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AWS Timestream is Amazon Web Services’ managed time-series database family. It now centers on Timestream for InfluxDB, while Timestream for LiveAnalytics remains available only to eligible existing customers after AWS closed new-customer access on June 20, 2025.
This guide explains the products, InfluxDB 2 versus 3, pricing, Database Savings Plans, and when another AWS database may fit better.
New customers should evaluate Timestream for InfluxDB rather than LiveAnalytics. InfluxDB 2 emphasizes low-latency operational workloads, while InfluxDB 3 adds native SQL, S3-backed storage, and stronger support for high-cardinality and historical analytics.
The service manages compute, storage, networking, patching, and backups. It runs in an Amazon VPC and works with tools such as Telegraf, Grafana, InfluxDB clients, and, for InfluxDB 3, InfluxDB 3 Explorer.
AWS closed LiveAnalytics to new customers on June 20, 2025. Existing customers with an active payer account can continue running workloads and adding linked accounts. For new deployments, AWS recommends Timestream for InfluxDB.
This guide explains the products, InfluxDB 2 versus 3, pricing, Database Savings Plans, and when another AWS database may fit better.
The Short Answer
AWS Timestream provides managed InfluxDB databases for applications that collect and analyze timestamped data, including infrastructure metrics, IoT telemetry, and operational events. AWS handles infrastructure provisioning, updates, backups, and service maintenance while applications use InfluxDB APIs and tools.New customers should evaluate Timestream for InfluxDB rather than LiveAnalytics. InfluxDB 2 emphasizes low-latency operational workloads, while InfluxDB 3 adds native SQL, S3-backed storage, and stronger support for high-cardinality and historical analytics.
Amazon Timestream Products
Amazon Timestream currently includes two products with different architectures and availability rules.Timestream for InfluxDB
Timestream for InfluxDB is a managed service for running InfluxDB on AWS. It launched with InfluxDB 2 support in March 2024, and AWS added InfluxDB 3 in October 2025.The service manages compute, storage, networking, patching, and backups. It runs in an Amazon VPC and works with tools such as Telegraf, Grafana, InfluxDB clients, and, for InfluxDB 3, InfluxDB 3 Explorer.
LiveAnalytics Maintenance Status
Timestream for LiveAnalytics is AWS’s original serverless time-series engine. It separates recent data in a memory store from historical data in a magnetic store and charges separately for writes, storage, and query compute.AWS closed LiveAnalytics to new customers on June 20, 2025. Existing customers with an active payer account can continue running workloads and adding linked accounts. For new deployments, AWS recommends Timestream for InfluxDB.
How Timestream for InfluxDB Works
Timestream for InfluxDB provides two engine generations with different storage, scaling, and query models.InfluxDB 2 vs InfluxDB 3
| Factor | InfluxDB 2 | InfluxDB 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Primary fit | Operational workloads requiring consistently low query latency | High-cardinality data and analytical queries over larger datasets |
| Deployment | Managed DB instances with Single-AZ, Multi-AZ, and read-replica options | Core single-node or Enterprise single- and multi-node clusters |
| Storage | Provisioned Influx I/O-Included storage | Shared S3-based object storage |
| Queries | Flux and InfluxQL | SQL and InfluxQL |
| Scaling | Change instance size or use replicas | Scale vertically or add Enterprise nodes |
AWS recommends InfluxDB 3 Enterprise for most LiveAnalytics migrations and new greenfield deployments, particularly for high-cardinality or complex analytical workloads.
InfluxDB 2 remains suitable for low-latency operational monitoring when its deployment model and compatibility better fit the workload, provided cardinality is below 10 million series keys or can be reduced accordingly. Test business-critical queries before migration.
Applications write data using InfluxDB line protocol, supported by InfluxDB clients and Telegraf. InfluxDB 3 provides separate SQL and InfluxQL endpoints. SQL supports joins, window functions, and DATE_BIN; InfluxQL supports familiar time-series functions and legacy patterns.
Core is an open-source, single-node edition suited to development and recent-data monitoring. Enterprise adds compaction, multi-node high availability, read scaling, and better support for long-term historical analysis. Core has no Enterprise license charge, but both editions incur AWS compute and object-storage charges.
InfluxDB 2 remains suitable for low-latency operational monitoring when its deployment model and compatibility better fit the workload, provided cardinality is below 10 million series keys or can be reduced accordingly. Test business-critical queries before migration.
