AWS is notorious for being obtuse when it comes to getting the best deal. That’s why we’re taking the whole of this post to cover AWS WorkSpaces pricing and clear the clutter from the conversation.

No more worrying about how much your virtual desktop infrastructure is or will cost you. No more confusion as to whether paying monthly or hourly is better.

We’ll be tackling the topic from top to bottom, going through the following sections:

• What is AWS WorkSpaces?
• Pros and cons of AWS WorkSpaces
• AWS WorkSpaces pricing
• Manage and consolidate your AWS bills with ease

Let’s get started.

What is AWS WorkSpaces?

AWS WorkSpaces is a service that lets you set up cloud-hosted desktop environments which run on Windows or Linux. These environments can then be accessed via an internet connection and any supported device.

It’s a simple pitch, but an incredibly powerful offering in the face of the increasing prevalence of remote working and the need for setups to be available on the go.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted many aspects of our society that needed to change, but the relevant element for this post is that it gave a massive boost to the number of people working from home during various lockdowns. This helped to show how beneficial remote work is in helping employees to stay focused and avoid burning out, resulting in a continued increase in the prevalence of remote job offerings.

Plus, being able to access a persistent remote desktop setup from anywhere means that, no matter how much you may need to travel (for personal or professional reasons), you’ll always have access to the exact technology, applications, and data that you need to get things done.

‍Numecent Cloudpager can be downloaded from the AWS Marketplace to install and manage applications on your virtual desktops, letting you set everything up exactly as needed. While it does cost extra, having a centralized app that allows you to easily control what apps are installed on each of your VDIs is invaluable if you’re juggling more than one setup which caters to different needs. If you already have an AWS WorkSpaces setup then you may be using Amazon WorkSpaces Application Manager (WAM) to do the same thing, but this service will be terminating come September 2023, so you will need to migrate over to Cloudpager.

Pros and cons of AWS WorkSpaces

Let’s run over some of the pros and cons of the service to give some much-needed context to the AWS WorkSpaces pricing points that we’ll cover in the next section of this post. These have been split up into the following sections for ease of access:

• Accessibility
• Costs
• Latency
• Customizability
• Security

Accessibility

By far the biggest advantage of AWS WorkSpaces is the accessibility it provides to you and your team. By letting everyone access the exact setup that they need to get their work done without requiring them to have anything set up, installed, or secured on their end (other than having a device capable of running WorkSpaces), you open up a world of possibilities for both remote working and getting more done than your onsite resources allow.

There’s no need to have separate Windows and Linux machines running at your office - just set up a VDI for both and access everything from your tablet, home computer, or Macbook!

Costs

The issue of costs is both an advantage and a drawback.

On one hand, AWS WorkSpaces can greatly reduce your costs by eliminating the need for any onsite setup. Unless there are tasks that have to be performed onsite, you could potentially even stop renting your regular office space and save a huge amount by letting everyone work remotely and simply access their cloud-hosted work setup. Even if you keep your office you can still greatly cut the cost of scaling your operations by using WorkSpaces instead of having to purchase, set up, and maintain new physical machines.

However, the service isn’t free, and can be quite pricey if you’re using it for regular, daily work. We’ll get into the specific pricing points later, but when every machine incurs a flat monthly rate plus an hourly use rate, these can quickly add up to be very significant.

Latency

One issue that is at the forefront of any kind of streaming service, be it providing virtual gaming systems like Nvidia GeForce Now or streaming entertainment like Netflix, is that of latency. This is especially true for virtual desktop environments like those that WorkSpaces provides.

You want to get your work done and utilize the VDI for exactly as long as you need to to avoid running your bills up more than necessary. However, if you’re suffering from severe latency then it could take several times as long as it should to complete your tasks.

There are several reviews with complaints about the latency of WorkSpaces’ servers, so this isn’t an issue that’s been completely solved. The best that you can do is to set up a machine that is running in a region that has the lowest latency scores relative to your location (<100ms).

There will always be a slight delay with this kind of setup, as your actions need to be logged, passed through to the cloud-hosted desktop, performed, then the results sent back to you.

