Quick Answer
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AWS CloudWatch Logs costs $0.00 to $0.50 per GB as of July 2026, with 10 plans available. Plans: Logs - Data Scanned by Logs Insights at $0.01/GB, Contributor Insights for CloudWatch Logs at $0.5/GB, Application Signals and transaction search at $0.35/GB, X-Ray Traces - Retrieved/Scanned at $5e-7/GB, Custom Metrics at $0.3/GB, API Requests at $0.01/GB, Metrics Insights Queries at $0.01/GB, Metric Streams at $0.003/GB, Anomaly Detection Alarms at $0.1/GB, and Composite Alarms at $0.5/GB. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.

Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.

  • Free tier: No free tier available

AWS CloudWatch Logs offers 10 pricing tiers: Logs - Data Scanned by Logs Insights, Contributor Insights for CloudWatch Logs, Application Signals and transaction search, X-Ray Traces - Retrieved/Scanned, Custom Metrics, API Requests, Metrics Insights Queries, Metric Streams, Anomaly Detection Alarms, Composite Alarms. Paid plans include Logs - Data Scanned by Logs Insights at $0.01/GB, Contributor Insights for CloudWatch Logs at $0.5/rule, Application Signals and transaction search at $0.35/GB.

Last verified: | Sources: 1 pricing pages and reviews
Know Before You Buy — See AWS CloudWatch Logs Plans

AWS CloudWatch Logs lists $5e-7-$0.5/GB, but hidden costs like implementation and support add to the total as of July 2026. Key hidden costs: data ingestion, log insights queries, live tail logging. Verified from 1 sources by CostBench.

Hidden Costs Breakdown

1

Data Ingestion

high overage

Standard ingestion is $0.50 per GB in regions like US East (N. Virginia) after the initial 5 GB free tier, with tiered pricing potentially reducing costs to $0.05/GB at scale for high-volume Lambda logs, and Infrequent Access logs costing $0.25 per GB.

industry

For high-volume Lambda function logs, AWS introduced tiered pricing in May 2025, which can reduce costs from $0.50/GB to as low as $0.05/GB at scale

2

Log Insights Queries

medium overage

Running queries on stored logs using CloudWatch Logs Insights costs approximately $0.005 per GB of data scanned, regardless of the results returned, and frequent or broad queries can quickly accumulate charges.

industry

Log Insights Queries: Running queries on stored logs using CloudWatch Logs Insights costs approximately $0.005 per GB of data scanned, regardless of the results returned

3

Live Tail Logging

low overage

Real-time streaming of logs using Live Tail is charged at $0.01 per minute after the first 1,800 free minutes per month.

industry

Live Tail Logging: Real-time streaming of logs using Live Tail is charged at $0.01 per minute after the first 1,800 free minutes per month

4

Associated AWS Services

high addon

CloudWatch Logs costs can be indirectly inflated by other AWS services like Lambda execution ($14.89/month), S3 storage ($1.25/month), and custom metrics ($0.90/month) triggered by services such as CloudWatch Synthetics canary runs ($0.0012 each).

industry

For instance, CloudWatch Synthetics canary runs are billed at $0.0012 each (after 100 free runs/month), but each run also triggers charges for Lambda execution (e.g., $14.89/month), CloudWatch Logs for log collection and storage (e.g., $3.55/month), S3 storage for results (e.g., $1.25/month), and custom metrics (e.g., $0.90/month)

5

Data Transfer Out

medium overage

Transferring data out of CloudWatch Logs is priced equivalently to 'Data Transfer OUT from Amazon EC2 To' and 'Data Transfer OUT from Amazon EC2 to Internet', ranging from $0.01 to $0.02 per GB for cross-AZ or cross-region transfers, and about $0.09 per GB for data transferred to the internet after the first 100 GB free per month.

industry

This can range from approximately $0.01 to $0.02 per GB for cross-AZ or cross-region transfers, and about $0.09 per GB for data transferred to the internet (after the first 100 GB free per month)

Frequently Asked Questions

01 What hidden costs should I budget for with AWS CloudWatch Logs?

Beyond the license fee, budget for: Data Ingestion ($0.50 per GB); Log Insights Queries ($0.005 per GB of data scanned); Live Tail Logging ($0.01 per minute); Data Transfer Out ($0.09 per GB). Exact totals depend on your deployment size and negotiated terms.

02 Does AWS CloudWatch Logs charge for implementation?

Implementation costs for AWS CloudWatch Logs vary by deployment size and customization. Contact the vendor or check our sourced hidden-cost breakdown above for verified figures.

03 How much does AWS CloudWatch Logs support cost?

Premium support pricing for AWS CloudWatch Logs depends on your tier and contract terms. See the sourced cost breakdown above for any verified figures we have.

04 Are there overage or storage costs with AWS CloudWatch Logs?

Standard ingestion is $0.50 per GB in regions like US East (N. Estimated impact: $0.50 per GB.

05 What add-ons cost extra with AWS CloudWatch Logs?

Add-on pricing for AWS CloudWatch Logs varies by feature. The sourced cost breakdown above lists any verified add-on costs we have.

Now You Know the Real Cost — See AWS CloudWatch Logs Plans

Check current AWS CloudWatch Logs pricing

Prices and terms change; verify against the live pricing page.

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