Compute & scaling
- Multiple instance families and sizes
- Usage-based or hourly billing
- API and console provisioning
- Scaling options for changing demand
Official-source provider dossier
AWS EC2 / Lightsail
Raw cloud infrastructure · CLI / unmanaged
AWS combines highly configurable EC2 compute with simpler fixed-bundle Lightsail instances. This dossier uses Lightsail bundles for like-for-like entry pricing while documenting EC2’s variable model.
Raw cloud infrastructureHosting modelCLI / unmanagedManagementFrom $3.50Published entry priceNot benchmarkedReason documented below
Plans & pricing
Pick a real plan to inspect
vCPU2
RAM0.5 GB
Storage20 GB SSD
Transfer1 TB
Displayed monthly rate$3.50/mo
Billing basisHourly up to monthly cap
Estimated 12 months$42.00/yr
Official pricing note
$3.50/month is the Linux IPv6-only Lightsail Nano bundle. A comparable bundle with public IPv4 is $5/month. EC2 pricing is separate and varies by region, instance type, OS, storage and purchasing option.
At a glance
What AWS EC2 / Lightsail offers
Best for workloads that need the breadth of AWS services, global regions and a choice between simple bundles and granular cloud infrastructure.
Catalog basisAmazon Lightsail
EC2 billingPer second/hourInstance-dependent
Savings PlansUp to 72%Commitment required
Spot discountUp to 90%Interruptible capacity
Independent benchmarkNot yet publishedNo controlled HostingHunt test
Included capabilities
Features arranged by category
Security
- Private networking and identity controls
- Disk/image security options
- Customer configures workload-level security
- Compliance and availability vary by region/service
Cloud operations
- Images, disks and network resources are selected separately
- Monitoring and automation integrations
- Snapshots and backups are separate resources
- Stopping compute may not stop every attached-resource charge
Pricing model
- Region and instance family affect price
- Operating system licenses may add cost
- Outbound transfer and public IP charges may apply
- Calculator or live configuration is required for comparison
Platform coverage
Infrastructure & supported workloads
Infrastructure options
Applications and use cases
Decision guide
Strengths and considerations
Why it may fit
- Very broad cloud ecosystem
- Simple Lightsail bundles
- Multiple compute architectures
- Strong automation and scaling tooling
Check before buying
- Lightsail and EC2 are different products
- Transfer allowance varies in some regions
- Public IPv4 changes bundle price
- EC2 disks, transfer and support are billed separately