Introducing AWS Pricing Capabilities in Amazon Q Developer: Ask Questions, Get Instant Cost Insights

We’re excited to announce that Amazon Q Developer now includes integrated AWS pricing capabilities. This transforms how organizations approach cost estimation and optimization by bringing real-time pricing information directly into processes through natural language queries.

The evolution of cost-conscious cloud architecture

Cloud implementations benefit from integrating cost considerations seamlessly into the design process. Organizations are moving beyond traditional cost management approaches, where pricing analysis happens separately from technical decisions, toward intelligent processes where cost optimization becomes a natural part of every architectural choice.

This shift represents a fundamental change in how teams approach cloud economics. Instead of treating cost as a constraint, leading organizations view pricing capabilities as a competitive advantage that enables better technical decisions. When cost data flows naturally into planning conversations, teams discover opportunities: more efficient architectures, better resource utilization, and solutions that deliver both superior performance and economic value.

A conversational approach to cost intelligence

Amazon Q Developer changes the dynamic of separating cost analysis from technical decision-making. With integrated AWS pricing capabilities, teams can ask pricing questions in natural language and receive immediate, accurate answers without interrupting their work.

Example scenarios:

• Instance sizing: “I need 2 vCPUs, 16GB memory for intense memory workload in EMEA, open to Graviton, what’s the best pricing option?” Q Developer recommends r6g.large or r7g.large instances, explains Graviton processor benefits, and provides pricing: r6g.large at $0.1128/hour on-demand, with potential spot savings of 50-90% bringing costs down to $0.0113/hour.
• Workload estimation: “What would it cost to run a batch job processing 500GB of data daily using Lambda versus ECS Fargate?” Q Developer compares the serverless approach with Lambda at approximately $45/month for compute plus S3 storage costs, versus ECS Fargate running continuously at around $180/month, explaining trade-offs between pay-per-execution and always-on infrastructure models.
• Storage optimization: “What’s the most cost-effective way to store 10TB of data accessed monthly for analytics?” As shown in Figure 1 below, Q Developer compares options like S3 Standard ($230/month), S3 Standard-IA ($125/month), and S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval ($40/month), explaining trade-offs between access patterns, retrieval costs, and minimum storage durations.
• Multi-region deployments: “Compare the cost of running a web application with 3 m5.large instances and an Application Load Balancer in us-east-1 versus eu-west-1.” Q Developer breaks down regional pricing differences: us-east-1 totaling $438/month versus eu-west-1 at $467/month, highlighting the $29/month difference while discussing factors like data residency requirements and latency considerations.

Figure 1: Q Developer providing the most cost-effective way to store 10TB of data accessed monthly for analytics

Q Developer connects directly to AWS pricing APIs, ensuring current costs across all services and regions. It provides explanations of trade-offs between price, performance, and features, and suggests alternatives like Graviton processors for better price-performance or Aurora’s serverless readers for variable workloads.

Impact on team operations

When cost data becomes instantly accessible, it transforms decision-making processes. Architects can evaluate cost trade-offs in real-time while designing solutions, such as understanding that choosing Aurora over RDS with io2 storage could save $950 per month per database. Project managers can adjust scope based on actual costs, knowing exactly how switching from on-demand to spot instances affects their budget.

FinOps teams can focus on strategic initiatives rather than routine pricing questions. For example, if an application engineer asks about database costs, they can reference Q Developer’s analysis to compare different processor options and database configurations for their specific requirements.

Understanding the capabilities

AWS pricing capabilities in Amazon Q Developer provides comprehensive access to public AWS pricing information:

• Real-time public pricing across all AWS services and regions
• Detailed cost breakdowns and comparisons
• Pricing model explanations (On-Demand, Spot, Reserved Instances, Savings Plans)
• Regional cost variations and service-specific pricing tiers

These capabilities make Q Developer ideal for planning, budgeting, and architectural decision-making using standard AWS pricing. For more complex scenarios, to save and share your estimates, or to incorporate customer-specific discounts, we recommend using AWS Pricing Calculator.

Getting started

AWS pricing capabilities in Amazon Q Developer is available now to all customers at no additional cost. The feature is included with both the free tier (25 prompts requiring account/resource context per account per month) and Q Developer Pro subscriptions. Access it through the AWS Console by opening the Q Developer chat panel from any AWS service.

Teams get the best results when they integrate pricing questions into existing processes. Ask about costs early in the planning process, compare alternatives for major cost components, and consider usage patterns when evaluating options.

Have questions about AWS pricing capabilities in Amazon Q Developer? Learn more in the user guide.