Stopping an EC2 instance doesn’t stop the bill
A stopped EC2 instance stops compute charges, but its EBS volumes, Elastic IP and snapshots keep billing. What AWS still charges for, with us-east-1 prices, and when to delete instead of stop.
Key takeaways
- Stopping an EC2 instance ends the compute charge. Its EBS volumes keep billing: gp3 is $0.08 per GB-month in us-east-1.
- An Elastic IP keeps billing too. AWS charges $0.005 an hour for every public IPv4 address, attached or idle.
- A stopped server with a 100 GB gp3 disk and an Elastic IP still costs $11.65 a month.
- Not needed for weeks? Snapshot the volume, terminate the instance, delete its volumes and release the Elastic IP.
On this page
Stopping an EC2 instance feels like turning it off. On the bill, it isn’t. It’s one of the most common AWS surprises, and it makes sense once you see what “stopped” actually means.
01What does AWS stop charging for when you stop an instance?
Compute. The instance gives its CPU and memory back, and the hourly instance charge stops. The regular auto-assigned public IP goes away too: AWS releases it on stop and gives you a new one when you start the instance again.
02What keeps billing on a stopped EC2 instance?
Everything attached to it that holds data or an address. Here is a stopped m6i.large with a 100 GB gp3 root volume and an Elastic IP, at us-east-1 list prices:
| Line item | While stopped | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Compute (m6i.large) | Not billed | $0.00 |
| EBS volume (gp3, 100 GB) | 100 GB × $0.08 | $8.00 |
| Elastic IP (public IPv4) | $0.005/hr × 730 h | $3.65 |
| Total | Still billed | $11.65 |
Per server, it’s not much. Until there are ten of them ($116.50 a month), and nobody remembers why they’re there.
03Do snapshots keep costing money?
Yes. EBS snapshots are billed per GB of snapshot data stored, $0.05 per GB-month in us-east-1, and they keep billing even after the instance and its volumes are gone. Old snapshots of servers deleted long ago are one of the quietest lines on an AWS bill.
04Should you stop or terminate the instance?
- Back tomorrow? Stop it. You only pay for storage and the IP overnight.
- Not needed for weeks? Snapshot the volume, terminate the instance, delete its volumes and release the Elastic IP. Snapshot storage ($0.05 per GB-month) costs less than a live gp3 volume ($0.08).
05How do you find them in your account?
In the console: EC2 → Instances, filter by instance state stopped; EC2 → Volumes, filter by state available (attached to nothing); EC2 → Elastic IPs, look for addresses with no associated instance. Or with the AWS CLI:
aws ec2 describe-instances --filters Name=instance-state-name,Values=stopped
aws ec2 describe-volumes --filters Name=status,Values=available
aws ec2 describe-addresses # entries without an AssociationId are unattachedRun these per region: each command only looks at the region your CLI is set to.
Frequently asked questions
Do you pay for a stopped EC2 instance?
Not for compute. You keep paying for its EBS volumes, any Elastic IP attached to it, and any snapshots you have taken.
Does an Elastic IP cost money when the instance is stopped?
Yes. AWS charges $0.005 per hour for every public IPv4 address, whether it is attached to a running instance, a stopped one, or nothing at all. That is $3.65 a month per address.
Is a snapshot cheaper than keeping the volume?
In us-east-1, yes: standard snapshot storage is $0.05 per GB-month, against $0.08 per GB-month for a gp3 volume.
Sources
- AWS Price List API, us-east-1: EBS gp3 storage, EBS snapshot storage, VPC public IPv4 (in use and idle)
