With the AWS Free Usage Tier, you get all of the features listed below for a full year. Thereafter, or if you exceed the usage allotments in the free usage tier, you’ll be charged the normal pay-as-you-go rate. That’s more than enough time to see if your new web service or app is a keeper. Here’s what you get per month with the AWS Free Usage Tier: As for the usage allotments, these do not rollover month-to-month—so, if you only use 15 GB of data transfer in February, you don’t get 45 GB in March. It’s not even like cell phone minutes, where going over your limit activates some punitive overage rate. For example, the incoming data transfer is priced at $0.10 per GB. So, if you accidentally slip up and go over the 30 GB included in the AWS Free Usage Tier, you’ll probably only be on the hook for a few bucks. And if your web app goes viral or something and you don’t notice that you’re spiking at 1 TB a day, then, well, that’s your own fault—you can monitor your usage via the Account Activity page and pull the plug if you’re nearing the threshold. Also, in addition to the above list, the AWS Free Usage Tier includes the following features that do not expire after 12 months: If any of these bullet points mean anything to you, and you’re not already an AWS customer, then the AWS Free Usage Tier is worth a shot. If you saw “5 GB of Free Storage” in the title of this post and thought, “Well, gee, that won’t even store half of my digital collection of lossless Meatloaf bootlegs,” then stick with Dropbox, Skydrive, Mozy or SugarSync.
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