AWS NAT Gateway cost calculator
Estimate the monthly cost of an AWS NAT Gateway: the hourly charge, per-GB data processing, and the egress that stacks on top. NAT Gateway is a consistent top offender on AWS bills.
AWS NAT Gateway, us-east-1. High availability across zones usually means one gateway per AZ.
- Hourly charge (1 × 730 h × $0.045)
- $32.85
- Data processing ($0.045/GB)
- $45.00
- Egress on that traffic ($0.09/GB)
- $90.00
- Estimated monthly total
- $167.85
True cost per GB: $0.135 — the $0.045/GB processing fee plus $0.09/GB egress stack on top of each other. Route in-cloud traffic to S3, DynamoDB, and other services through VPC/gateway endpoints to bypass the NAT gateway and its processing fee entirely.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an AWS NAT Gateway cost?
In us-east-1, a NAT Gateway costs $0.045 per hour (about $32.85/month if it runs 24/7) plus $0.045 per GB of data processed. Traffic that leaves AWS also incurs the standard $0.09/GB egress on top, so the true cost of that traffic is about $0.135/GB.
Why is my NAT Gateway so expensive?
The per-GB processing fee applies to all traffic through the gateway — including traffic to AWS services in the same region — and stacks with egress. High-throughput workloads and one gateway per availability zone multiply the cost quickly.
How do I reduce NAT Gateway costs?
Route in-cloud traffic to S3, DynamoDB, and other services through VPC/gateway endpoints so it bypasses the NAT gateway and its processing fee. Consolidate gateways where cross-AZ high availability is not required, and check for chatty traffic that does not need to leave the VPC.
Rates from our AWS NAT Gateway pricing guide (us-east-1). Model a full stack with the calculator.