S3 Pricing Basics 💸

Alright noob, time to talk money. S3 is amazing, but if you’re careless, AWS will steal your wallet faster than a sneaky cat 🐱💳.

Here’s how S3 charges you and how to stay in the green zone.

1. Storage Cost 🏦

• You pay for the amount of data stored in GB per month
• Cost depends on storage class:
  • Standard → more expensive, fast access ⚡
  • Infrequent Access → cheaper, slower ⏳
  • Glacier → super cheap, really slow 🥶

Tip: Move old files to cheaper storage classes using Lifecycle Rules

2. Requests & Data Retrieval 🔄

• AWS charges for PUT, GET, COPY, LIST requests
• Example: Upload 1,000 files → small charge
• Retrieving data from IA or Glacier → extra cost

Tip: Batch uploads/downloads if possible to save money

3. Data Transfer 🚚

• Outbound traffic (data leaving S3 to the internet) costs money
• Inbound traffic (uploading to S3) is free
• Keep this in mind if you share files publicly 🌍

4. Free Tier for Learning 🎓

• AWS Free Tier gives:
  • 5 GB Standard Storage
  • 20,000 GET requests
  • 2,000 PUT requests
• Perfect for testing, learning, and small projects

5. Cost-Saving Tips 💡

1. Use Intelligent-Tiering → AWS auto-moves files between hot & cold storage
2. Set Lifecycle Rules → archive or delete old files automatically
3. Monitor usage in AWS Cost Explorer → spot money leaks 💸
4. Avoid leaving public large files → data transfer costs skyrocket 🚀

Kahnu’s Pro Tip

Treat S3 like a cloud fridge:

• Hot snacks → expensive, fast access 🍫
• Old leftovers → freezer, cheaper 🥶
• Clean up regularly → save space and money 🧹