Customizability

AWS WorkSpaces is highly customizable, letting you create a desktop environment for almost any need. From the OS to the information stored and applications installed, WorkSpaces can be set up precisely according to what you need and exactly how you need it to be.

However, there is no option to set up a VDI running on MacOS. While you can access your Windows or Linux machine from a Mac, you cannot utilize MacOS as the base for your VDI.

Security

Security is incredibly important in virtual setups. The last thing that you want is for someone to be able to access your remote desktops and take advantage of the data they find (or to just run up your bill by utilizing your resources). That’s why AWS WorkSpaces streams its data via an encrypted format to help make sure that there is no unauthorized access.

Furthermore, you also have the option of limiting access to your VDI to specific IP addresses. That way you’ll be sitting safe in the knowledge that not only can your data not be intercepted, but those who have official access can’t do so unless they’re utilizing the connection at a specific location.

For example, you could green-light the IP address of your employee’s home to make sure that they can take advantage of a remote working setup. Several team members could access your VDI from a coworking space that you’ve pre-approved that saves them a long commute or is being used as a cheaper alternative to renting a local office in a specific city or country.

Speaking of pricing, let’s get into the fine details of how much AWS WorkSpaces costs.

AWS WorkSpaces Pricing

To start out with AWS WorkSpaces pricing you need to ask yourself two questions about the kind of virtual desktop setup that you want to create:

• Do you want to use WorkSpaces, WorkSpaces Core, and/or WorkSpaces Web?
• What OS do your desktops need to run on?

WorkSpaces, WorkSpaces Core, and WorkSpaces Web all run on different pricing plans, hence why we will separate them here for ease of viewing, but they all have different price points so it’s worth knowing whether you need a virtual desktop accessible (WorkSpaces), VDI APIs for third-party software (WorkSpaces Core), and/or to be able to access a virtual desktop through a browser (WorkSpaces Web).

Similarly, most OS’ have different price points, and so you’ll need to be aware of their differences and which one is best suited to your needs before committing to a specific budget.

All following prices are based on setups in the US East (N. Virginia) region.

AWS WorkSpaces pricing

AWS WorkSpaces pricing lets you choose between paying a flat monthly rate per virtual desktop or a much smaller monthly rate plus an hourly usage fee. As a general rule of thumb, if you’re going to use the setup for more than 80 hours in a single month, the higher monthly fee without the hourly rate is cheaper.

‍Linux and Windows BYOL costs

1 vCPU, 2 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $21/month or $7.25/month + $0.17/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $24/month or $9.75/month + $0.17/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $27/month or $13.00/month + $0.17/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $32/month or $19.00/month + $0.17/hour

2 vCPU, 4 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $29/month or $7.25/month + $0.26/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $31/month or $9.75/month + $0.26/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $34/month or $13.00/month + $0.26/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $40/month or $19.00/month + $0.26/hour

2 vCPU, 8 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $41/month or $7.25/month + $0.43/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $43/month or $9.75/month + $0.43/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $46/month or $13.00/month + $0.43/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $52/month or $19.00/month + $0.43/hour

4 vCPU, 16 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $66/month or $7.25/month + $0.64/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $68/month or $9.75/month + $0.64/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $70/month or $13.00/month + $0.64/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $74/month or $19.00/month + $0.64/hour

8 vCPU, 32 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $123/month or $7.25/month + $1.49/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $126/month or $9.75/month + $1.49/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $130/month or $13.00/month + $1.49/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $136/month or $19.00/month + $1.49/hour

Additional storage: $0.10/GB

‍Windows BYOL other costs‍

Graphics.g4dn setup with 4 vCPU, 16 GB memory, 1 GPU, 16 GB video memory, 125 GB local instance store:

• 100 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $533/month or $22.00/month + $1.50/hour

GraphicsPro.g4dn setup with 16 vCPU, 64 GB memory, 1 GPU, 16 GB video memory, 225 GB local instance store:

• 100 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $955/month or $66.00/month + $11.11/hour

Graphics setup with 8 vCPU, 15 GiB memory, 1 GPU, 4 GiB video memory:

