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Aurora DSQL pricing at a glance
| Component | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DPU (all database activity) | $8.00 per million | Covers compute, read and write I/O, CDC streaming, and multi-region replication. Billed in real time. Zero when idle. |
| Storage | $0.33 per GB-month | One logical copy per Region, billed continuously. Multi-region bills in each Region. |
| Multi-region write replication | 1x originating write DPU added | A replicated write adds a MultiRegionWriteDPU equal to the originating WriteDPU. |
| Idle state | $0.00 DPU | True scale-to-zero, no hourly minimum. Storage still bills. |
| Free tier (permanent) | 100,000 DPUs + 1 GB per month | Applied every month, no 12-month expiry. |
| CDC streaming | StreamDPU at the DPU rate | Amazon Kinesis destination has its own separate charges. |
| Data transfer | Included for replication; standard rates otherwise | Inter-AZ and DSQL cross-region replication included. Internet egress and other transfers bill at standard AWS rates. |
| Database Savings Plans | Eligible, up to about 35% (serverless) | 1-year hourly-spend commitment. DSQL is listed on the Database Savings Plans pricing page. |
What is a DPU?
DPUs are normalized, so one million compute, read, write, stream, or multi-region DPUs each cost $8, regardless of the mix.CloudWatch reports five DPU sub-components: ComputeDPU, ReadDPU, WriteDPU, StreamDPU (change data capture, when enabled), and MultiRegionWriteDPU.
Totaled, they approximate your billed DPUs, and a TotalDPU metric is available for monitoring. Use them to find cost drivers: high ComputeDPU points to complex query logic, high ReadDPU points to large scans or missing indexes, and a large MultiRegionWriteDPU share points to write-heavy multi-region traffic.
Multi-region is a cluster-level decision
Each replicated write is billed as a MultiRegionWriteDPU equal to the originating WriteDPU. A write consuming 1M WriteDPUs also generates 1M MultiRegionWriteDPUs, so the write path costs about 2M DPUs. Reads are local in each Region and unaffected. For writes at 20 to 30 percent of traffic, expect roughly a 20 to 30 percent DPU premium over single-region; a 50/50 workload can run about 50 percent higher.
Storage bills per Region. Cross-region replication data transfer is included in the MultiRegionWriteDPU charge, with no separate transfer fee. Choose multi-region only when you need global availability, local endpoints, or regional resiliency. If only some data needs global distribution, isolate it in a separate cluster.
Worked examples
Single-region app (US East, Ohio), from the AWS example. Variable traffic averaging 0.5 DPUs per second, about 1.314M DPUs for the month, average storage 15 GB.
The free tier
Within the free tier, DSQL costs $0 on compute, and you pay only for storage above 1 GB. A dev database storing 5 GB costs about $1.32 per month with no DPU charge if usage stays under the free tier.
Aurora DSQL vs Aurora Serverless v2
| Dimension | Aurora DSQL | Aurora Serverless v2 |
|---|---|---|
| Compute billing | Per DPU ($8 per million) | Per ACU-hour (about $0.12) |
| I/O billing | Included in DPU | Separate on Standard (about $0.20 per million) |
| Scale to zero | Yes, $0 DPU when idle | Yes on eligible versions, with resume latency |
| Storage | $0.33 per GB-month | About $0.10 per GB-month (Aurora Standard) |
| Free tier | 100K DPUs + 1 GB, permanent | None ongoing |
| Multi-region | Active-active, replicates all writes | Not native active-active |
| Savings Plans | Eligible, up to about 35% | Eligible, up to about 35% |
DSQL suits distributed, multi-region, active-active workloads with variable or idle-heavy traffic. Serverless v2 suits single-region workloads that need broad PostgreSQL or MySQL compatibility. See the AWS Database Savings Plans guide for how database commitments work.
Database Savings Plans for Aurora DSQL
The DSQL pricing page still uses “may be eligible” wording, but the Database Savings Plans pricing page is the authoritative list.The real question is utilization, not eligibility. A Database Savings Plan is a 1-year commitment to a fixed hourly spend, and usage above the commitment bills on-demand.
Because DSQL scales to zero and DPU demand is variable, size conservatively: identify the hourly spend your DSQL usage rarely drops below, commit only that baseline, then monitor coverage and utilization after purchase. One plan applies across eligible services, so model DSQL alongside your other databases. Compare with Reserved Instances and Savings Plans for other engines.
How to reduce your Aurora DSQL bill
Use the free tier for dev and staging. Keep those clusters under 100,000 DPUs per month.
Inspect before you change. Use EXPLAIN ANALYZE to see a query's real work. Note that reads meter a per-transaction minimum, so many tiny point reads still accrue DPUs.
Cut ReadDPU with indexing. High ReadDPU means large scans. Add indexes on filtered columns and project only needed columns instead of SELECT *.
Simplify high-ComputeDPU queries. Review the top ComputeDPU queries in CloudWatch and simplify heavy joins, subqueries, or aggregations.
Choose single-region unless you need multi-region. Replication is cluster-wide and doubles the write path, so use a multi-region cluster only when global availability or local endpoints justify it. See what cloud rightsizing involves.
Alarm on DPU trajectory. Set a CloudWatch alarm near 80,000 DPUs per month to catch growth before a dev app crosses into paid usage.
Pull 30 days of the CloudWatch DPU sub-components per cluster. Find which one dominates, then act on that driver: indexing for ReadDPU, query simplification for ComputeDPU, or reconsidering multi-region for a high MultiRegionWriteDPU share. Re-check after each change, since DSQL bills per request and improvements show up immediately.
Aurora DSQL cost checklist
Frequently asked questions
How much does Aurora DSQL pricing cost?
$8.00 per million DPUs for all database activity (compute and I/O combined) and $0.33 per GB-month for storage in US East regions. It scales to zero when idle, with no hourly minimum. A permanent free tier covers 100,000 DPUs and 1 GB per month. Multi-region write replication adds a DPU equal to the originating write. Verify current rates on the AWS pricing page.
What is a DPU in Aurora DSQL?
A Distributed Processing Unit measures the work DSQL does to run your workload, combining compute and I/O into one billing unit, so there is no separate I/O charge. CloudWatch shows five sub-components (ComputeDPU, ReadDPU, WriteDPU, StreamDPU, MultiRegionWriteDPU) for monitoring, but you are billed on total DPUs.
Is Aurora DSQL free?
Partially. AWS provides 100,000 DPUs and 1 GB of storage free every month, permanently. Within those limits, DSQL costs $0 on compute, and you pay only for storage above 1 GB. Above the free tier, DPUs bill at $8 per million.
How does multi-region pricing work for Aurora DSQL?
Multi-region is a cluster-level, active-active design that replicates all writes. Each replicated write adds a MultiRegionWriteDPU equal to the originating write, so the write path roughly doubles. Reads are local per Region, storage bills in each Region, and cross-region replication transfer is included with no separate fee.
Does Aurora DSQL have Database Savings Plans?
Yes. Aurora DSQL is listed as eligible on the AWS Database Savings Plans pricing page, with serverless database usage saving up to about 35 percent on a 1-year commitment. Because it is an hourly-spend commitment and DSQL usage is variable, size a conservative baseline and monitor utilization.
