AWS hands-on documentation change
Summary
Updated Free Tier documentation to reflect new credit-based system (up to $100 USD credits), restructured tutorial steps around earning credits through service exploration, added account creation date requirements (post-July 2025), and modernized AWS Budgets integration for cost tracking
Security assessment
Changes focus on cost management mechanics and Free Tier program updates rather than security controls. No references to vulnerabilities, access controls, or data protection. Updates relate to credit allocation thresholds (e.g., $20/service exploration) and billing alerts rather than security features
Diff
diff --git a/hands-on/latest/control-your-costs-free-tier-budgets/control-your-costs-free-tier-budgets.md b/hands-on/latest/control-your-costs-free-tier-budgets/control-your-costs-free-tier-budgets.md index 9c34216ec..7d71825c2 100644 --- a//hands-on/latest/control-your-costs-free-tier-budgets/control-your-costs-free-tier-budgets.md +++ b//hands-on/latest/control-your-costs-free-tier-budgets/control-your-costs-free-tier-budgets.md @@ -12,12 +12,2 @@ OverviewWhat you will accomplishPrerequisitesImplementationConclusion -**Cost to complete** | [Free Tier](https://aws.amazon.com/free/?e=gs2020&p=build-a-web-app-intro) eligible -**Requires** | - - * AWS account - -###### Note - -Accounts created within the past 24 hours might not yet have access to the services required for this tutorial. - * Recommended browser: The latest version of Chrome or Firefox - - -**Last updated** | Aug 23, 2022 +**Cost to complete** | Free Tier +**Last updated** | October 8, 2025 @@ -27,43 +17 @@ Accounts created within the past 24 hours might not yet have access to the servi -In this tutorial, you will learn how to control your costs while exploring AWS service offerings using the AWS Free Tier. In addition, you will learn to use AWS Budgets to set up a cost budget to monitor any costs associated with your usage. - -The AWS Free Tier is a discount program that lets you gain free, hands-on experience with AWS products and services. All new AWS accounts include the Free Tier so you don't have to sign up for it, allowing you to try out the services you need to build your workloads from day one. With over 100 services in the Free Tier, you can do lots of exploring at a reasonable cost, or even for free. - -Monitoring your service usage and associated costs while you are exploring and scaling your usage of AWS is often cited as a top concern. To make sure you don't exceed the Free Tier usage thresholds and your overall budget, we recommend using AWS Budgets. With the cost control features of AWS Budgets, you can create custom cost budgets that alert you when you exceed your budgeted threshold. In this tutorial, you will learn about the AWS Free Tier offering, discover how AWS Budgets monitors your Free Tier usage by default, and how to create a total monthly cost budget that alerts you when you exceed, or are forecasted to exceed, your budget. - -It is a best practice to create a total monthly cost budget for each AWS account you use. AWS Budgets has a Free Tier limit of 62 budget days per month, so creating a single budget falls within the AWS Free Tier limit. As the name implies, AWS Free Tier-eligible service usage is free. - -## What you will accomplish - -In this tutorial, you will learn how to: - - * Understand the Free Tier - - * Review your spend and usage - - * Set up a cost budget - - - - -## Prerequisites - -Before starting this tutorial, you will need: - - * An AWS account: If you don't already have one, follow the [Setting Up Your AWS Environment](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/hands-on/latest/setup-environment/) tutorial for a quick overview. - - - - -## Implementation - - 1. Access the AWS Free Tier page - -Open the [AWS Free Tier page](https://aws.amazon.com/free/?awsf.Free%20Tier%20Types=tier%2312monthsfree&all-free-tier.sort-by=item.additionalFields.SortRank&all-free-tier.sort-order=asc&awsf.Free%20Tier%20Categories=*all), and under the AWS Free Tier Details header, choose the **12 months free** link. - - - - 2. Explore 12 months free offers - -These Free Tier offers are only available to new AWS customers, and are available for 12 months following your AWS sign-up date. When your 12 month free usage term expires or if your application use exceeds the tiers, you simply pay standard, pay-as-you-go service rates (see each service page for full pricing details). - -Notable offers for the first 12 months following your AWS account sign-up include some level of free usage for [Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2)](https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/details/), [Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS)](https://aws.amazon.com/ebs/details/), [Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3)](https://aws.amazon.com/s3/details/), [Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS)](https://aws.amazon.com/rds/details/), and