A Complete Guide to the Cost of Amazon WorkSpaces

Updated February 20, 2026 • By Server Scheduler Staff
A Complete Guide to the Cost of Amazon WorkSpaces

When you first look at Amazon WorkSpaces, its cost comes down to two basic flavors: a fixed monthly fee (AlwaysOn) for people who use it all the time, or a pay-as-you-go hourly rate (AutoStop) for more casual use. A standard Windows desktop, for instance, might run you about $31 per month for unlimited access. That same desktop, billed hourly, would have a small base fee plus a charge for every hour it's actually running.

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Trying to figure out Amazon WorkSpaces costs can feel like a chore, but it doesn't have to be. Here at Server Scheduler, our entire focus is on helping teams automate their cloud infrastructure to slash costs, so we're well-practiced at breaking this stuff down into simple, practical steps.

Choosing The Right Pricing Model For Your Team

The very first decision you need to make is choosing between the two core pricing models: Monthly (AlwaysOn) and Hourly (AutoStop). This is the foundation of your entire cost strategy. Think of it like a gym membership. Do you go often enough to justify a flat monthly fee for unlimited visits, or are you better off just paying each time you show up? Getting this right from the start is crucial for building a cloud desktop setup that doesn't burn a hole in your budget.

A balance scale comparing monthly AlwaysOn billing with hourly AutoStop billing models for services.

The Monthly model is exactly what it sounds like—an all-access pass. You pay a single, predictable fee each month, and the WorkSpace is ready to go 24/7. This option is a perfect fit for anyone who needs constant, uninterrupted access to their virtual desktop, such as full-time employees, developers, and system administrators. If someone uses their desktop for more than 80-85 hours a month, this is almost always the cheaper route.

On the flip side, the Hourly (AutoStop) model is built for the occasional user. You pay a small monthly fee to cover basic infrastructure and storage, plus a low hourly rate for the time the WorkSpace is actually in use. The "AutoStop" feature automatically suspends the WorkSpace after a set period of inactivity, which stops the clock on hourly charges. This is a game-changer for part-time staff, consultants, or testers who only need a desktop for short bursts. You can switch between these models anytime, which is great for optimizing costs as team needs change. The break-even point usually lands somewhere around 80-85 hours of usage per month.

If a user consistently clocks more than 85 hours, the Monthly (AlwaysOn) model is your best bet. If they're using it less, the Hourly (AutoStop) model will save you money.

A detailed comparison of Hosted Desktops vs Inhouse vs Outsourced solutions can provide a broader context, helping you see where a flexible cloud desktop fits into your overall IT strategy.

Decoding the Components of Your WorkSpaces Bill

Figuring out your final Amazon WorkSpaces bill isn't as simple as picking a monthly or hourly plan. The total cost is a mix of several different pieces, and getting a handle on each component shows you exactly where your money is going. Your final invoice is shaped by the virtual machine's power, the storage allocated to users, and any added software licenses.

The biggest driver of your WorkSpaces bill is the bundle you choose. Think of bundles as pre-packaged combos of compute resources—CPU, memory, and storage—each built for a different kind of user. A basic "Value" bundle might be perfect for administrative staff, while a "Power" or "Graphics" bundle is non-negotiable for developers or designers. Nailing this choice is the first real step in cost optimization, making sure you don’t pay for horsepower you'll never use.

Every WorkSpace bundle also comes with storage, split into a root volume (C: drive) and a user volume (D: drive). The included storage is covered by the base fee, but you can increase the size of either volume. That extra storage is billed at a per-gigabyte monthly rate and can become a sneaky hidden cost. Another key piece is software licensing. By default, a Windows OS license is included, but organizations with existing Microsoft licenses can use the Bring Your Own License (BYOL) option. This can knock off up to $4 per month per WorkSpace, offering significant savings for large deployments. Properly managing your overall Amazon Web Service cost often means finding and using these kinds of licensing efficiencies.

How to Calculate Your Estimated WorkSpaces Spend

Let's turn these pricing concepts into a real-world forecast. Walking through a few common business scenarios will show you how to combine bundles, billing models, and add-ons to build a reliable budget. For a team of 15 full-time engineers, you would likely choose a Power bundle on the Monthly (AlwaysOn) model. A Power bundle might cost $78/month, and with an extra 50 GB of user storage at $5/month, the total per engineer is $83/month. For the whole team, that’s a predictable $1,245 per month.

