How pricing works

Amazon AppStream 2.0 is an AWS End User Computing (EUC) service optimized for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application streaming, converting desktop apps to SaaS, and virtual desktop use cases.

With Amazon AppStream 2.0, you pay only for the Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) resources that you provision plus a small monthly fee per end user depending on the operating system chosen. There is no upfront investment and no long-term commitment when using Amazon AppStream 2.0.

Streaming resources consist of AppStream 2.0 Always-On fleet instances, On-Demand fleet instances, Elastic fleet instances, image builder, and app block builder instances. Pricing below is per instance-hour consumed. Each partial instance-hour consumed will be billed per-second for Elastic fleet instances or instances that use the Amazon Linux 2 operating system. The pricing is based on the instance type, size, and operating system you select. The instance charge includes compute, storage, and any network traffic used by the streaming protocol. AppStream 2.0 monitors your fleet utilization and performs automatic adjustments to fleet capacity to meet your user demand at the lowest possible cost. The capacity adjustments are made based on scaling policies that you define based on the current utilization or based on a schedule. Auto scaling applies both to Always-On and On-Demand fleets. For more information, see Fleet Auto Scaling for Amazon AppStream 2.0 in the Amazon AppStream 2.0 Administration Guide.

User fees are charged per user per month in each AWS Region where users stream applications from AppStream 2.0 fleet instances that are based on Microsoft Windows Server operating systems. 

Always-On fleet instances

Windows Always-on fleet instances are charged hourly. Linux Always-on fleet instances are charged on one second increments, with a minimum of 15 minutes. The instance charge includes compute, storage, and any network traffic used by the streaming protocol. With Always-On fleets, all instances that are running are charged the applicable running instance fee, based on the instance type and size, even when users aren't connected.

On-Demand fleet instances

Windows On-Demand fleet instances are charged hourly. Linux On-Demand fleet instances are charged on one second increments, with a minimum of 15 minutes. The instance charge includes compute, storage, and any network traffic used by the streaming protocol. With On-Demand fleets, instances are charged the applicable running instance fee, based on the instance type and size, only when the instances are used for streaming sessions. Instances in On-Demand fleets that are not being used for streaming sessions are charged a small hourly stopped instance fee that is the same for all instance types and sizes. For Linux On-Demand fleet instances, each partial stopped-hour is charged per-second.

Image builder instances

Windows image builder instances are charged hourly. Linux image builder instances are charged on one second increments, with a minimum of 15 minutes. The image builder instance charge includes compute, storage, and any network traffic used by the streaming protocol. All image builder instances that are running are charged the applicable running instance fee, based on the instance type and size, even when no administrators are connected.

Elastic fleet instances

Elastic fleet streaming instances are charged on one second increments, with a minimum of 15 minutes, for the duration of the streaming session. The pricing is per instance-hour. The instance charge includes compute, storage, and any network traffic used by the streaming protocol.

Multi-session fleet instances

AppStream 2.0 multi-session capability allows multiple user sessions to run on a single instance. Multi-session functionality is supported only for Windows configurations of Always-On and On-Demand fleets. Multi-session instances are charged on an hourly basis, regardless of the number user sessions running per instance. Charges include compute, storage, and network traffic used by the streaming protocol.

App block builder instances

App block builder instances are charged on one second increments, with a minimum of 15 minutes. The app block builder instance charge includes compute, storage, and any network traffic used by the streaming protocol. All app block builder instances that are running are charged the applicable running instance fee, based on the instance type and size, even when no administrators are connected.

User fees

Each user who starts a streaming session on a fleet instance running the Microsoft Windows Server operating system is charged for a Microsoft Remote Desktop Service Subscriber Access License (RDS SAL) fee for the month in which the streaming session occurred. You will be charged $4.19 per user per month for single-session fleets or $6.42 for multi-session fleets. A user will be charged the multi-session RDS SAL fee if they use both multi-session and single session within a given month. Users are uniquely identified by the authentication type and username used to connect to their streaming session and the AWS Region in which the underlying fleet instance is hosted. Amazon AppStream 2.0 supports three different authentication types: User Pool, SAML 2.0, and Streaming URL (API). The RDS SAL fee is charged in full for each user who launches a streaming session during the month and is not pro- rated, regardless of when users first launch streaming sessions in the month. RDS SAL fees are not charged when connecting to Image Builders or app block builders. 

Schools, universities, and certain public institutions may qualify for a reduced Microsoft RDS SAL user fee of $0.44 per user per month irrespective of fleet type being used single- session or multi-session. Please refer to the Microsoft Licensing Terms and Documents for qualification requirements. If you think you qualify, please contact us.

If you have Microsoft License Mobility, you may be eligible to bring your own Microsoft RDS Client Access License (CAL) licenses and use them with Amazon AppStream 2.0. For users covered by your own licenses, you won’t incur monthly user fees. For more information about using your existing Microsoft RDS CAL licenses with Amazon AppStream 2.0, please visit this page, or consult with your Microsoft representative. RDS SAL fees are not charged when connecting to Image Builders or app block builder.

Streaming from a fleet instance that uses Amazon Linux 2 operating system does not incur user fee.

