Yes—but the reductions behind “Amazon lowers cloud prices again, especially for Linux” were specific historical EC2 price changes, not a blanket discount on Linux or AWS cloud services. In May 2020, AWS lowered prices for new EC2 Instance Savings Plans and Standard Reserved Instances, illustrating examples with free Linux OS. In a separate change effective May 28, 2022, it reduced rates for EC2 instances running SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES). The products, operating systems and comparison baselines differ, so neither announcement establishes what a particular EC2 instance costs today.
What AWS changed in May 2020
On May 8, 2020, AWS announced lower prices for new EC2 Instance Savings Plans and Standard Reserved Instances, saying the changes were already in effect for new purchases. AWS described reductions from 1% to 18% across selected examples, with the result depending on region, term and instance family. Its examples used instances with free Linux OS; they do not establish a single Linux-wide discount. AWS’s May 2020 announcement includes the selected examples and their differing rates.
The scope matters: AWS said this reduction did not apply to On-Demand instances, Compute Savings Plans or Convertible Reserved Instances. The 1%–18% range refers to the selected Instance Savings Plan and Standard Reserved Instance examples in that announcement—not to every region, instance, Linux distribution or current bill.
What changed for SLES in 2022
A separate AWS announcement, posted June 1, 2022, concerned only EC2 instances running SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. The rate change took effect May 28, 2022. AWS said SLES On-Demand instances could cost up to 24% less than their previous On-Demand rates, and SLES Savings Plans up to 52% less than their previous Savings Plans rates. Those figures have different purchase models and prior-rate baselines from the 2020 reductions; they are not additional discounts to combine with the 2020 percentages. See AWS’s SLES pricing announcement.
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Which change might apply to your EC2 workload?
The answer depends on the workload’s OS, purchase model, region and instance configuration. These announcements describe past changes; they do not promise that a new or existing instance receives the maximum stated reduction today.
| Announcement | Covered option | Reported reduction | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2020, AWS | New EC2 Instance Savings Plans and Standard Reserved Instances | 1%–18% across selected examples | Examples used free Linux OS; reductions varied by region, term and instance family. AWS excluded On-Demand, Compute Savings Plans and Convertible Reserved Instances. |
| May 28, 2022 effective date; announced June 1, AWS | SLES On-Demand EC2 instances | Up to 24% versus prior On-Demand rates | SLES OS only; the figure is a maximum, not a universal reduction. |
| May 28, 2022 effective date; announced June 1, AWS | SLES Savings Plans | Up to 52% versus prior Savings Plans rates | SLES OS only; compared with prior Savings Plans rates, not the 2020 baseline. |
How to estimate what EC2 costs now
AWS lists several EC2 purchase choices, including On-Demand, Savings Plans, Reserved Instances, Spot and Dedicated Hosts. Savings Plans and Reserved Instances involve one- or three-year commitments; a lower committed rate can be a poor fit if the workload may change or stop. AWS’s EC2 documentation explains the service and purchasing options, while its EC2 pricing page links to the Pricing Calculator for estimating a configuration.
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- Set the workload details. Choose the AWS region, instance family and size, operating system, and expected hours of use.
- Compare purchase models. Price On-Demand alongside any eligible Savings Plan or Reserved Instance option. Compare one- and three-year terms only if you can reasonably commit for that period; use Spot or Dedicated Hosts only when their operating model suits the workload.
- Check OS-specific billing. AWS’s current EC2 pricing page says eligible usage for several listed operating systems is billed by the second with a 60-second minimum. Its On-Demand pricing page says SLES instances are billed for a full hour. Confirm the current rule for the specific OS and purchase option rather than assuming Linux instances all bill alike.
- Estimate the actual configuration. Enter the selected region, instance details, operating system, usage and commitment assumptions in the AWS Pricing Calculator. Treat the historical announcement percentages as context, not as a substitute for that estimate.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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