Comparison Between Savings Plans and Reserved Instances

Similarities

Both Reserved Instances (RIs) and Savings Plans can be used to save money on pay-per-use resources. You can choose one- or three-year, no upfront RIs or savings plans. The longer term you choose, the lower prices you will get.

Differences

With reserved instances, you get the discount only when the pay-per-use resources exactly match the reserved instances you purchase. Savings plans have fewer limitations and are more flexible. To get the discount with an ECS Savings Plan, for example, you only need to match the instance type and region.

Recommendations

• If your pay-per-use resources are consistent and stable without any changes to instance types or regions in the short term, you can choose RIs to save more.
• If the instance types of your pay-per-use resources change frequently or you have resources running in multiple regions, consider using Savings Plans, as they give you more flexibility.