How Much Does AWS Fargate Cost?

Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers Fargate, a serverless container service that eliminates the need to manage underlying infrastructure. Containers ensure applications run reliably across different computing environments without the overhead of server management.

Fargate works with Amazon Elastic Container Services (ECS) and Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS). It allows developers to focus on building their applications, offering enhanced security through isolation.

Understanding Fargate’s costs is important for budgeting and financial planning. This guide discusses its pricing and cost management strategies. It aims to make containerized applications cost-effective and practical.

What Is AWS Fargate?

AWS Fargate is a serverless container compute engine that works with Amazon ECS and EKS. It allows developers to run containers without having to manage servers or clusters. With Fargate, the focus shifts from managing infrastructure to application deployment. 

Fargate’s serverless nature offers a secure, isolated application environment that ensures scalability and security. It enables applications to adjust to demand automatically, ensuring cost efficiency by charging only for used resources and minimizing server maintenance efforts.

Its compatibility with ECS and EKS offers flexibility in choosing the container orchestration service that best fits the development needs. It provides a robust platform that combines the ease of serverless with the power of containerization, making it a preferred choice for modern application development.

Amazon Fargate Pricing: How Much Does It Cost?

There are no upfront payments with AWS Fargate. You only pay for the resources you use. AWS bills you based on the amount of vCPU and memory resources consumed by your containerized applications.

The vCPU and memory resources are calculated from the time your container images are pulled until the Amazon ECS task or EKS pod terminates. This figure is rounded up to the nearest second. However, a minimum charge of 1 minute applies.

AWS Fargate prices also vary by region, as do most other services on the platform.

For example, below is the cost of Fargate for US West (Northern California):

The complete price list for all regions is available here.

AWS Fargate Vs. Amazon EKS Vs. Amazon ECS Vs. Pricing Comparison

Here’s a quick pricing comparison table between AWS Fargate, EKS, and ECS:

Optimizing Your Fargate Usage/Costs

While the pay-as-you-go pricing of Fargate offers many benefits, the costs can add up very quickly when you are running multiple containers. AWS offers several ways for businesses to save on costs with Fargate.

1. AWS Savings Plans

AWS Savings Plans are similar to AWS Reserved Instances, which are billing discounts applied to running on-demand instances in your AWS account. However, unlike reserved instances, AWS Savings Plans can be applied regardless of instance type, operating system, tenancy, or region.

The commitment terms are the same, however. With a savings plan, you agree to use a specific amount of compute power (measured in $/hour) for a one- or three-year period in exchange for a heavily discounted hourly rate.

You can save up to 72% on your AWS compute usage costs with a savings plan. Percentage savings vary depending on the region, commitment term, and chosen payment option (whether you pay for the full term upfront or make a partial payment or none at all).

Below is a comparison of Compute Savings Plans for AWS Fargate for the US West (Northern California) region. Savings more than double when the commitment term is increased from one to three years.

2. Fargate Spot

Using Fargate Spot is another way to save costs with AWS Fargate. The service allows you to deploy containers normally as you would with Fargate, but your containers will run on spare AWS capacity, which is offered at a cheaper rate. This allows you to save costs compared to regular Fargate containers.

The downside is that you will only get a two-minute notification whenever AWS needs the capacity back, so you should only run interruption-tolerant tasks on Fargate Spot.

Below is the AWS Fargate Spot pricing for US West (Northern California) region and the resulting savings compared to the on-demand rate.

3. Rightsizing Fargate

Ensuring that your containers are appropriately sized for their workloads can impact cost efficiency. Estimate your applications’ CPU and memory requirements to avoid overprovisioning resources. Regularly monitor resource use and adjust container sizes as needed to optimize performance and cut costs.

4. AWS Auto Scaling

AWS Auto Scaling allows you to adjust the number of Fargate tasks based on demand. Configure auto-scaling policies to automatically add or remove functions in response to fluctuations in workload traffic.

5. Spot Fleet Integration

Integrating Fargate tasks with the AWS Spot Fleet enables you to take advantage of excess EC2 capacity at discounted rates. The Spot Fleet spreads across many Spot Instance pools and instance types, improving availability and reducing interruptions. Specify your desired capacity and maximum price. This lets you access extra cost savings while keeping the workload available.

Measuring and Optimizing Cost on AWS Fargate

Any kind of containerization, whether you’re running native Kubernetes or an Amazon service like Fargate, can make it challenging to measure cost by the metrics that matter to your business.

The CloudZero cost intelligence platform helps you measure your cost per namespace, pod, and cluster with no manual allocation rules. This enables you to understand what you’re spending and why — and align your cost with different product features. For more information on how CloudZero can help you with cost optimization on containerized infrastructure, you can learn more here.

to see CloudZero in action and learn more about how it can help you optimize Fargate costs.

AWS Fargate FAQs

What is AWS Fargate?

AWS Fargate is a serverless compute engine for containers, eliminating the need to manage servers or clusters. It integrates with Amazon ECS and EKS, automating container deployment for efficient application development and operation.

How does AWS Fargate enhance security?

Fargate improves security by isolating your applications from the underlying infrastructure. This isolation reduces risks and ensures your containers are run in a secure environment, enhancing application safety.

Can AWS Fargate automatically scale applications?

Yes, AWS Fargate allows applications to scale automatically in response to changes in demand. It adjusts resources like CPU and memory usage, ensuring your applications maintain optimal performance without manual intervention.

What is the pricing model for AWS Fargate?

Fargate follows a pay-as-you-go model, charging based on the vCPU and memory resources your containerized applications consume. It offers a cost-efficient way to run containers, paying only for the resources you use.

How do I optimize costs on AWS Fargate?

To optimize costs, consider using AWS Savings Plans for discounted rates or Fargate Spot to run interruption-tolerant tasks at a lower cost. Monitoring and adjusting your resource allocation can also lead to significant savings.

What’s the difference between AWS Fargate and AWS Lambda?

While both offer serverless execution, AWS Fargate suits containerized applications requiring continuous or complex processing. AWS Lambda is ideal for short-lived, event-driven functions. Check our comparison here for detailed insights.

How does CloudZero improve AWS Fargate cost management?

CloudZero provides cloud cost intelligence, helping organizations optimize their Fargate usage. It offers detailed insights into spending patterns, enabling precise cost management and ensuring your investment in AWS Fargate is efficient and aligned with your financial goals.

Author: Cody Slingerland

Cody Slingerland, a FinOps certified practitioner, is an avid content creator with over 10 years of experience creating content for SaaS and technology companies. Cody collaborates with internal team members and subject matter experts to create expert-written content on the CloudZero blog.