Dylan shows you how to
monitor your usage of
the AWS Free Tier
I'm using the Free Tier to test AWS services, and I want to make sure that I'm only using services that I won't incur charges for. How do I make sure that all the resources I'm using are covered under the Free Tier?
The AWS Free Tier makes certain amounts and types of resources for new AWS accounts available free-of-charge for a one-year period. Any amounts and types of resources that are not covered are charged at normal, on-demand rates.
Consider the following instructions and tools to help manage your use of the Free Tier and avoid incurring unnecessary charges:
Monitor your usage of the Free Tier
The Top Free Tier Services by Usage table in your Billing and Cost Management Console lets you see how much of the Free Tier you're currently using. You can also see your projected usage, and whether your current usage rate will cause you to exceed the Free Tier offerings and incur charges.
Most benefits offered by the Free Tier apply globally to all resources on your account, not individually to each AWS region. Monitor all regions you're currently using resources in to ensure that you don't exceed the limits of the Free Tier.
Even if your resources are covered under the Free Tier, you'll see a line item for each covered resource. For more information about how to access and read the information in the Billing and Cost Management console, see Viewing Your Monthly Charges.
Clean up test resources
If you create a test project under the Free Tier, see the AWS documentation for information about how to clean up resources after you're done testing. For example, the documentation can show you how to delete S3 buckets that contain objects you no longer need, or terminate Elastic Beanstalk environments that are running test applications.
Set CloudWatch billing alarms
Amazon CloudWatch billing alarms can be configured to notify you when you begin to incur charges, so you can adjust your usage to minimize charges. For more information, see Create a Billing Alarm to Monitor Your Estimated AWS Charges.
Use the AWS Simple Monthly Calculator
The Simple Monthly Calculator can help you see whether your planned resource configuration will be entirely covered under the Free Tier, or if you will pay the normal, on-demand rates for your planned configuration.
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Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2017-08-02