Data Model, Ingestion, and Queries
InfluxDB organizes data into tables, called measurements in line protocol, with tags, fields, and timestamps. Tags provide context; fields contain measured values.Applications write data using InfluxDB line protocol, supported by InfluxDB clients and Telegraf. InfluxDB 3 provides separate SQL and InfluxQL endpoints. SQL supports joins, window functions, and DATE_BIN; InfluxQL supports familiar time-series functions and legacy patterns.
Storage and Deployment Architecture
InfluxDB 3 uses Apache Arrow, Apache DataFusion, and Parquet files in Amazon S3. Compute nodes share the object-storage layer, allowing Enterprise clusters to add capacity without duplicating the dataset.Core is an open-source, single-node edition suited to development and recent-data monitoring. Enterprise adds compaction, multi-node high availability, read scaling, and better support for long-term historical analysis. Core has no Enterprise license charge, but both editions incur AWS compute and object-storage charges.
Timestream for InfluxDB Pricing
Timestream for InfluxDB 3 is billed for each node-hour plus object storage. The following representative on-demand rates are for US East (N. Virginia); AWS prices and Regional availability can change.| InfluxDB 3 class | vCPU | Memory | Compute/hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| db.influxIOIncluded.medium | 1 | 8 GiB | $0.132 |
| db.influxIOIncluded.large | 2 | 16 GiB | $0.264 |
| db.influxIOIncluded.xlarge | 4 | 32 GiB | $0.528 |
| db.influxIOIncluded.2xlarge | 8 | 64 GiB | $1.056 |
| db.influxIOIncluded.4xlarge | 16 | 128 GiB | $2.112 |
A continuously running large node costs approximately $192.72 per 730-hour month before other charges. Check Amazon Timestream pricing for current rates.
Enterprise also requires an InfluxDB license activated through AWS Marketplace. AWS’s example prices that license at 1.5 times the node’s compute rate: three large nodes cost $578.16 monthly for compute and $867.24 for licenses, or $1,445.40 before storage.
Backup storage is billed separately. The first backup is full and subsequent backups are incremental. Backup storage is billed separately; restores have no per-GB restore charge, although restored resources incur normal compute and storage charges.
Same-AZ EC2-to-Timestream traffic and Multi-AZ replication traffic are free. Other cross-AZ, internet, or cross-Region paths can produce transfer charges depending on the architecture, so model the actual traffic path rather than applying one universal egress rate.
Instance and Storage Costs
InfluxDB 3 Object Storage is billed by the amount stored in GB-months, with a minimum monthly charge equivalent to 200 GB. AWS’s published US East example uses $0.023 per GB-month.Enterprise also requires an InfluxDB license activated through AWS Marketplace. AWS’s example prices that license at 1.5 times the node’s compute rate: three large nodes cost $578.16 monthly for compute and $867.24 for licenses, or $1,445.40 before storage.
Additional Cost Components
Every InfluxDB 3 cluster node is billed independently. Multi-node Enterprise clusters distribute nodes across Availability Zones.Backup storage is billed separately. The first backup is full and subsequent backups are incremental. Backup storage is billed separately; restores have no per-GB restore charge, although restored resources incur normal compute and storage charges.
Same-AZ EC2-to-Timestream traffic and Multi-AZ replication traffic are free. Other cross-AZ, internet, or cross-Region paths can produce transfer charges depending on the architecture, so model the actual traffic path rather than applying one universal egress rate.
Database Savings Plans
AWS Database Savings Plans can reduce eligible Timestream usage by up to 20% in exchange for a consistent hourly spend commitment over one year with no upfront payment. The benefit automatically follows eligible usage within the plan’s coverage rules; usage above the commitment remains at on-demand rates.Model the discount against eligible compute usage, not the entire bill. Separate storage, transfer, backup, and license charges, then size the hourly commitment against a durable post-right-sizing baseline rather than average or peak spend.
Free-Tier Availability
Timestream for InfluxDB does not have a standard AWS free tier. Billing begins when a managed instance or node becomes available, with partial hours billed per second subject to a 10-minute minimum after a billable status change.InfluxDB 3 Core has no software license fee, but running it through Timestream still incurs AWS compute and storage charges. Self-hosting the open-source edition also requires paid infrastructure unless it runs on resources you already own.
