# AWS EC2 (Windows Server)

Official pricing: https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/pricing/on-demand/  
Category: windows · Isolation: vm

## Pricing regimes (raw)

- **On-Demand c7i/m7i + Windows Server licence (us-east-1)** (sizes): c7i.large 2 vCPU/4 GiB $0.08925/h; m7i.large 2 vCPU/8 GiB $0.1008/h; c7i.xlarge 4 vCPU/8 GiB $0.1785/h; m7i.xlarge 4 vCPU/16 GiB $0.2016/h; c7i.2xlarge 8 vCPU/16 GiB $0.357/h; m7i.2xlarge 8 vCPU/32 GiB $0.4032/h
- **t3 burstable, Windows licence included (us-east-1)** (sizes): t3.medium 2 vCPU/4 GiB $0.06/h; t3.large 2 vCPU/8 GiB $0.1108/h; t3.xlarge 4 vCPU/16 GiB $0.24/h; t3.2xlarge 8 vCPU/32 GiB $0.48/h; t3.micro 2 vCPU/1 GiB $0.0196/h; t3.small 2 vCPU/2 GiB $0.0392/h
- **c7i-flex/m7i-flex Windows (us-east-1)** (sizes): c7i-flex.large 2 vCPU/4 GiB $0.17219/h; m7i-flex.large 2 vCPU/8 GiB $0.18316/h; c7i-flex.xlarge 4 vCPU/8 GiB $0.34438/h; m7i-flex.xlarge 4 vCPU/16 GiB $0.36632/h; c7i-flex.2xlarge 8 vCPU/16 GiB $0.68875/h; m7i-flex.2xlarge 8 vCPU/32 GiB $0.73264/h [burstable]
- **spot** (sizes) [spot]
- **savings-plan** (sizes) [commit]

## Features

Yes: snapshots, fork/clone, pause/resume, persistent disk, volumes, ≥24 h sessions, custom image (Docker or snapshot), start from your own snapshot, full VM (own kernel), Docker inside, nested virtualization, root, browser, desktop GUI, SSH, public IPv4, custom domains, raw TCP inbound, egress allowlist, open internet, static egress IP, private networking, SOC 2, HIPAA, SSO, GPU, arm64, Windows, macOS, HTTP method/path egress rules, live fork (no pause), audit logs, EU data residency, MCP server, automatic snapshots, snapshots on demand, gVisor or VM (no shared kernel), inbound access rules, firewall inside (nftables), extra volumes, shared volumes

No: memory snapshots, idle auto-stop, your own Docker/OCI image, systemd, computer-use API, code interpreter, browser + desktop control, anti-bot stealth, CAPTCHA solving, residential IPs, preinstalled agents, HTTPS preview URLs, self-hosting, BYOC, open source, Python, Node.js, wake on request, live resize, memory fork, webhooks, spend limits, agent harness API, hosted agent API (their own agent), secret proxy, secret proxy for any API

Unknown: everything else. Evidence (source + quote) per feature: https://battleships.dev/data/providers/aws-ec2-windows.json → feature_evidence

## Caveats

- Prices from the official AWS metered price JSON (ec2-ondemand-without-sec-sel, us-east-1, Linux and Windows files) fetched 2026-09-28.
- Windows Server only; Windows 10/11 client cannot be licence-included on shared tenancy (BYOL on Dedicated Hosts only).
- Stopped instances bill EBS only; Windows AMIs typically need >= 30 GB root volume. Public IPv4 $0.005/h while allocated.
- Savings Plans / RIs / Spot not encoded; they discount the compute part, the licence portion is largely undiscounted.
- $0.09/GB internet egress after 100 GB/month free is the long-standing AWS list rate; first tier not re-fetched from an official page this pass.
- AWS free-tier credits for new accounts not encoded (terms vary).
- No agent API: drive the desktop yourself (RDP/SSM Run Command).
- T3 burstable baselines per vCPU: t3.medium 20%, t3.large 30%, t3.xlarge / t3.2xlarge 40%; sustained load above baseline spends CPU credits (Unlimited mode surplus charges).

## How this provider charges


Windows on EC2 is the Linux instance price **plus a licence-included surcharge**. The surcharge is **$0.046 per vCPU-hour** on current general-purpose/compute families (c7i, m7i). Burstable t3 has a smaller, non-linear surcharge. Billing is per second with a 60 s minimum. Every price below was re-read from the official AWS metered price JSON for us-east-1 (Linux and Windows files) on 2026-09-28.

