AWS Egress Fees vs Hetzner Traffic Costs: The Complete Comparison
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AWS is known for its hidden costs – and Data Transfer Out (DTO) is one of the biggest surprises on the monthly bill. In this article, we analyze the AWS egress pricing structure and compare it with Hetzner.
Table of Contents
- What Counts as AWS Egress?
- AWS Egress Pricing Structure
- Hetzner Traffic Comparison
- Calculation Examples
- How to Reduce AWS Egress?
- Conclusion
What Counts as AWS Egress?
AWS has various types of data transfer – here we focus on Public Internet Egress:
What counts:
- EC2 to Internet (user traffic)
- S3 to Internet (file downloads)
- RDS to Internet (API responses)
- CloudFront Origin Fetches (partially)
- Elastic Load Balancer to Internet
What does NOT count (here):
- Inter-Region Traffic (separate pricing)
- Cross-AZ Traffic (separate pricing)
- VPC Peering Traffic (separate pricing)
- AWS internal services
AWS Egress Pricing Structure
AWS offers 100 GB/month free – aggregated across all services and regions (except China/GovCloud).
Data Transfer Out to Internet (EU Region)
| Volume per Month | Price per GB |
|---|---|
| First 100 GB | Free |
| Up to 10 TB | $0.09 |
| 10 TB – 50 TB | $0.085 |
| 50 TB – 150 TB | $0.07 |
| 150 TB – 500 TB | $0.05 |
| From 500 TB | Individual |
Source: AWS EC2 Pricing - Data Transfer
Important Notes
- Tiered Pricing: Price tiers apply cumulatively – not per service
- Regional variations: Prices vary by region
- EU Data Act: Since 2024, reduced rates for EU customers with complete switch
Hetzner Traffic Comparison
Hetzner Cloud Server (EU)
| Volume | Price |
|---|---|
| 20 TB included | €0 |
| Each additional TB | €1.19/TB (~$1.30/TB) |
The Hetzner Principle
"We calculate monthly traffic only using outgoing traffic. We do not count incoming and internal traffic." – Hetzner Docs
Translated: At Hetzner, you only pay for outgoing traffic, and only after 20 TB.
Calculation Examples
Scenario 1: Small Web App (500 GB/month)
| Provider | Calculation | Cost/Month |
|---|---|---|
| AWS | 400 GB × $0.09 | $36 |
| Hetzner | Included | €0 |
Savings: 100%
Scenario 2: E-Commerce (5 TB/month)
| Provider | Calculation | Cost/Month |
|---|---|---|
| AWS | 100 GB free + 4,900 GB × $0.09 | $441 |
| Hetzner | Included | €0 |
Savings: 100%
Scenario 3: SaaS Platform (25 TB/month)
| Provider | Calculation | Cost/Month |
|---|---|---|
| AWS | 100 GB free + 10 TB × $0.09 + 15 TB × $0.085 | $2,195 |
| Hetzner | 5 TB overage × €1.19 | ~€6 |
Savings: 99.7%
Scenario 4: Video Streaming (100 TB/month)
| Provider | Calculation | Cost/Month |
|---|---|---|
| AWS | Tiered up to 100 TB | ~$7,750 |
| Hetzner | 80 TB overage × €1.19 | ~€95 |
Savings: 98.8%
How to Reduce AWS Egress?
If migration isn't (yet) possible, there are strategies to reduce egress:
1. Use CloudFront
CloudFront has cheaper egress rates than direct EC2/S3 access. Often useful for static assets.
2. Disable S3 Transfer Acceleration
If not needed – costs extra.
3. Enable Compression
gzip/brotli significantly reduces the amount of data transferred.
4. Optimize Caching
Browser caching, CDN caching, API response caching.
5. Regional Data Residency
Keep traffic within the same region where possible.
6. Migrate to Hetzner
For traffic-intensive workloads, the most effective solution.
When is Migration Worth It?
Migration to Hetzner is particularly worthwhile for:
- >1 TB egress/month: Savings become significant from here
- Predictable traffic: No burst peaks that exceed Hetzner limits
- EU-focused users: Latency to DE data centers acceptable
- No AWS-specific services: If primarily using EC2/RDS/S3
Conclusion
AWS egress costs are one of the biggest hidden cost drivers in the cloud. While AWS charges $0.09/GB, Hetzner offers 20 TB included and then only ~$0.0013/GB.
For companies with significant outbound traffic, switching from AWS to Hetzner can reduce traffic costs by 95-99%.
Next Steps
We analyze your AWS bill and show you specifically how much you can save through migration.
Request free AWS cost analysis now
Related Articles
- Public Internet Egress Costs: AWS vs Azure vs GCP vs Hetzner
- How We Saved Companies Up to 90% on Cloud Costs
- AWS to Hetzner Migration
FAQ
How much does 1 TB egress cost at AWS?
After the 100 GB free tier, 1 TB at AWS costs approximately $82 ($0.09 × 900 GB).
Why is AWS egress so expensive?
Egress is a profit center for hyperscalers. Additionally, expensive egress makes switching to other providers harder (vendor lock-in).
Does the free tier apply per service?
No, the 100 GB are aggregated across all AWS services and regions.
Can I negotiate AWS egress costs?
For very high volumes (500+ TB), enterprise contracts with better rates are possible. For most companies, switching providers is cheaper.
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