# Aurora ## AWS Aurora — commitment brief > **Data sourced**: March 2026. Verify current figures at the [AWS Pricing Calculator](https://calculator.aws/pricing/2/home). ### Coverage summary Amazon Aurora supports Standard Reserved DB Instances (1-yr and 3-yr terms) for both Aurora MySQL and Aurora PostgreSQL, and is also covered by **Database Savings Plans** (launched December 2025). Aurora reservations are purchased separately from standard RDS reservations — an Aurora RI does not apply to an RDS MySQL instance and vice versa. Instance size flexibility applies within the same instance class family (e.g., db.r5.large and db.r5.xlarge are in the same flexibility group). Database Savings Plans cover both provisioned Aurora instances and Aurora Serverless v2 ACU-hours (the latter has no RI option), providing up to 35% savings with flexibility across all eligible managed database services. **What is covered**: Aurora DB instance compute charges (the vCPU/RAM cost of provisioned Aurora instances). A single RI covers the writer instance or any reader instance running in the same region within the matching instance class family. **What is not covered**: Aurora storage (Aurora uses a distributed, auto-scaling storage layer billed per GB-month and per I/O), I/O charges (unless using Aurora I/O-Optimized pricing), data transfer, Aurora Global Database replication charges, Aurora Serverless v2 ACU-hours (covered by Database Savings Plans instead), and RDS Proxy. ### RI types > Amazon Aurora offers **Standard Reserved DB Instances** only — there is no Convertible RI equivalent for Aurora. Payment options: **All Upfront** (highest discount, up to \~66% for 3-yr), **Partial Upfront** (up to \~60% for 3-yr), **No Upfront** (1-yr term only, lower discount). Instance size flexibility within a DB instance class family applies automatically. ### Database Savings Plan > Aurora provisioned instances and Aurora Serverless v2 are both covered by **Database Savings Plans** (December 2025). Terms: **1-year only, No Upfront**. Discount: up to **\~35%** vs. on-demand. The same commitment applies flexibly across Aurora, RDS, DynamoDB, ElastiCache, DocumentDB, Neptune, and other eligible services — making it the right choice for teams with mixed database footprints or for covering Serverless v2 capacity that cannot be reserved. ### Instance / node / tier coverage | Engine / Instance Class | Standard RI | Database SP | 1-yr RI (All Upfront) | 3-yr RI (All Upfront) | DB SP (1-yr No Upfront) | Notes | | -------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | ----------- | --------------------- | --------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | Aurora MySQL — db.t3, db.t4g (burstable) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | \~40–45% | \~60–66% | \~35% | Size flexibility within t-family | | Aurora MySQL — db.r5, db.r6g, db.r7g (memory) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | \~40–45% | \~60–66% | \~35% | Most common production class | | Aurora MySQL — db.r8g | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | \~40–45% | \~60–66% | \~35% | Latest-gen Graviton; check region availability | | Aurora MySQL — db.x2g (memory extreme) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | \~40–45% | \~60–66% | \~35% | High-memory; check region availability | | Aurora PostgreSQL — db.t3, db.t4g (burstable) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | \~40–45% | \~60–66% | \~35% | Size flexibility within t-family | | Aurora PostgreSQL — db.r5, db.r6g, db.r7g (memory) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | \~40–45% | \~60–66% | \~35% | | | Aurora PostgreSQL Optimized Reads — db.r6gd | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | \~40–45% | \~60–66% | \~35% | RI support added March 2024 | | Aurora Serverless v2 | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | — | — | \~35% | No RI option; Database SP is the only commitment instrument | | Aurora Serverless v1 (legacy) | ❌ No | ❌ No | — | — | — | Not eligible for any commitment instrument | ## Regional availability **Commitment scope**: Regional — Reserved DB Instances apply across all AZs within the purchased region; Database Savings Plans are region-flexible and apply across all covered services in any supported region. Available in all commercial AWS regions where Aurora is offered. Aurora is one of AWS's core database services and is included in all standard region launches. **Partition notes**: GovCloud (us-gov-*) and China (cn-*) regions support Aurora RDS features; however, some newer instance types (e.g., db.r8g, db.x2g) and features like Aurora I/O-Optimized may have delayed rollout to GovCloud and China regions — verify availability before purchasing. Database Savings Plans cannot be purchased from GovCloud accounts (they must be purchased in a linked standard account) and are not available in China regions. ⚠️ Regional and partition availability varies by instance type. Always verify at the [AWS Pricing Console](https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/pricing/) before purchasing. ### Archera Amazon Aurora is a core service within Archera's commitment management scope. Archera can automate Reserved DB Instance purchases for both Aurora MySQL and Aurora PostgreSQL, monitor utilization across size-flexible reservation groups, and wrap commitments in a GRI/GSP — eliminating downside risk on over-commitment while preserving the full RI discount. Archera handles Aurora reservations separately from standard RDS reservations. *** **Sources** * [Reserved DB instances for Amazon Aurora](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/AuroraUserGuide/USER_WorkingWithReservedDBInstances.html) * [Amazon Aurora Pricing](https://aws.amazon.com/rds/aurora/pricing/) * [Amazon RDS Reserved Instances](https://aws.amazon.com/rds/reserved-instances/) * [Reserved Instances for Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL Optimized Reads](https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2024/03/reserved-instances-amazon-aurora-postgresql-optimized-reads/) * [Database Savings Plan](https://aws.amazon.com/savingsplans/database-pricing/) ⚠️ Discount percentages are approximate and region/instance-type-dependent. Always verify with the [AWS Pricing Calculator](https://calculator.aws/pricing/2/home). --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.archera.ai/help-center/cloud-service-intelligence/cloud-service-intelligence/aws/database/aurora.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.