10 Proven Ways to Identify and Eliminate HiddenAWS Costs in 2025

Amazon Web Services (AWS) continues to dominate the cloud computing landscape,

empowering businesses of all sizes to scale quickly and innovate with flexibility. But with great

scalability often comes great complexity and, unfortunately, hidden costs. Many organizations

end up paying far more than expected because of unnoticed data transfers, underutilized

instances, and a lack of cost visibility.

If you’ve ever opened your AWS bill and wondered, “Where did all this come from?”, you’re not

alone. The good news is that most hidden costs can be identified and eliminated with the right

strategies. Here are 10 proven ways to identify and cut hidden AWS costs in 2025 without

sacrificing performance or security.

1. Leverage AWS Cost Explorer and Anomaly Detection

The first step to solving any cost problem is understanding it. AWS provides powerful tools like

Cost Explorer and Cost Anomaly Detection that give you visibility into your spending trends.

Cost Explorer enables you to visualize usage patterns over time, helping you identify areas

where costs are increasing. Anomaly Detection, powered by machine learning, automatically

identifies unusual spending patterns such as a sudden spike in EC2 usage or S3 data transfers

and alerts you in real time.

By regularly reviewing these insights, you can proactively address unexpected charges before

they turn into costly surprises.

2. Audit and Eliminate Idle or Underutilized Resources

One of the biggest sources of hidden AWS waste comes from resources that are running — but

not actually doing anything useful. These include EC2 instances that sit idle, load balancers with

no traffic, and unattached Elastic IPs or EBS volumes.

In 2025, AWS will provide native tools like AWS Compute Optimizer and Trusted Advisor that

help identify such inefficiencies. Compute Optimizer analyzes metrics like CPU, memory, and

network usage to recommend smaller instance types or even serverless alternatives.

For instance, you might discover that a t3.A large EC2 instance running at 10% utilization could

be replaced with a t3.micro — instantly saving up to 80% on costs.

Regular housekeeping is key: schedule monthly audits to terminate or downsize unused

resources.

3. Take Advantage of Savings Plans and Reserved Instances

Paying for on-demand instances is convenient, but it’s rarely the most cost-effective option for

workloads that run continuously. Savings Plans and Reserved Instances (RIs) can cut your

EC2, Fargate, or Lambda costs by up to 72%.

In 2025, Compute Savings Plans are particularly flexible, allowing you to commit to a certain

amount of compute usage (in $/hour) across instance families, sizes, or regions. This means

you can save significantly without locking yourself into specific configurations.

To optimize, analyze your usage history through AWS Cost Explorer and commit to a level that

reflects your consistent workload demand.

4. Optimize Storage Costs Across S3 and EBS

Storage costs can quietly accumulate, especially with Amazon S3 and EBS (Elastic Block

Store). Data stored in the wrong tier, old snapshots, and unmonitored backups can add up

quickly.

Start by enabling S3 Storage Class Analysis, it identifies infrequently accessed data so you can

move it to cheaper tiers like S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval or S3 Glacier Deep Archive.

Also, review EBS Snapshots regularly. Old snapshots often stay in your account long after

they’re needed. You can use AWS Data Lifecycle Manager (DLM) to automatically delete

outdated snapshots.

Even small changes here like moving 50GB of rarely accessed data to a lower-cost tier, can add

up to substantial annual savings.

5. Watch Out for Data Transfer and Networking Costs

Data transfer fees are one of the most commonly overlooked AWS costs. Every time data

moves between services, regions, or the public internet, you pay a fee. This includes:

● Transfers between EC2 instances in different Availability Zones

● Data flowing from AWS to on-premises systems.

● Outbound data to the internet

To minimize these costs, consider:

● Keeping services within the same region or VPC where possible

● Using Amazon CloudFront to cache content closer to users and reduce egress traffic

● Setting up VPC Endpoints to route traffic internally

Regularly reviewing your AWS Cost and Usage Reports (CUR) will help you pinpoint where

unexpected transfer charges are coming from.

6. Right-Size Your Instances and Databases

Not all workloads need the same horsepower. Overprovisioning — running a large instance “just

to be safe” — often results in paying for capacity you never use.

The AWS Compute Optimizer and RDS Performance Insights tools can help you identify where

resources are over-provisioned. You might discover that your database instance could be

downgraded without affecting performance, or your EC2 instance can switch to a burstable type

like t4g (powered by ARM-based Graviton processors).

Additionally, AWS’s Graviton instances are more energy-efficient and cheaper than traditional

x86 processors, offering both cost and performance benefits in 2025.

7. Use Auto Scaling and Spot Instances

Manual scaling is one of the fastest ways to waste money. Instead, use Auto Scaling Groups to

automatically adjust the number of running instances based on real-time demand. When traffic

dips, instances shut down automatically, ensuring you only pay for what you use.

For non-critical or flexible workloads, Spot Instances can reduce compute costs by up to 90%.

These instances take advantage of AWS’s unused capacity, making them perfect for data

analysis, testing, or batch processing tasks.

By combining Auto Scaling and Spot Instances, you can create a dynamic infrastructure that’s

both high-performing and budget-friendly.

8. Consolidate and Tag Resources for Cost Transparency

Without proper organization, tracking costs across multiple accounts or teams becomes chaotic.

Implementing a strong tagging strategy can bring clarity.

Tags are simple labels (like Environment: Production or Project: MarketingApp) that

you apply to AWS resources. When set consistently, they let you filter and allocate costs

accurately in AWS Cost Explorer or third-party tools.

If your organization uses multiple AWS accounts, consider AWS Organizations and

Consolidated Billing. This feature combines usage from all accounts, often unlocking volume-

based discounts and simplifying management.

9. Automate Cost Monitoring with Budgets and Alerts

Manual cost tracking is nearly impossible at scale. AWS Budgets allow you to set custom

spending limits and receive alerts when you approach or exceed them. You can track costs by

service, linked account, or tag.

For 2025, AWS Budgets integrates even better with Chatbot and SNS, meaning you can get

cost alerts directly in Slack or email, keeping everyone informed in real time. This proactive

approach helps prevent runaway bills caused by sudden usage spikes.

You can also integrate AWS Budgets with Lambda functions to automatically take action — for

example, shutting down non-production environments when costs exceed a certain threshold.

10. Regularly Review and Adopt New AWS Pricing Models

AWS pricing evolves constantly. New services, instance types, and discount models are

introduced each year. Staying updated can reveal new opportunities to cut costs.

For instance, Graviton3-based instances and EBS gp3 volumes offer better performance at

lower prices compared to their predecessors. AWS also continues to expand its serverless

offerings, allowing you to pay only for execution time rather than idle capacity.

Schedule quarterly reviews of your AWS usage and pricing options. Partnering with an AWS

Certified Solutions Architect or using tools like CloudHealth or CloudCheckr can uncover

savings that internal teams may overlook.