Reserved instance
Also known as: RI
A reserved instance is a 1- or 3-year commitment to a specific instance configuration in exchange for a large discount (up to ~72%) versus on-demand pricing.
Reserved instances trade flexibility for price. You commit to a particular family, size, and region for the term, and pay less per hour — with the steepest discounts for 3-year, all-upfront commitments. They suit steady, predictable baseline workloads.
On AWS, Savings Plans have largely superseded classic RIs for compute because they offer similar discounts with more flexibility. The trade-off is the same either way: commitment depth versus discount size.
Reserved vs spot vs on-demand →
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