AWS
Microsoft Azure
Google Cloud
EC2 Savings Plans can reduce eligible AWS compute costs, but the right plan depends on how stable your usage is and how much flexibility you need. Compute Savings Plans offer broader coverage across EC2, Fargate, and Lambda, while EC2 Instance Savings Plans can provide deeper discounts within one instance family and Region. This guide explains the differences, how AWS applies the discounts, how to size a commitment, and what to check before you buy.
For service coverage, pricing examples, and commitment sizing, read our full AWS Compute Savings Plans guide.
What Is an EC2 Savings Plan?
A Savings Plan is a commitment to a consistent amount of eligible usage, expressed as an hourly dollar commitment, for one or three years. It is a pricing commitment, not a capacity reservation.
If you need guaranteed EC2 capacity in a particular Availability Zone, evaluate capacity reservation options separately.
AWS automatically applies discounted Savings Plan rates to eligible usage until the hourly commitment is consumed. Remaining eligible usage is then charged at the applicable rate, such as On-Demand.
For a broader explanation, see our AWS Savings Plans guide.
Compute vs EC2 Instance Savings Plans
| Compute Savings Plan | EC2 Instance Savings Plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum AWS-published savings | Up to 66% | Up to 72% |
| EC2 instance family | Any | One selected family |
| Region | Any | One selected Region |
| Instance size | Flexible | Flexible within family |
| Operating system | Flexible | Flexible |
| Tenancy | Flexible | Flexible |
| Fargate | Eligible | No |
| Lambda | Eligible | No |
| Term | 1 or 3 years | 1 or 3 years |
Choose Compute Savings Plans when: workloads may move between instance families or Regions, or eligible usage spans EC2, Fargate, and Lambda.
Choose EC2 Instance Savings Plans when: a durable EC2 baseline is expected to stay within the same instance family and Region for the full commitment term.
When does a Compute Savings Plan make sense?
Compute Savings Plans provide broader flexibility. They can follow EC2 usage across instance families, Regions, operating systems, sizes, and tenancy while also covering eligible Fargate and Lambda usage.When does an EC2 Instance Savings Plan make sense?
EC2 Instance Savings Plans are more targeted.They can work well when a stable EC2 baseline is expected to remain within the same instance family and Region. You retain flexibility across instance sizes, operating systems, and tenancy within that scope.
What Do EC2 Savings Plans Cover?
Compute Savings Plans can apply to eligible:Amazon EC2 usage
AWS Fargate usage
AWS Lambda usage
For ECS and EKS, the underlying compute matters:
EC2-backed ECS tasks and EKS worker nodes can receive Savings Plan benefits through their underlying EC2 usage.
Fargate-based ECS and EKS workloads can receive Compute Savings Plan benefits.
The Amazon EKS cluster fee itself is separate from the compute discount (see AWS EKS cost guidance).
AWS explains this in its EKS cost optimization guidance.
How AWS Applies Savings Plans
AWS applies pricing benefits in a defined order.Amazon EC2 Reserved Instances are applied first. EC2 Instance Savings Plans are then applied before Compute Savings Plans because they have a narrower scope.
Within eligible usage, AWS prioritizes usage that provides the highest savings percentage.
See how AWS applies Savings Plans for the current billing logic.
This matters when commitments overlap. Adding another commitment without reviewing existing coverage can leave another plan underutilized.
How to Size an EC2 Savings Plan
AWS Savings Plans purchase analysis uses historical eligible usage and supports 7-day, 30-day, and 60-day lookback periods.That history is useful, but it is not a forecast. Planned migrations, rightsizing, workload retirement, and architecture changes still need to be considered.
- Review existing commitments Check current Savings Plans and Reserved Instances before adding another purchase.
- Analyze historical hourly usage Look beyond monthly averages and identify usage that remains consistent during quieter periods.
- Find the durable baseline Separate stable usage from temporary traffic spikes, seasonal demand, launches, batch workloads, and short-lived projects.
- Account for upcoming changes Consider planned rightsizing, instance-family migrations, Region changes, container migrations, workload retirement, and growth or contraction.
