Cloud hosting costs can spiral quickly, but you don’t need to be an expert to rein them in. By focusing on a few high-impact areas, you can dramatically reduce your hosting bill. Here we take a look at Amazon Web Services (AWS) hosting but these strategies are equally relevant with hosting on Microsoft Azure or other cloud hosting providers. Here are 5 proven strategies to start saving today!

Eliminate Unused Resources

One of the biggest (and easiest to fix) money drains is paying for resources you don’t use—like EC2 instances or RDS databases left running after testing. Think of it as leaving the lights on in an empty room.

Action: Regularly review your environment and shut down unused servers or databases. Even turning off a handful of test instances can save hundreds of dollars per month.

Manage and Clean Up Backups and Snapshots with AWS Backup Manager

Backups are essential, but unused snapshots and old backups often pile up unnoticed—quietly driving up costs.

Action: Use AWS Backup to automate retention policies. Define backup plans that keep what you need and automatically delete old recovery points. This keeps you protected without paying for unnecessary storage.

Right-Size Your Instances

Oversized instances are a common source of wasted spend. Running a powerful server when a smaller one would work is like renting a mansion when you only need an apartment.

Action: Use AWS Compute Optimizer for free, data-driven recommendations. For example, downsizing from db.r6g.xlarge to db.t4g.large could nearly cut your database costs in half—without impacting performance.

Leverage Savings Plans

For steady, long-term workloads, Compute Savings Plans can slash costs. By committing to a consistent hourly spend for one or three years, you’ll unlock discounts of up to 66% versus on-demand rates.

Action: Analyze your historical usage, set a stable baseline, and commit. Three-year plans usually deliver the deepest savings.

Set Budget Alerts

Mis-configurations or unexpected usage can cause bills to spike overnight. Budget alerts act as your early warning system.

Action: In the AWS Billing console, create an AWS Budget with thresholds (e.g., $500/month) and set alerts at 80% and 100%. If something unusual happens, you’ll know in time to fix it—before the bill arrives.

By consistently applying these five tactics—shutting down waste, managing backups, right-sizing, committing wisely, and monitoring spend—you’ll build a leaner, more cost-efficient AWS environment. If you need help putting any of this into practice don’t hesitate to Contact Us anytime for further guidance.