## Regime table

| # | Regime | When it applies | How billed | Numbers (us-east-1) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | On-Demand c7i/m7i, Windows licence included | Default | Per second, **60 s minimum**, while running | Linux → Windows: c7i.large 2/4 $0.08925 → $0.18125; m7i.large 2/8 $0.1008 → $0.1928; **c7i.xlarge 4/8 $0.1785 → $0.3625**; m7i.xlarge 4/16 $0.2016 → $0.3856; c7i.2xlarge $0.357 → $0.725; m7i.2xlarge $0.4032 → $0.7712; c7i.4xlarge $0.714 → $1.45; m7i.4xlarge $0.8064 → $1.5424. Surcharge exactly **+$0.046/vCPU-h** | https://b0.p.awsstatic.com/pricing/2.0/meteredUnitMaps/ec2/USD/current/ec2-ondemand-without-sec-sel/US%20East%20(N.%20Virginia)/Windows/index.json, /Linux/index.json, https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/pricing/on-demand/ |
| 2 | Burstable t3, Windows | t3 family | Same billing. Baseline CPU plus CPU credits | t3.medium 2/4 $0.06 (+$0.0184 vs Linux); t3.large 2/8 $0.1108 (+$0.0276); t3.xlarge 4/16 $0.24 (+$0.0736); t3.2xlarge 8/32 $0.48 (+$0.1472). The surcharge is **not** a flat per-vCPU rate | same |
| 3 | Stopped | Instance stopped | Compute $0. EBS and any Elastic IP still bill | EBS gp3 $0.08/GB-month | https://aws.amazon.com/ebs/pricing/ |
| 4 | Snapshots | EBS snapshots | GB-month of stored snapshot data | $0.05/GB-month (standard tier) | https://aws.amazon.com/ebs/pricing/ |
| 5 | Public IPv4 | Any public address | Per hour, in use or idle | $0.005/h ($3.65/month) | https://aws.amazon.com/vpc/pricing/ |
| 6 | Internet egress | Account-wide | 100 GB/month free (all services/regions), then tiered | $0.09/GB first 10 TB (list value, not re-fetched) | https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/pricing/on-demand/ |
| 7 | Savings Plans / RIs / Spot | Commitment or interruptible | Discounts apply to compute. The licence part is largely undiscounted | Not encoded | https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/pricing/ |
| 8 | BYOL | Dedicated Hosts only | Your own licences (including Windows 10/11 client) | n/a | AWS docs |

## Gotchas

1. The licence roughly **doubles** a 4-vCPU compute instance: c7i.xlarge goes from $0.1785 to $0.3625/h.
2. **Windows Server only** on shared tenancy. Windows 11 needs BYOL on Dedicated Hosts, or WorkSpaces/Windows 365.
3. The t3 surcharge scales oddly: t3.large pays more per vCPU than t3.medium. Look up the exact size.
4. Windows AMIs need a larger root volume (≥30 GB) and take 2-5 min to be RDP-ready. EC2 Fast Launch can shorten this.
5. No agent API: you drive it over RDP, SSM Run Command, or your own driver.

## Worked example

Workload: 4 vCPU / 8 GiB, 50 concurrent × 8 h/day × 22 days (8,800 h), 30% CPU, 50 GiB snapshots, 100 GiB egress.

Assumptions: instances are stopped outside working hours; 50 GiB gp3 root each (persisting all month); auto-assigned public IPv4 only while running.

| Regime | Compute | EBS (50 × 50 GiB) | Snapshots | Egress | IPv4 | **Monthly** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c7i.xlarge Windows ($0.3625) | $3,190.00 | $200.00 | $2.50 | $0 (100 GB free) | $44.00 | **$3,436.50** |
| t3.xlarge Windows 4/16 ($0.24); 30% util is under the 40% baseline, so no surplus credits | $2,112.00 | $200.00 | $2.50 | $0 | $44.00 | **$2,358.50** |
| Same c7i.xlarge on Linux (reference) | $1,570.80 | $200.00 | $2.50 | $0 | $44.00 | $1,817.30 |

The Windows licence alone costs 8,800 × 4 × $0.046 = **$1,619.20/month**.

Sources: https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/pricing/on-demand/ · AWS metered price JSON (us-east-1 Linux/Windows) · https://aws.amazon.com/ebs/pricing/ · https://aws.amazon.com/vpc/pricing/