many other useful services. +[AWS Free Tier](https://aws.amazon.com/free) allows you to explore AWS services at no cost within specified usage limits, which makes it easier to get started with AWS. [AWS Budgets](https://aws.amazon.com/aws-cost-management/aws-budgets/) automatically monitors your Free Tier usage and helps you track your AWS spending. @@ -71 +19 @@ Notable offers for the first 12 months following your AWS account sign-up includ - +In this tutorial, you will learn to track your AWS Free Tier usage, manage credits, and set up cost alerts using AWS Budgets. @@ -73 +21 @@ Notable offers for the first 12 months following your AWS account sign-up includ - 3. Access the Always free page +AWS Free Tier includes: @@ -75 +23 @@ Notable offers for the first 12 months following your AWS account sign-up includ -On the AWS Free Tier page, choose the **Always free** link to view the Always free offers. + * $100 USD in credits @@ -77 +25 @@ On the AWS Free Tier page, choose the **Always free** link to view the Always fr - + * Up to $100 USD additional credits ($20 each) for exploring key services: @@ -79 +27 @@ On the AWS Free Tier page, choose the **Always free** link to view the Always fr - 4. Explore Always free offers + * [Amazon EC2](https://aws.amazon.com/pm/ec2/) \- You'll learn how to launch an EC2 instance and terminate it. @@ -81 +29 @@ On the AWS Free Tier page, choose the **Always free** link to view the Always fr -As the name suggests, these Free Tier offers do not automatically expire at the end of your 12-month AWS Free Tier term and are available to all AWS customers. + * [Amazon RDS](https://aws.amazon.com/free/database/) \- You'll learn the basic configuration options for launching an RDS database. @@ -83 +31 @@ As the name suggests, these Free Tier offers do not automatically expire at the -Notable Always free offers include some level of free usage for [AWS Lambda](https://aws.amazon.com/lambda/details/), [Amazon DynamoDB](https://aws.amazon.com/dynamodb/details/), [Amazon CloudWatch](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudwatch/details/), and many other useful services. + * [AWS Lambda](https://aws.amazon.com/pm/lambda/) \- You'll learn to build a straightforward web application consisting of a Lambda function with a function URL. @@ -85 +33 @@ Notable Always free offers include some level of free usage for [AWS Lambda](htt - + * [Amazon Bedrock](https://aws.amazon.com/bedrock) \- You'll learn how to submit a prompt to generate a response in the Amazon Bedrock text playground. @@ -87 +35 @@ Notable Always free offers include some level of free usage for [AWS Lambda](htt - 5. Access the Free trials page + * [AWS Budgets](https://aws.amazon.com/aws-cost-management/aws-budgets/) \- You'll learn how to set a budget that alerts you when you exceed your budgeted cost amount. @@ -89 +36,0 @@ Notable Always free offers include some level of free usage for [AWS Lambda](htt -On the AWS Free Tier page, choose the **Free trials** link to view the Free trials offers. @@ -91 +37,0 @@ On the AWS Free Tier page, choose the **Free trials** link to view the Free tria - @@ -93 +38,0 @@ On the AWS Free Tier page, choose the **Free trials** link to view the Free tria - 6. Explore trial offers @@ -95 +40 @@ On the AWS Free Tier page, choose the **Free trials** link to view the Free tria -Trial offers allow you to use a service for a specified period of time or number of operations. +### Exploration period @@ -97 +42 @@ Trial offers allow you to use a service for a specified period of time or number -Notable trial offers include [Amazon SageMaker AI](https://aws.amazon.com/sagemaker/), [Amazon GuardDuty](https://aws.amazon.com/guardduty/), [Amazon Redshift](https://aws.amazon.com/redshift/), and many other useful services. + * 6 months to use your credits @@ -99,50 +43,0 @@ Notable trial offers include [Amazon SageMaker AI](https://aws.amazon.com/sagema - - - - - -There is no additional charge associated with using the AWS Billing and Cost Management Console for this tutorial. - -The resources you create in this tutorial are Free Tier eligible. - -[Sign up for AWS](https://console.aws.amazon.com/console/home) - -Already have an account? [Sign-in](https://console.aws.amazon.com/console/home) - -In this step, you will use the AWS Billing and Cost Management Console to review your overall AWS spend and Free Tier usage. - - 1. Access the billing dashboard - -After you have logged in to your account, from the account menu, choose **Billing Dashboard**. - - - - 2. Review your billing dashboard - -Once you reach the **AWS Billing and Cost Management Dashboard** page, you can view a summary of your month-to-date costs in the **AWS Summary** section, as well as the cost trend for your top five services for the most recent three to six