- Model different commitment amounts AWS Savings Plans Purchase Analyzer lets teams compare recommended, target-coverage, and custom commitment scenarios.
- Leave uncertain demand flexible There is no universal percentage that every team should commit.
It can estimate how different purchases affect cost, coverage, utilization, and savings. Review the AWS Savings Plans Purchase Analyzer documentation.
Commit against usage you can defend, then add more commitments as additional demand becomes stable.
For term selection, see our 1-year vs 3-year AWS commitments guide.
Simple EC2 Savings Plan Example
Suppose you purchase a Savings Plan with a:If eligible usage uses $8 of the plan’s hourly commitment at Savings Plan rates:
How to Buy an EC2 Savings Plan
- Open Purchase Savings Plans
- Choose the plan type
- Choose the term
- Choose the payment option
All Upfront
Partial Upfront
No Upfront
- Enter or model the hourly commitment
AWS explains this in its custom Savings Plan purchase guidance.
- Review the purchase
- Submit the order
Can You Return an EC2 Savings Plan?
Savings Plans normally remain in place for the full one-year or three-year term.AWS currently allows a limited return for qualifying Savings Plans with an hourly commitment of $100 or less, purchased within the previous seven days, and still within the same UTC calendar month, subject to AWS return quotas.
Review the current AWS Savings Plan return policy before relying on this option.
It should not be treated as a general exit mechanism.
How to Monitor Savings Plan Performance
Track both utilization and coverage.Utilization shows how much of your commitment is being used.
Coverage shows how much eligible usage is receiving Savings Plan benefits.
A falling utilization rate can indicate that workloads were downsized, retired, moved, or shifted outside an EC2 Instance Savings Plan’s scope.
Our AWS Cost Explorer guide explains how to investigate AWS cost and commitment trends.
EC2 Savings Plan Checklist
Before purchasing:Confirm the Savings Plan type.
Review existing Savings Plans and Reserved Instances.
Analyze hourly eligible usage.
Identify a durable baseline.
Account for rightsizing and migrations.
Compare one-year and three-year terms.
Review payment options.
Use AWS Purchase Analyzer.
Verify Region and instance family for EC2 Instance Savings Plans.
Decide how utilization and coverage will be monitored.
How Usage.ai Helps Manage Commitment Risk
Finding the discount is the easy part. The hard part is deciding how much usage is safe to lock in for one or three years, knowing your architecture will change during that time.That’s the problem we work on. We analyze your usage to find the baseline that’s actually stable, then manage commitments as that baseline shifts.
For teams that want the savings without the long-term lock-in, our Flex Commitments offer up to 57% savings, in line with a three-year AWS commitment, without carrying the same three-year exposure. If qualifying Flex Commitment value goes unused, cashback protection can help cover the qualifying unused commitment exposure, subject to program eligibility and terms.
See how our pricing and cashback work for more detail.
Usage.ai is a cloud cost optimization company. AWS Savings Plans, EC2, Fargate, Lambda and Reserved Instances are AWS products, and AWS controls their pricing and terms. Flex Commitments are a separate Usage.ai service; eligibility and program terms apply.
Frequently asked questions
How much can EC2 Savings Plans save?
AWS publishes savings of up to 66% for Compute Savings Plans and up to 72% for EC2 Instance Savings Plans. Actual savings depend on configuration, pricing, term, payment option, eligible usage, and utilization.
What is the difference between Compute and EC2 Instance Savings Plans?
Compute Savings Plans provide broader flexibility across EC2, Fargate, Lambda, Regions, and instance families. EC2 Instance Savings Plans apply to one EC2 instance family in one Region but offer a higher maximum discount.
Do Savings Plans reserve EC2 capacity?
No. Savings Plans provide pricing benefits but do not reserve EC2 capacity. Capacity assurance requires separate capacity reservation planning.
Can you cancel an EC2 Savings Plan?
Savings Plans generally run for their full commitment term. AWS currently provides only a limited return mechanism for purchases that meet its return conditions.
How much should I commit to an EC2 Savings Plan?
There is no universal percentage. Review historical hourly usage, identify stable demand, account for planned infrastructure changes, and use AWS recommendations and Purchase Analyzer to test different commitment amounts before buying.
