1,000 SnapshotAPIUnits.

These APIs are valuable for incremental backups and custom workflows but should be monitored to avoid unexpected charges.

‍Time-Based Snapshot Copy

‍The Time-Based Snapshot Copy feature enables copying snapshots across AWS Regions within a specified timeframe, helping meet compliance and recovery objectives. Pricing depends on the completion duration:

‍Best Practices for Cost Optimization

Below are optimization strategies that can significantly reduce your EBS bill:

1. Right-Size Your Volumes
   • Periodically check how much space you’re using compared to what you’ve provisioned. Consider downsizing to save on unused capacity. Tools like AWS Cost Explorer can help identify underutilized volumes.
2. Prefer gp3 Over gp2
   • gp3 starts at $0.08 per GB-month, compared to $0.10 per GB-month for gp2.
   • You can independently provision additional IOPS and throughput, which often results in lower overall costs compared to scaling gp2 volumes for performance.
3. Use Snapshots and Lifecycle Management
   • Automate snapshot creation and deletion using Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager or AWS Backup.
   • Retain only the snapshots you need. You can significantly reduce costs by deleting older, unnecessary snapshots.
4. Adopt st1 or sc1 for Lower-Access Data
   • For large volumes of sequentially accessed or cold data, st1 and sc1 can be more economical than SSD-based volumes.
   • Typically, these workloads don’t require high IOPS, making HDD storage a more budget-friendly choice.
5. Clean Up Unused Resources
   • Regularly audit your AWS environment to identify unattached EBS volumes. Unattached volumes continue to incur storage charges. Deleting them can free up resources and lower costs.
6. Use CloudWatch for Monitoring
   • Keep track of volume IOPS, throughput, and average queue length. If you observe consistent underutilization of a high-performance volume, consider migrating to a lower-cost option.

Streamline EBS Optimization with Cloudchipr

Looking to automate and simplify your EBS cost optimization? Cloudchipr is a purpose-built FinOps solution that enables you to:

• Automatically Identify Idle Volumes: Leverage Automation Workflows to detect and manage orphaned EBS volumes—either delete them directly or create a snapshot before deletion—ensuring you don’t pay for unused storage.
• Uncover Savings Opportunities: Get tailored Recommendations to right-size EBS volumes and reduce waste, taking action with just a few clicks.
• View EBS Usage & Details: Access key metrics like monthly cost, attachment status and size in Cloudchipr’s Live Usage & Mgmt tab. Easily review and make informed, cost-driven decisions with all critical insights in one place.

With Cloudchipr, you can unify your cost-management efforts, save time on manual cleanups, and maintain financial visibility—all in one centralized platform.

‍Conclusion

‍Amazon EBS is a critical component of AWS storage infrastructure, offering highly scalable and reliable solutions tailored to a variety of workloads. However, with flexibility comes complexity, and understanding EBS pricing is essential to keep your cloud costs under control.In this guide, we explored the various EBS volume types, their pricing structures, and the key factors influencing costs. From high-performance SSDs like gp3 and io2 to cost-efficient options such as st1 and sc1, EBS provides a wide range of choices to fit different performance and budgetary needs. We also delved into EBS Snapshots, covering storage tiers, API-based costs, and best practices to optimize backup strategies.To make the most of Amazon EBS, focus on right-sizing your volumes, leveraging automation tools for lifecycle management, and using advanced features like the Archive Tier and Time-Based Snapshot Copy selectively. Tools like Cloudchipr further simplify the process by providing actionable insights and automation workflows to manage your storage efficiently.Whether you’re building a high-performance application or managing long-term data archives, a well-informed approach to EBS can save you time, effort, and money. By aligning your storage choices with your workload requirements, you’ll not only optimize costs but also ensure a robust and scalable infrastructure ready for growth.