• 100 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $731/month (no lower monthly cost + hourly rate)

GraphicsPro setup with 16 vCPU, 122 GiB memory, 1 GPU, 8 GiB video memory:

• 100 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $995/month or $66.00/month + $11.57/hour

Microsoft Office Professional Plus bundle for BYOL WorkSpaces:

• 32-bit Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus, or 64-bit Microsoft Office 2019 Professional Plus = $14.75/month

‍Ubuntu Linux costs‍

1 vCPU, 2 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $23/month or $7.25/month + $0.19/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $26/month or $9.75/month + $0.19/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $29/month or $13.00/month + $0.19/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $34/month or $19.00/month + $0.19/hour

2 vCPU, 4 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $31/month or $7.25/month + $0.28/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $33/month or $9.75/month + $0.28/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $36/month or $13.00/month + $0.28/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $42/month or $19.00/month + $0.28/hour

2 vCPU, 8 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $43/month or $7.25/month + $0.45/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $45/month or $9.75/month + $0.45/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $48/month or $13.00/month + $0.45/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $54/month or $19.00/month + $0.45/hour

4 vCPU, 16 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $68/month or $7.25/month + $0.66/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $70/month or $9.75/month + $0.66/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $72/month or $13.00/month + $0.66/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $76/month or $19.00/month + $0.66/hour

8 vCPU, 32 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $125/month or $7.25/month + $1.51/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $128/month or $9.75/month + $1.51/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $132/month or $13.00/month + $1.51/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $138/month or $19.00/month + $1.51/hour

Additional storage: $0.10/GB

‍Windows (including license) costs

In most cases the Windows cost is $4/month higher than the Windows BYOL cost, or the same lower monthly fee but $0.04 more expensive per hour.

1 vCPU, 2 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $25/month or $7.25/month + $0.22/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $28/month or $9.75/month + $0.22/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $31/month or $13.00/month + $0.22/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $36/month or $19.00/month + $0.22/hour

2 vCPU, 4 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $33/month or $7.25/month + $0.30/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $35/month or $9.75/month + $0.30/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $38/month or $13.00/month + $0.30/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $44/month or $19.00/month + $0.30/hour

2 vCPU, 8 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $45/month or $7.25/month + $0.47/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $47/month or $9.75/month + $0.47/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $50/month or $13.00/month + $0.47/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $56/month or $19.00/month + $0.47/hour

4 vCPU, 16 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $70/month or $7.25/month + $0.68/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $72/month or $9.75/month + $0.68/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $74/month or $13.00/month + $0.68/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $78/month or $19.00/month + $0.68/hour

8 vCPU, 32 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $127/month or $7.25/month + $1.53/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $130/month or $9.75/month + $1.53/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $134/month or $13.00/month + $1.53/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $140/month or $19.00/month + $1.53/hour

Graphics.g4dn setup with 4 vCPU, 16 GB memory, 1 GPU, 16 GB video memory, 125 GB local instance store:

• 100 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $537/month or $22.00/month + $1.54/hour

GraphicsPro.g4dn setup with 16 vCPU, 64 GB memory, 1 GPU, 16 GB video memory, 225 GB local instance store:

• 100 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $959/month or $66.00/month + $11.16/hour

Graphics setup with 8 vCPU, 15 GiB memory, 1 GPU, 4 GiB video memory:

• 100 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $735/month or $22.00/month + $1.75/hour

GraphicsPro setup with 16 vCPU, 122 GiB memory, 1 GPU, 8 GiB video memory:

• 100 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $999/month or $66.00/month + $11.62/hour

Default applications bundle:

• Utilities (Internet Explorer 11, Firefox) = free

Plus applications bundle for Windows Server 2016 Powered WorkSpaces:

• 32-bit Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus, Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security Services, and Utilities (Internet Explorer 11, Firefox) = $15/month

Plus applications bundle for Windows Server 2019 Powered WorkSpaces:

• 64-bit Microsoft Office 2019 Professional Plus, and Utilities (Internet Explorer 11, Firefox) = $14.75/month

Additional storage: $0.10/GB

That’s it for AWS WorkSpaces pricing! Don’t worry, we know it’s a lot, but the price points of WorkSpaces Core and WorkSpaces Web are much simpler and shorter - the longest section is over.

