AWS Global Accelerator pricing consists of two main components: a fixed hourly fee per accelerator and data transfer fees based on the volume and geographic flow of traffic. The fixed hourly fee is approximately $0.025 per hour per accelerator, which amounts to about $18 per month for a continuously running accelerator. Data transfer fees, called Data Transfer-Premium fees, are charged in addition to standard AWS data transfer rates and vary significantly depending on the source AWS region and the destination AWS edge location. These rates can range from $0.015 to $0.105 per GB, making costs highly dependent on traffic patterns and regions involved[2][4][9][12].
Compared to similar services like Amazon CloudFront, AWS Global Accelerator tends to have more complex and potentially higher data transfer costs. CloudFront charges are based on data transferred out to the internet and the number of requests, with tiered pricing that decreases as data volume increases. CloudFront also offers a Security Savings Bundle that can reduce costs by 30% with a one-year commitment, a feature not available with Global Accelerator. Additionally, CloudFront includes Lambda@Edge for running custom code at edge locations, which Global Accelerator does not provide[4].
When comparing AWS Global Accelerator with other global traffic management or CDN services such as Azure Front Door or Cloudflare, AWS Global Accelerator is generally considered cost-effective with flexible pricing, especially for applications requiring optimized routing and improved network performance. However, Azure Front Door may have higher initial costs but offers more comprehensive features including application-level load balancing and advanced security tools. Cloudflare, as a major CDN and DDoS protection provider, offers extensive global network coverage and security features, often with simpler and more predictable pricing models[10].
In summary, AWS Global Accelerator's pricing model is distinguished by its fixed hourly fee plus variable data transfer fees that depend heavily on traffic direction and geography, which can lead to higher costs compared to traditional CDN services like CloudFront. It is best suited for applications that need optimized global routing and static IP addresses, but customers should carefully analyze their traffic patterns and regions to estimate costs accurately and compare them with alternatives[2][4][9][10].
Citations:
[1] https://aws.amazon.com/global-accelerator/pricing/
[2] https://docs.aws.amazon.com/global-accelerator/latest/dg/introduction-pricing.html
[3] https://aws.amazon.com/global-accelerator/
[4] https://www.techtarget.com/searchcloudcomputing/tip/Compare-AWS-Global-Accelerator-vs-Amazon-CloudFront
[5] https://tutorialsdojo.com/aws-global-accelerator/
[6] https://www.resilio.com/blog/s3-transfer-acceleration-vs-global-accelerator
[7] https://www.saasworthy.com/product/aws-global-accelerator/pricing
[8] https://www.cloudbolt.io/guide-to-aws-cost-optimization/aws-data-transfer-pricing/
[9] https://elasticscale.com/reduce-aws-global-accelerator-costs/
[10] https://www.peerspot.com/products/comparisons/aws-global-accelerator_vs_azure-front-door
[11] https://6sense.com/tech/it-infrastructure-services/aws-global-accelerator-market-share
[12] https://cloudchipr.com/blog/aws-global-accelerator