How does Redshift Serverless pricing work?

Redshift Serverless charges per RPU-hour based on the compute capacity used during query execution, with a minimum base capacity you configure (e.g., 8, 16, 32 RPUs). You also pay for Managed Storage per GB-month. When idle, you only pay for storage. This model is ideal for intermittent analytics workloads.

What is Managed Storage and how is it priced?

Managed Storage automatically scales your Redshift storage independently of compute nodes (RA3 and Serverless). It costs approximately $0.024 per GB-month and includes automatic data tiering between SSD and S3. This decouples storage capacity from compute sizing.

Redshift Cost Estimator

StorageAWS

Estimate Amazon Redshift costs for Serverless RPU and provisioned nodes with Managed Storage, Spectrum, and Concurrency Scaling.

Redshift Configuration

Deployment Mode

Base RPU Capacity

$0.375 per RPU-hour. Billed per second (min 60s per query).

Average RPU-Hours per Day

Average hours per day that RPUs are actively processing queries.

Managed Storage (GB)

$0.024 per GB-month for Redshift Managed Storage (RMS).

Spectrum Data Scanned (TB/month)

$5.00 per TB scanned from S3 via Redshift Spectrum.

About Redshift Pricing

Serverless vs Provisioned

Serverless automatically scales compute in RPU (Redshift Processing Units) and bills per second of active usage. Ideal for variable or unpredictable workloads. Provisioned clusters run 24/7 with fixed node capacity, offering better cost efficiency for steady-state workloads with Reserved pricing discounts up to 50%.

dc2 vs ra3 Nodes

dc2 nodes use local SSD storage and are best for datasets under ~2 TB per node. ra3 nodes decouple compute from storage using Redshift Managed Storage (RMS) backed by S3, allowing you to scale storage independently. ra3 is recommended for most new clusters.

Spectrum for Data Lake Queries

Redshift Spectrum lets you query data directly in S3 without loading it into Redshift. Charged at $5 per TB of data scanned. Use columnar formats (Parquet, ORC) and partitioning to minimize scan costs. Great for extending your warehouse to a data lake architecture.

Concurrency Scaling

Concurrency Scaling adds transient clusters to handle burst read queries. Each cluster gets 1 free hour per day of concurrency scaling credit. Beyond that, you pay the same per-second rate as your main cluster. Credits accumulate over 30 days, providing up to 30 free hours of scaling per month.

Raw Output

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About This Tool

The Redshift Cost Estimator projects your monthly Amazon Redshift bill for both Serverless and provisioned deployment models. For Serverless, configure your base RPU capacity and expected query hours to see RPU-hour charges alongside Managed Storage costs. For provisioned clusters, select node types (RA3, DC2, or DS2), node counts, and Reserved Instance terms. The estimator also covers Redshift Spectrum charges for querying external S3 data and Concurrency Scaling costs for burst capacity. Use it to model different configurations and find the price-performance sweet spot for your data warehouse workload.

When to Use This Tool

•Comparing Redshift Serverless RPU costs versus a provisioned RA3 cluster for a 10 TB data warehouse with variable query patterns.
•Estimating Redshift Spectrum costs for a data lakehouse architecture that queries S3-resident data alongside local Redshift tables.
•Calculating the monthly cost of enabling Concurrency Scaling for a multi-tenant analytics platform with unpredictable peak loads.
•Modeling Reserved Instance savings for a long-running Redshift cluster that operates 24/7.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Redshift Serverless pricing work?: Redshift Serverless charges per RPU-hour based on the compute capacity used during query execution, with a minimum base capacity you configure (e.g., 8, 16, 32 RPUs). You also pay for Managed Storage per GB-month. When idle, you only pay for storage. This model is ideal for intermittent analytics workloads.
What is Managed Storage and how is it priced?: Managed Storage automatically scales your Redshift storage independently of compute nodes (RA3 and Serverless). It costs approximately $0.024 per GB-month and includes automatic data tiering between SSD and S3. This decouples storage capacity from compute sizing.

Disclaimer: This tool runs entirely in your browser. No data is sent to our servers. Always verify outputs before using them in production. AWS, Azure, and GCP are trademarks of their respective owners.