AWS Timestream Use Cases
Timestream is strongest when applications repeatedly analyze measurements across time windows.| Use case | Why Timestream fits |
|---|---|
| Infrastructure monitoring | Stores CPU, memory, latency, error-rate, and network metrics for dashboards and incident analysis. |
| IoT telemetry | Handles timestamped sensor data organized by device, location, and sensor type. |
| Alerting and automation | InfluxDB 3 Processing Engine plugins can react to writes, schedules, or HTTP requests. |
| Financial analytics | Supports time-window analysis of prices, trades, and market measurements. |
| Behavioral analytics | Analyzes timestamped application and user events when the primary questions are time-based. |
Throughput depends on instance class, batching, cardinality, query complexity, and concurrency. Benchmark representative data before selecting a production class.
Timestream vs Other AWS Databases
The presence of timestamps alone does not make Timestream the correct database. Choose according to the dominant data model and query pattern.| Service | Strongest fit | Key distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Timestream for InfluxDB | Metrics, telemetry, and time-window analysis | Purpose-built time-series model and InfluxDB ecosystem |
| Amazon RDS or Aurora | Transactions, constraints, and relational joins | Managed relational engines with mature transactional semantics |
| Amazon DynamoDB | Key-value access, device state, and predictable key-based lookups | Consistent low-latency access without relational queries |
| Amazon OpenSearch Service | Search, logs, traces, and unified observability | Full-text search and correlation across logs, metrics, and traces |
| Amazon Redshift | Warehouse-scale reporting and historical analytics | Columnar analytical warehouse that also supports streaming ingestion |
For Timestream vs RDS, use Timestream when most queries aggregate high-frequency measurements over time. Start with RDS or Aurora when the application depends on transactions, constraints, or relationships among business entities. InfluxDB 3 SQL supports joins, but that does not turn Timestream into a transactional relational database.
Migrating from Timestream LiveAnalytics
AWS has not announced a LiveAnalytics end-of-life date, but recommends assessing Timestream for InfluxDB. Start with ingestion, cardinality, retention, queries, scheduled-query dependencies, and availability.AWS’s staged workflow exports data to S3, transforms it to line protocol with Athena, ingests it, and validates the result. AWS also provides an InfluxDB 3 migration client and Processing Engine plugin. Applications must update APIs, queries, authentication, networking, and monitoring where the engines differ.
Security, Availability, and Backups
Timestream for InfluxDB resources run in your VPC and can be configured for private access. Security groups control network reachability, IAM governs AWS control-plane operations, and InfluxDB tokens authorize data-plane reads and writes.The service supports encryption at rest and TLS in transit and does not provide direct host access. For availability, use an architecture appropriate to the engine: Multi-AZ deployments for InfluxDB 2 or multi-node Enterprise clusters for InfluxDB 3.
AWS Backup supports LiveAnalytics tables, while Timestream for InfluxDB uses its own on-demand and automated scheduled backups alongside AWS-managed hourly backups.
How Usage.ai Optimizes Timestream Costs
Database Savings Plans become harder to size when Timestream usage changes alongside RDS, DynamoDB, ElastiCache, and other eligible database spend. We analyze eligible usage, recommend a commitment based on the stable hourly floor, and monitor utilization after purchase.With Flex Insured Commitments, teams can get up to 20% savings on a 1-year Timestream Database Savings Plan with none of the commitment risk. If a qualifying Flex Commitment costs more than the equivalent on-demand usage, we calculate the applicable loss monthly and provide cashback protection on that difference, subject to the program terms.
Our fee is a percentage of realized savings only. If we do not save you money, you do not pay a fee.
Frequently asked questions
What is AWS Timestream?
AWS Timestream is a managed time-series database family. It includes Timestream for InfluxDB, which is available for new deployments, and Timestream for LiveAnalytics, which remains available only to eligible existing customers.
What is InfluxDB 3 on Timestream?
It is AWS's managed version of InfluxDB 3, built with Apache Arrow, DataFusion, Parquet, and S3-based object storage. Core serves recent-data and development workloads, while Enterprise adds compaction, multi-node scaling, and high availability.
What does Timestream for InfluxDB cost?
InfluxDB 3 compute starts at $0.132 per hour for db.influxIOIncluded.medium in US East. Object storage, backups, data transfer, additional nodes, and the Enterprise Marketplace license can add to the total.
Is Timestream LiveAnalytics in maintenance mode?
Yes. AWS closed new-customer access on June 20, 2025, while continuing to support existing workloads and invest in the service's security, availability, and performance.
Is Timestream better than RDS?
Neither is universally better. Timestream fits time-window analysis over metrics and telemetry, while RDS fits transactional relational applications that depend on constraints, entity relationships, and conventional SQL database semantics.
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