AWS WorkSpaces Core pricing

Due to WorkSpaces Core only providing the VDI hardware its plans come cheaper than the general WorkSpaces ones. You can provide your own supported VDI management software license or buy one on the AWS Marketplace.

1 vCPU, 2 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $16.80/month or $5.80/month + $0.09/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $19.20/month or $7.80/month + $0.09/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $21.60/month or $10.40/month + $0.09/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $25.60/month or $15.20/month + $0.09/hour

2 vCPU, 4 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $23.20/month or $5.80/month + $0.21/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $24.80/month or $7.80/month + $0.21/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $27.20/month or $10.40/month + $0.21/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $32.00/month or $15.20/month + $0.21/hour

2 vCPU, 8 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $32.80/month or $5.80/month + $0.34/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $34.40/month or $7.80/month + $0.34/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $36.80/month or $10.40/month + $0.34/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $41.60/month or $15.20/month + $0.34/hour

4 vCPU, 16 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $52.80/month or $5.80/month + $0.51/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $54.40/month or $7.80/month + $0.51/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $56.00/month or $10.40/month + $0.51/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $59.20/month or $15.20/month + $0.51/hour

8 vCPU, 32 GB memory:

• 80 GB Root Volume, 10 GB User Volume = $98.40/month or $5.80/month + $1.19/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 50 GB User Volume = $100.80/month or $7.80/month + $1.19/hour
• 80 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $104.00/month or $10.40/month + $1.19/hour
• 175 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $108.80/month or $15.20/month + $1.19/hour

Graphics.g4dn setup with 4 vCPU, 16 GB memory, 1 GPU, 16 GB video memory, 125 GB local instance store:

• 100 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $426.40/month or $17.60/month + $1.20/hour

GraphicsPro.g4dn setup with 16 vCPU, 64 GB memory, 1 GPU, 16 GB video memory, 225 GB local instance store:

• 100 GB Root Volume, 100 GB User Volume = $764/month or $52.80/month + $8.88/hour

Additional storage = $0.10/GB

AWS WorkSpaces Web pricing

Finally, we have the pricing for AWS WorkSpaces Web. For this you will be charged a flat fee per month per Monthly Active User (MAU), which is someone who connects to the WorkSpaces Web portal. If any individual user streams for more than 200 hours, an additional hourly fee will be applied to their usage beyond that.

Prices here are based on region, but because there are only 2 fees per region we’ll list them all here:

• US East (Northern Virginia) = $7/MAU + $0.035 per additional hour
• US West (Oregon) = $7/MAU + $0.035 per additional hour
• Canada (Central) = $7/MAU + $0.035 per additional hour
• Europe (Ireland) = $7/MAU + $0.035 per additional hour
• Europe (London) = $8/MAU + $0.04 per additional hour
• Europe (Frankfurt) = $8/MAU + $0.04 per additional hour
• Asia Pacific (Singapore) = $8/MAU + $0.04 per additional hour
• Asia Pacific (Sydney) = $7.50/MAU + $0.0375 per additional hour
• Asia Pacific (Mumbai) = $8/MAU + $0.04 per additional hour
• Asia Pacific (Tokyo) = $8.50/MAU + $0.0425 per additional hour

Manage and consolidate your AWS bills with ease

As you can see, keeping track of your AWS WorkSpaces bills alone can be an absolute nightmare. From knowing what kind of specs your virtual desktop needs to tracking usage statistics and knowing whether the flat monthly fee would be cheaper than the hourly charge, there’s a wealth of information that you simply won’t be able to take advantage of in its native form.

That’s where Aimably’s AWS Cost Reduction Assessment comes in.

By accessing and analyzing your AWS cost and usage data, our expert team and software will provide you with a prioritized list of what you can do to save money on your AWS bill without affecting performance. That way you can see how to get the best deal on your WorkSpaces account without having to hire a dedicated team member just to keep track of your bills.

‍Take the work out of optimizing your AWS account by starting with Aimably today!