Amazon WorkSpaces Thin Client

AppStream 2.0 works with Amazon WorkSpaces Thin Client for cost-effective, easy-to-manage, secure access to virtual desktops that improves end-user and IT staff productivity. WorkSpaces Thin Client pricing includes an upfront payment for the WorkSpaces Thin Client device plus a monthly service fee to manage, monitor, and maintain your thin client fleet. Visit the WorkSpaces Thin Client Pricing page for more details.

Amazon AppStream 2.0 Pricing Example

Using the US East (N. Virginia) Region, you launch a stream.standard.medium image builder to install applications and create an image, from which you provision an On-Demand fleet consisting of two stream.standard.medium fleet instances. During the month, one of your users launches streaming sessions from your On-Demand fleet using both the SAML 2.0 and Streaming URL authentication types. And, during the same month, another user launches streaming sessions from the On-Demand fleet using SAML 2.0. 

Windows image builder and fleet

In the US East (N. Virginia) Region, the hourly price for Windows stream.standard.medium is $0.10 per hour. The stopped instance fee is $0.025 per hour. AppStream 2.0 also charges a user fee of $4.19 (Microsoft Remote Desktop Service Subscriber Access License or RDS SAL) for each authorized user that launches a streaming session from an AppStream 2.0 Windows fleet during the month. User fees are not incurred for administrators connecting to and using image builders to create images.

Assuming you have 100 users streaming On-Demand AppStream 2.0 instances for 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, 4 weeks a month (100 hours per user per month), and your instances are provisioned and stopped for 20 hours per user per month, your total monthly cost would be $1,469 ($14.69 per user). The total cost is calculated as (100 hours per user x 100 users x $0.10 per hour stream.standard.medium fleet instance) + (20 hours per user x 100 users x $0.025 per hour stopped instance fee) + (100 users x $4.19 RDS SAL user fee) = $1,469 per month. If an administrator uses the image builder for 5 hours per month, an additional cost of 5 hours x $0.10 per hour = $0.50 (no RDS SAL user fee applied). This brings the total cost to $1,469.50 per month ($14.70 per user per month).

Linux image builder and fleet

In the US East (N. Virginia) Region, the hourly price for Linux stream.standard.medium is $0.084 per hour. The stopped instance fee is $0.025 per hour. Streaming from Linux instances does not incur user fee.

Assuming your image builder instance runs for 3.5 hours, your two On-Demand streaming instances each stream for 4.5 hours a day over one business week (45 hours), and your instances are stopped for the rest of the business week (195 hours), your total cost will be $8.85. The total cost is calculated as: (45 hours x $0.082 per hour stream.standard.medium fleet instance) + (195 hours x $0.025 per hour stopped instance fee) + (3.5 hours x $0.082 per hour stream.standard.medium image builder) = $8.85. There is no user fee for streaming from Amazon Linux 2 based fleet instances.

AWS Pricing Calculator

AWS Pricing Calculator

Calculate your Amazon AppStream 2.0 and architecture cost in a single estimate

AppStream 2.0 also provides a simple pricing tool that you can use to estimate your total costs. For more information, see Amazon AppStream 2.0 releases a simple pricing tool on the AWS Desktop and Application Streaming blog.

Download the AppStream 2.0 Pricing Tool:  Microsoft Excel File  I  OpenOffice Calc File

Amazon AppStream 2.0 Pricing – Always-On, On-Demand, and image builder instances

  • Windows Instances
  • Graphics Optimized
  • Linux Instances
  • Graphics Optimized

* Hourly pricing fee charged for running instances only. For Image Builder and Always-On fleets, instances may be considered running if they are available for use, even if no user is connected. For On-Demand fleets, instances are considered running only if users are connected with an active streaming session.

Elastic fleets streaming session and app block builder pricing

  • Windows Instances
  • Linux Instances

* Elastic fleets are billed for duration of the streaming session, in seconds, with a minimum of 15 minutes. Pricing is per instance-hour. An additional user fee may be assessed when users stream applications from streaming instances using the Microsoft Windows Server operating system. Pricing fee charged for running instances only. For app block builder, instances may be considered running if they are available for use, even if no user is connected.

Pricing examples

All examples below are based on price in US East (N. Virginia)

Example 1:

You stream applications to 3 users from the Microsoft Windows Server operating system using the stream.standard.small instance type and size. Your users streaming duration for the month are 32.5 hours. Your charges would be calculated as follows:

(32.5 hours x $0.12 per hour for a Microsoft Windows stream.standard.small streaming instance) + (3 unique users x $4.19 per user for Microsoft Windows RDS SAL license) = $16.47

Example 2:

You stream applications to an user from the Amazon Linux 2 operating system using the stream.standard.small instance type and size. Your user has a varied duration of streaming session. Your per streaming session charges would be calculated as follows:

Streaming session 1: Streamed an application for 5 minutes:

(15 minute minimum billing duration / 60 minutes in an hour) x $0.076 per hour for an Amazon Linux 2 stream.standard.small streaming instance) = $0.019

Streaming session 2: Streamed an application for 65 minutes:

(65 minutes / 60 minutes in an hour) x $0.076 per hour for an Amazon Linux 2 stream.standard.small streaming instance = $0.082

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