AWS Config Pricing Was Unexpectedly High

While building a certain system, I noticed that AWS Config charges were unusually high. Curious about the reason, I started investigating.

As a result, after changing the recording frequency from "continuous recording" to "daily recording", I was able to reduce the costs significantly.

The Impact Was Dramatic

Right after making the change, the costs dropped by more than half. I was quite shocked to realize just how much AWS Config had been charging.

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Why Did the Costs Decrease?

After researching AWS Config's pricing structure, I discovered that it operates on the following principle:

You are charged every time a Config rule or recording event occurs

In other words, the higher the recording frequency, the higher the cost. By switching to daily recording, the number of recording events itself decreased, which naturally reduced the overall charges.

Summary

If you find AWS Config pricing to be high, consider the following:

  • Can you change the recording frequency?
  • Are you monitoring resources that you don't actually need?

Many environments are using default settings without much thought, but you might be able to cut your costs in half with just one configuration change. I definitely recommend checking your AWS Config settings.