AWS Database Blog
Amazon RDS for SQL Server reduces prices on Enterprise Edition in the Multi-AZ configuration
We’re pleased to announce that Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) for SQL Server is reducing the price for both the On-Demand and Reserved DB Instances prices on Enterprise Edition Multi-AZ.
The On-Demand prices have been reduced by an average by 25% across the latest generation of instance classes, which include the M5, R5, T3, X1, X1e, and Z1d. The Enterprise Edition Multi-AZ On-Demand price reduction is retroactive to July 1, 2020. The impacted Enterprise Edition Multi-AZ Reserved DB Instances purchased after August 1, 2020 will have the updated prices.
The following table illustrates the average savings by region and instance class.
| Average Savings by Region | M5 | R5 | T3 | X1 | X1e | Z1d |
| Asia Pacific | 28% | 28% | 32% | 25% | 3% | 22% |
| Europe, Middle East, and Africa | 28% | 27% | 34% | 27% | 5% | 22% |
| North America | 28% | 27% | 34% | 30% | 10% | 23% |
| South America | 24% | 25% | 30% | 20% | n/a | n/a |
Although Reserved DB Instance purchases are non-refundable, we’re are making a special exception for Amazon RDS for SQL Server customers with existing Reserved DB Instances when moving to one of the newly reduced instances. For a limited time through August 30, 2020, you can exchange previously purchased RDS SQL Server Reserved Instances for a new RDS SQL Server Enterprise Edition Multi-AZ Reserved DB Instance. In connection with the exchange, you receive a pro-rata refund of any upfront fees that you paid on the original Reserved DB Instance when you purchase your new RDS SQL Server Enterprise Edition Multi-AZ Reserved DB Instance. If you would like to exchange an RDS Reserved DB Instance for a new one, simply contact us.
The following table shows an example total cost of ownership when using an M5.xlarge with the All Upfront Reserved DB Instance purchasing method.
| Region | Old Price | New Price | Savings |
| US East (N. Virginia) | $ 39,098.00 | $ 27,145.0 | 31% |
| US West (Oregon) | $ 39,098.00 | $ 27,145.0 | 31% |
| Asia Pacific (Sydney) | $ 39,756.00 | $ 28,835.0 | 27% |
| Asia Pacific (Tokyo) | $ 39,990.00 | $ 28,593.5 | 28% |
This is great timing because we recently launched the support for in-Region read replicas on Amazon RDS for SQL Server when using Enterprise Edition Multi-AZ. With this price reduction, read replicas are even more cost-effective with Amazon RDS for SQL Server. Read replicas can help you horizontally scale your workloads by offloading the read traffic to the replica. You can also increase the availability of your workload by placing the replica into a different Availability Zone than your primary or secondary DB instance.
For more information about pricing and Regional availability, see Amazon RDS for SQL Server Pricing.
About the Author
Justin Benton is a Senior Product Manager at Amazon Web Services.
Steve Kuhn is a Senior Product Manager at Amazon Web Services.