What’s Hiding Behind ‘EC2-Other’ Costs in AWS: A Guide to Smarter Cloud Spending

In the ever-evolving realm of cloud computing, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a big player, offering a ton of services and tools for businesses. When you’re navigating the AWS landscape, cost management becomes a top priority, especially if you’re aiming to keep your cloud spending in check. That’s where AWS Cost Explorer comes into play; it’s like your financial compass in the cloud jungle. But hey, have you ever come across that rather cryptic line item that says “EC2-Other Cost”? Wondering what on earth that means and how it impacts your cloud expenses? Well, don’t worry, we’re here to decode the mystery of EC2-Other Cost in AWS Cost Explorer. We’ll break it down and show you what it’s all about, helping you make smarter choices in your AWS cloud journey. So, let’s get started and demystify EC2-Other Cost together!

EC2-Other costs in AWS are a category of costs that are associated with EC2 instances, but are not directly related to compute usage. This category includes costs for EBS volumes, EBS snapshots, elastic IP addresses, NAT gateways, data transfer, and other EC2-related services.

Some of the most common EC2-Other costs include:

• EBS volume usage: This is the cost of using EBS volumes, which are block storage devices that can be attached to EC2 instances.
• EBS snapshot usage: This is the cost of creating and storing EBS snapshots, which are point-in-time copies of EBS volumes.
• CPU credits from t2/t3/t4g EC2 instances: T2, T3, and T4g EC2 instances have a concept of “unlimited mode”, whereby you are charged a per-vCPU hour for bursting into this CPU usage.
• NAT gateway usage: NAT gateways allow EC2 instances in private subnets to access the internet.
• Data transfer: This includes data transfer between EC2 instances, between EC2 instances and the internet, and between EC2 instances in different AWS regions.
• Idle elastic IP address usage: AWS charges you for unattached elastic IP addresses.

Other EC2-Other costs may include:

• VPC peering: This allows you to connect two VPCs together and route traffic between them using private IP addresses.
• Public IP address usage: This includes data transfer between public IP addresses and the internet.
• Interzone data transfer: This includes data transfer between EC2 instances in different Availability Zones within the same AWS region.
• Load balancer usage: This includes costs for Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) instances and load balancer policies.

EC2-Other costs can be significant, so it is important to understand what they are and how to reduce them. You can use AWS Cost Explorer to track your EC2-Other costs and identify areas where you can save money.

Breakdown your EC2 costs

To breakdown your EC2-Other costs, you can use AWS Cost Explorer.

1. Go to the AWS Cost Explorer console.
2. Click on Explore Cost & Usage.
3. In the Filter section, select Service and then select EC2-Other.
4. In the Group by section, select Usage type.
5. Click on the View button.

This will show you a breakdown of your EC2-Other costs by usage type.

But what is the others cost seen on graph when we put usage type filter on EC2-other costs(highlighted in red in above picture)?

The Others cost on the graph when you filter by usage type in EC2-Other costs is a catch-all category for costs that do not fall into any of the other specific usage types. This can include costs for VPC peering, public IP address usage, interzone data transfer, load balancer usage, and other miscellaneous services.

Some examples of costs that may be included in the Others category include:

• VPC peering: This allows you to connect two VPCs together and route traffic between them using private IP addresses.
• Public IP address usage: This includes data transfer between public IP addresses and the internet.
• Interzone data transfer: This includes data transfer between EC2 instances in different Availability Zones within the same AWS region.
• Load balancer usage: This includes costs for Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) instances and load balancer policies.
• Reserved instance (RI) upfront costs: When you purchase an RI, you pay an upfront fee in exchange for a discounted hourly rate for the duration of the RI. The upfront fee is charged to your account as a one-time cost, and it is not included in the RI Cost usage type.
• Other miscellaneous services: There are a number of other AWS services that may incur costs that are not included in any of the other usage types. For example, you may be charged for using certain AWS services, such as AWS Secrets Manager or AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store.

If you are seeing a significant amount of Others cost in your EC2-Other costs, it is important to investigate further to determine what is causing the costs. You can just download the CSV and in the CSV file you will get details of each and every cost.

Once you have identified the specific services that are causing the Others costs, you can take steps to reduce or eliminate these costs. For example, you may be able to reduce your VPC peering costs by optimizing your network topology. You may also be able to reduce your load balancer costs by optimizing your load balancing configuration.

By understanding the Others cost category and the services that can contribute to it, you can take steps to reduce your EC2-Other costs and save money on your AWS bill.

Here are some tips for reducing your EC2-Other costs:

• Optimize your EBS usage: Use EBS volumes that are the right size for your needs and avoid overprovisioning.
• Delete unused EBS snapshots: EBS snapshots are charged for storage, so delete any snapshots that you are not using.
• Use t2/t3/t4g EC2 instances with caution: These instances can have higher costs if you use them in unlimited mode.
• Use NAT gateways sparingly: NAT gateways are charged for each hour that they are used.
• Minimize data transfer: Use efficient data transfer protocols and avoid transferring large amounts of data unnecessarily.
• Delete idle elastic IP addresses: AWS charges you for unattached elastic IP addresses.

By following these tips, you can reduce your EC2-Other costs and save money on your AWS bill.