Amazon FSx provides four fully managed file system options, each built on a different underlying technology. Choosing the right variant and configuration directly impacts your monthly bill. The pricing structure varies significantly across Windows File Server, Lustre, NetApp ONTAP, and OpenZFS, making it essential to understand each option before provisioning.
TL;DR: FSx for Windows starts at $0.013/GB-month (SSD). Lustre persistent storage costs $0.140/GB-month. NetApp ONTAP SSD starts at $0.125/GB-month with capacity pool tiering at $0.025/GB-month. OpenZFS runs $0.09/GB-month. Choose based on workload: Windows for enterprise SMB shares, Lustre for HPC, ONTAP for hybrid, and OpenZFS for Linux NFS.
FSx for Windows File Server Pricing
| Component | Single-AZ | Multi-AZ |
|---|---|---|
| SSD Storage | $0.013/GB-month | $0.025/GB-month |
| HDD Storage | $0.013/GB-month | $0.025/GB-month |
| SSD IOPS (above 3 IOPS/GB) | $0.005/IOPS-month | $0.005/IOPS-month |
| Throughput (MB/s) | $2.20/MBps-month | $4.40/MBps-month |
| Backups | $0.05/GB-month | $0.05/GB-month |
Storage and Throughput Details
FSx for Windows File Server requires you to provision both storage capacity and throughput. The minimum throughput is 8 MBps, and storage starts at 32 GB for SSD or 2,000 GB for HDD. Multi-AZ deployments cost roughly 2x for both storage and throughput, providing automatic failover across Availability Zones.
HDD storage is ideal for home directories and file shares where latency is less critical. SSD storage suits application workloads needing consistent, low-latency performance. You can configure additional SSD IOPS beyond the baseline 3 IOPS per GB at $0.005 per provisioned IOPS-month.
FSx for Lustre Pricing
| Component | Scratch | Persistent (50 MBps/TiB) | Persistent (125 MBps/TiB) | Persistent (250 MBps/TiB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSD Storage | $0.140/GB-month | $0.145/GB-month | $0.195/GB-month | $0.290/GB-month |
| HDD Storage (12 MBps/TiB) | -- | $0.036/GB-month | -- | -- |
| HDD + SSD Cache | -- | $0.056/GB-month | -- | -- |
| Backups | -- | $0.05/GB-month | $0.05/GB-month | $0.05/GB-month |
Scratch vs Persistent
Scratch file systems provide temporary, high-performance storage with no data replication. They cost $0.140/GB-month and are ideal for short-term workloads like batch processing and machine learning training. Data is not persisted if the file system fails.
Persistent file systems replicate data within a single Availability Zone and support automatic backups. The cost varies by throughput tier, starting at $0.145/GB-month for 50 MBps per TiB. For HPC workloads requiring maximum throughput, the 250 MBps/TiB tier costs $0.290/GB-month.
FSx for NetApp ONTAP Pricing
| Component | Price |
|---|---|
| SSD Storage | $0.125/GB-month |
| SSD IOPS (above 3 IOPS/GB) | $0.005/IOPS-month |
| Capacity Pool (HDD tier) | $0.025/GB-month |
| Capacity Pool Reads | $0.003/read |
| Throughput | $1.30/MBps-month |
| Backups | $0.05/GB-month |
Tiered Storage and Deduplication
FSx for NetApp ONTAP provides automatic storage tiering between high-performance SSD and cost-effective capacity pool storage. Infrequently accessed data moves to the capacity pool tier at $0.025/GB-month, which is 80% cheaper than SSD. This tiering happens transparently based on cooling policies you configure.
ONTAP also includes built-in data deduplication and compression, which can reduce effective storage costs by 30-65% depending on data characteristics. A dataset consuming 10 TB of raw space might only use 4-5 TB after deduplication, cutting storage costs nearly in half.
FSx for OpenZFS Pricing
| Component | Price |
|---|---|
| SSD Storage | $0.09/GB-month |
| SSD IOPS (above 3 IOPS/GB) | $0.005/IOPS-month |
| Throughput | $1.50/MBps-month |
| Backups | $0.05/GB-month |
When to Choose OpenZFS
OpenZFS offers the simplest pricing model among FSx variants. At $0.09/GB-month for SSD storage, it sits between Windows File Server and NetApp ONTAP in cost. OpenZFS is best for Linux-based NFS workloads migrating from on-premises ZFS deployments, offering features like snapshots, clones, and data compression at no additional cost.
All FSx Variants Compared
| Feature | Windows | Lustre | NetApp ONTAP | OpenZFS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest SSD | $0.013/GB-mo | $0.140/GB-mo | $0.125/GB-mo | $0.09/GB-mo |
| Protocol | SMB | Lustre | NFS, SMB, iSCSI | NFS |
| Multi-AZ | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Data Tiering | No | S3 linked | Auto SSD-to-HDD | No |
| Deduplication | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Best For | Enterprise shares | HPC, ML | Hybrid, multi-protocol | Linux NFS |
Cost Optimization Tips
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Use HDD for infrequently accessed data. FSx for Windows HDD and Lustre HDD tiers cost 60-75% less than SSD. Home directories and archival file shares rarely need SSD performance.
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Enable ONTAP storage tiering. Set aggressive cooling policies to move data to the capacity pool tier faster. Data accessed weekly or less should tier automatically, reducing SSD costs by up to 80%.
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Right-size throughput capacity. Throughput is a significant cost component. Monitor actual throughput usage via CloudWatch and reduce provisioned MBps if your peak usage is consistently below 50% of provisioned capacity.
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Use Scratch Lustre for temporary workloads. Batch jobs and ML training runs that regenerate data on each run do not need persistent storage. Scratch file systems avoid backup costs entirely.
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Leverage ONTAP deduplication. For datasets with significant duplication (VDI images, development environments), ONTAP deduplication can reduce billed storage by 30-65%.
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Schedule backups strategically. All FSx backups cost $0.05/GB-month. Use incremental backup schedules rather than frequent full backups to minimize stored backup volume.
Related Guides
- AWS EFS Pricing: Storage Classes and Throughput
- AWS EBS Pricing: Volume Types and Snapshots
- AWS S3 Pricing Guide
- AWS EC2 Pricing Guide
FAQ
Which FSx variant is cheapest for general file storage?
FSx for Windows File Server SSD at $0.013/GB-month is the cheapest per-GB option for general-purpose file storage. However, if you need NFS and can leverage data tiering, NetApp ONTAP with capacity pool storage at $0.025/GB-month can be more cost-effective for large datasets with mixed access patterns.
Does FSx have a free tier?
No. Unlike S3 or EFS, FSx does not offer a free tier. You begin paying immediately upon provisioning a file system. Consider starting with the smallest configuration possible and scaling up as needed.
How do FSx backup costs work?
All FSx variants charge $0.05/GB-month for backup storage. Backups are incremental after the initial full backup, so ongoing backup storage typically stays well below your total file system size. Backup costs are the same across Single-AZ and Multi-AZ deployments.
Lower Your FSx Costs with Wring
Wring helps you access AWS credits and volume discounts to lower your FSx costs. Through group buying power, Wring negotiates better rates so you pay less per GB stored.