Now imagine 40 seasonal support agents working flexible shifts. For this crew, the Hourly (AutoStop) model is a no-brainer with a Standard bundle. If each agent works about 60 hours a month, the cost would be a small base fee plus the hourly rate. For example, a $7.25 base fee plus 60 hours at $0.28/hour comes to $24.05 per agent. The total team cost would be $962 per month. If you had put these agents on a monthly plan at $31 each, your bill would be $1,240, so you're saving over 22%.

The golden question is finding your break-even point. You can find it with a simple formula: (Monthly Price - Hourly Base Fee) / Hourly Rate. For the Standard bundle, this is ($31 - $7.25) / $0.28, which works out to roughly 84.8 hours. If a user is active for more than 85 hours, the fixed Monthly plan is cheaper. For those looking to get more advanced, you can explore various AWS cost optimization tools that can help automate these kinds of decisions.

Proven Strategies for WorkSpaces Cost Optimization

Once you've got a handle on usage patterns, you can shift from just calculating costs to actively cutting them. This means treating optimization as an ongoing habit, not a one-and-done task. The quickest win is rightsizing, which means matching the WorkSpace bundle to what the user actually needs. It's common for companies to overprovision powerful bundles "just in case," leading to paying for unused horsepower. Regularly review performance metrics to see if a user could be just as productive on a less expensive bundle.

Trying to manually track every user's hours is a headache, which is where automation becomes your best friend. AWS provides the Cost Optimizer for Amazon WorkSpaces, a free tool that automatically analyzes usage and switches each WorkSpace to the most cost-effective billing model for the next month. It takes all the guesswork out of the equation, making sure you're always on the most economical plan for every single user.

Illustration of cloud automation for cost savings, showing hourly to monthly optimization, rightsizing, and scheduling.

The logic of shutting down resources when they aren't needed can be extended. Tools like Server Scheduler let you automate start/stop schedules for resources like EC2 instances and RDS databases, which is a game-changer for non-production environments. By applying automated scheduling, organizations often see cost reductions of up to 70% on their non-production workloads. This is a vital piece of a holistic EC2 cost optimization strategy. Finally, don’t let small costs like unchecked user storage and poorly managed software licenses fly under the radar. Implementing solid software license tracking for cost savings is critical to ensure you aren't paying for idle licenses.

Uncovering Hidden Costs You Might Encounter

Your Amazon WorkSpaces bill is often more than just the bundle price. Several other factors can quietly add up, leading to budget surprises if you aren't paying close attention. One of the most common hidden costs is data transfer. While data moving into AWS from the internet is generally free, you are charged for every gigabyte of data moving out of AWS. This can become a huge expense if users frequently download large files from their WorkSpaces to their local machines. For organizations with heavy data transfer needs, setting up AWS Direct Connect can be a smart move, as it often comes with much lower data transfer rates.

Every WorkSpaces deployment needs a directory service for user authentication. While some options are free, choosing AWS Managed Microsoft AD comes with its own hourly price tag for each directory controller. On top of that, heavy use of the WorkSpaces API for custom automation can incur charges if you exceed the free tier.

Just like with a physical desktop, the software you install on your WorkSpaces needs to be properly licensed. Any specialized software—think Adobe Creative Cloud or AutoCAD—must be licensed separately. It’s critical to track these licenses to stay compliant and avoid paying for software that isn't being used. Neglecting this can be just as costly as forgetting to manage unattached EBS volumes, another classic source of AWS budget waste.

Got Questions About WorkSpaces Costs? We've Got Answers.

When digging into the cost of Amazon WorkSpaces, many specific questions pop up. The biggest billing mistake is the "set it and forget it" mindset, where a Monthly (AlwaysOn) WorkSpace is provisioned and never reviewed, leading to paying a premium for a desktop that someone only uses for a few hours a week. Another classic blunder is forgetting to deprovision WorkSpaces when an employee leaves the company.

Automation is key to managing costs effectively. The Cost Optimizer for Amazon WorkSpaces from AWS automatically analyzes user activity and switches their WorkSpace to the most cost-effective billing model. This ensures you're not overpaying without manual intervention.

The cost of WorkSpaces also varies by AWS Region due to factors like local data center costs and taxes. The same bundle can have different price tags in different parts of a world, so if you're planning a global rollout, you must check the pricing for each specific region. For storage, the best practice is to start users with the default amount and have a clear process for requesting more. You can also set up alerts using Amazon CloudWatch to get notified when a user's storage is getting full, allowing you to address the need proactively.

By automating where it makes sense and keeping an eye on usage, you can master the cost of Amazon WorkSpaces and run a powerful, efficient, and budget-friendly cloud desktop environment. Server Scheduler can help you apply the same cost-saving logic by automating start/stop schedules for your other AWS resources like EC2 and RDS. Learn how to cut your cloud bill by up to 70%.