EC2 Right-Sizing Recommendations

Identify oversized EC2 instances and get recommendations to downsize. Stop paying for compute you're not using.


Get Right-Sizing Recommendations

The Problem With Oversized Instances

Over-provisioned EC2 instances are one of the biggest sources of wasted AWS spend. It's common to launch instances with more CPU and memory than needed "just in case" and then forget to resize them.


Teams often choose larger instance types during initial setup to ensure good performance, but workloads rarely use the full capacity. The result? You're paying for compute resources that sit idle most of the time.

Right-sizing potential

Studies show that up to 40% of cloud instances are oversized by at least one size. Right-sizing can reduce compute costs by 25-50% with minimal effort.

How Server Scheduler Helps

Server Scheduler surfaces right-sizing recommendations from AWS Cost Explorer, giving you clear insights without needing to dig through the AWS Console. For each instance, you'll see:


  • 👉Current instance type — what you're running now
  • 👉Recommended instance type — a smaller or more cost-effective option
  • 👉Estimated monthly savings — how much you could save by switching
  • 👉Utilization metrics — CPU and memory usage that justifies the recommendation

Types of Right-Sizing Recommendations

AWS provides different types of right-sizing recommendations:


Downsize

Move to a smaller instance in the same family (e.g., m5.xlarge → m5.large)

Modify

Switch to a different instance family that's more cost-effective for your workload

Terminate

Instance shows very low or no utilization and may not be needed

Implement Right-Sizing With Scheduled Resizes

Once you've identified instances to resize, you can use Server Scheduler's Scheduled Resize feature to automate the change:


  • ✅ Schedule during off-hours — resize when traffic is lowest to minimize impact
  • ✅ No manual intervention — the resize happens automatically at your chosen time
  • ✅ Easy rollback — if needed, schedule a resize back to the original size

How to Get Started

  1. 1
    Connect Your AWS Account

    Sign up and connect your AWS account. We need Cost Explorer access to fetch recommendations.

  2. 2
    Navigate to Cost Recommendations

    From your dashboard, go to AWS → Cost Recommendations → EC2 Right-Sizing.

  3. 3
    Review Recommendations

    See which instances are oversized and the potential savings for each.

  4. 4
    Schedule Resizes

    Use our scheduling feature to automate the resize during maintenance windows.

Other Cost Recommendations

EC2 right-sizing is just one way Server Scheduler helps you reduce AWS costs. Check out our other recommendations:


Get Right-Sizing Recommendations