How to use the AWS S3 Cost Calculator
- 1. Pick a storage classStandard for active files, Infrequent Access or Glacier for backups and archives.
- 2. Enter usageGB stored, requests per month and data sent to the internet.
- 3. CalculateSee each part of the bill, and how much a cheaper class saves on storage.
How S3 is billed
S3 charges for four things: storage per GB-month, which depends on the class; requests, where uploads and listings (PUT, COPY, POST, LIST) cost more than downloads (GET); data transfer out to the internet, with 100 GB a month free across your account; and, for some classes, retrieval fees. Cheaper classes trade price for access: Standard-IA charges per GB retrieved and bills at least 30 days per object, while the Glacier classes bill at least 90 or 180 days and, for Flexible and Deep Archive, take minutes to hours to restore. Prices are on-demand list prices checked on 10 November 2026, and every rate is editable, because cloud prices change. Confirm them on the provider's pricing page before you budget.
Worked example
Storing 500 GB in S3 Standard in Mumbai costs $12.50 a month. Two lakh uploads and twenty lakh downloads add $1.80, and 300 GB sent to users (200 GB charged after the free 100 GB) adds $21.86. The total is $36.16, or ₹4,011 a month with GST at ₹94 per dollar. Bandwidth, not storage, is the biggest part, which is typical for files served to the public.
Tips
- Serve public files through CloudFront: it caches near users and its pricing can be lower than S3 data transfer.
- Use lifecycle rules to move old backups to Glacier classes automatically.
- Turn on S3 Storage Lens or Cost Explorer to see which buckets cost most.
Frequently asked questions
Do uploads cost data transfer?
No. Data transfer into S3 is free; you pay for the PUT requests.
Which class should I use for backups?
Standard-IA or Glacier Instant Retrieval if you might need them quickly; Glacier Deep Archive for long-term archives you rarely touch.
Is the S3 cost calculator free?
Yes. You can open the S3 cost calculator and change every input and rate without signing up. When you calculate a cost for the first time, we ask once for your name and WhatsApp number; after that it, and every other Uncodemy tool, opens straight away.