closed billing periods in the **Cost trend by top five services** section. - - - - 3. Access all your Free Tier usage - -To dive deeper into your Free Tier eligible usage, choose **Free Tier** from the left navigation pane. - - - - 4. Analyze all your Free Tier usage - -In the **Summary** section on the **AWS Free Tier** page, all of your usage of services in the Free Tier are listed. In addition to your **Current usage,** your forecasted service usage by the end of the month is detailed in the **Forecasted usage** column. - -In the example screenshot, note that the forecasted usage of EC2 is 2 GB-mo. Exceeding the limit of the Free Tier generally results in a billable charge. - - - - 5. Modify your AWS Free Tier Usage Limit email alerts - -By default, most accounts are automatically opted in to receive AWS Free Tier Usage Limit email alerts when their service usage exceeds 85% of a given Free Tier usage limit. - -To change who gets these email alerts, choose **Billing Preferences** from the left navigation bar. - -To opt other people in to receive Free Tier Usage Alerts, in the **Email Address** field, add their email address and choose **Save preferences.** - - @@ -151,0 +47 @@ To opt other people in to receive Free Tier Usage Alerts, in the **Email Address +## What you will accomplish @@ -153 +49 @@ To opt other people in to receive Free Tier Usage Alerts, in the **Email Address -In this step, you will set up a cost budget in the AWS Billing and Cost Management Console using AWS Budgets. As part of your cost budget, you will set up three notifications: one for if your costs reach 80% of your budget, one for if your costs are forecasted to exceed your budget, and one if your costs do exceed your budget. +In this tutorial, you will learn how to: @@ -155 +51 @@ In this step, you will set up a cost budget in the AWS Billing and Cost Manageme - 1. Create budget + * Navigate the new Free Tier credit system @@ -157 +53 @@ In this step, you will set up a cost budget in the AWS Billing and Cost Manageme -From the navigation menu on the left, select **Budgets** then choose **Create a budget** on the AWS Budgets console page. + * Earn additional credits through service exploration @@ -159 +55 @@ From the navigation menu on the left, select **Budgets** then choose **Create a - + * Monitor your Free Tier usage @@ -161 +57 @@ From the navigation menu on the left, select **Budgets** then choose **Create a - 2. Choose budget type + * Set up cost control alerts @@ -163 +58,0 @@ From the navigation menu on the left, select **Budgets** then choose **Create a -On the **Choose budget type** page, choose **Cost budget** under **Budget types.** @@ -165 +59,0 @@ On the **Choose budget type** page, choose **Cost budget** under **Budget types. - @@ -167 +60,0 @@ On the **Choose budget type** page, choose **Cost budget** under **Budget types. - 3. Set budget details @@ -169 +62 @@ On the **Choose budget type** page, choose **Cost budget** under **Budget types. -On the **Set your budget** page, edit the **Budget name** field to read **MyMonthlyBudget.** +## Prerequisites @@ -171 +64 @@ On the **Set your budget** page, edit the **Budget name** field to read **MyMont -In the **Set budget amount** section, keep the default selections for **Period, Budget renewal type, Start month,** and **Budgeting method.** Enter **$100** in the **Enter your budgeted amount ($)** field. +Before starting this tutorial, you will need: @@ -173 +66 @@ In the **Set budget amount** section, keep the default selections for **Period, -In the **Budget scope** section, you can use these features to create budgets that track costs associated with a particular set of AWS services, linked accounts, tags, or other usage dimensions. For this tutorial, keep these values as the default and choose **Next**. + * A supported web browser (latest version of Chrome or Firefox) @@ -175 +68 @@ In the **Budget scope** section, you can use these features to create budgets th - + * An AWS account created after July 15, 2025: If you don't already have one, follow the [Setting Up Your AWS Environment](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/hands-on/latest/setup-environment/setup-environment.html) tutorial for a quick overview. @@ -177 +69,0 @@ In the **Budget scope** section, you can use these features to create budgets th - 4. Configure budget alert threshold @@ -179 +70,0 @@ In the **Budget scope** section, you can use these features to create budgets th -On the **Configure alerts** page, you can have AWS Budgets contact you and others by email when budget conditions are met. @@ -181 +71,0 @@ On the **Configure alerts** page, you can have AWS Budgets contact you and other -Choose **Add an alert threshold.** @@ -183 +73 @@ Choose **Add an alert threshold.** - +###### Note @@ -185 +75 @@ Choose **Add an alert threshold.** - 5. Configure alert for when actual cost exceeds 80% of budget threshold