AWS Direct Connect pricing and breakeven
Direct Connect (DX) drops outbound data transfer to $0.02/GB (versus $0.09/GB internet egress) but adds $0.30 to $85.00 per port-hour. The volume threshold where DX becomes cheaper than internet egress depends on port speed and contract.
Source: aws.amazon.com/directconnect/pricing →; rates checked against the AWS Price List API, October 2026.
AWS Direct Connect pricing, 2026
AWS Direct Connect has two charges: a port-hour fee for the dedicated connection, from $0.30/hr ($219/mo) on 1 Gbps up to $85.00/hr ($62,050/mo) on 400 Gbps, and data transfer out at $0.02/GB from US regions, versus $0.09/GB over the internet. Hosted connections via partners start at $0.03/hr for 50 Mbps.
Ingress is free either way, so DX only cuts the outbound bill. Cross-connect fees at the colo and any telco circuit are billed separately by those providers. On a 1 Gbps port, DX beats internet egress once you push more than ~3.2 TB/month.
Model your egress volume → or see the full AWS data transfer reference →.
Verified vs the AWS Price List (AWSDirectConnect, us-east-1), October 2026
Direct Connect gateway pricing
AWS lists no separate fee for the Direct Connect gateway itself. With a gateway, AWS says you pay data transfer out “based on the AWS Region that is the source of the traffic and the AWS Direct Connect location where it is connected”, on top of the port-hour fee. The gateway reaches VPCs in any Region except China, so the cost question is which DX location your traffic leaves through. Rates from us-east-1 (N. Virginia):
Inbound over Direct Connect is $0.00/GB at every location. Distance still costs: a VPC in us-east-1 sending through a DX location in Sydney pays $0.06/GB, not $0.02. A Transit Gateway in front of the gateway adds $0.05 per attachment-hour and $0.02/GB processed (us-east-1). Compare with AWS cross-region data transfer and the internet egress tiers.
Source: AWS Price List API, AWSDirectConnect offer file for us-east-1 (publication 2026-10-05) and AmazonVPC (Transit Gateway), read October 2026
Port-hour pricing (Dedicated connections)
| Port speed | Per hour | Per month | Egress at port saturation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Gbps | $0.30 | $219 | 324 TB / mo capacity |
| 10 Gbps | $2.25 | $1,643 | 3,240 TB / mo capacity |
| 100 Gbps | $22.50 | $16,425 | 32,400 TB / mo capacity |
| 400 Gbps | $85.00 | $62,050 | 129,600 TB / mo capacity |
Hosted Connections (sub-1G, via partners) start at $0.03/hr for 50 Mbps. Cross-connect fees are charged by the colocation provider, not AWS, and are quoted per facility.
Breakeven: when does DX beat internet egress?
Internet egress in us-east-1 is tiered: $0.09/GB for the first 10 TB, $0.085/GB for the next 40 TB, $0.07/GB to 150 TB, then $0.05/GB. Direct Connect is $0.02/GB plus port fees. The breakeven calculation: monthly volume where (port + DX-egress) equals (tiered internet egress). Larger ports break even later because the internet tiers they compete against are cheaper per GB.
Each GB through DX saves $0.07 against the first internet tier, falling to $0.03 against the $0.05 tier above 150 TB. At 100 TB / mo through a 10G DX, you save ~$4,290 / month vs tiered internet egress.
Caveats and hidden costs
Cross-connect fees
The fibre patch at the colo (Equinix, CoreSite, Digital Realty) is billed by the colocation provider, not AWS, and is quoted per facility. Redundant connections need a cross-connect each, so budget for two.
Telco circuit
If your origin is not in the colo, you need a circuit from your data centre or office to the colo. This is a third-party telco bill (Lumen, Zayo, AT&T), priced on distance and speed, and often larger than the AWS port fee.
Letter of Authorization
Cross-connects require an LOA-CFA from AWS and from the colo. Provisioning runs on the colo's timetable as well as AWS's. Plan ahead.
BGP and VLAN setup
DX uses BGP. You will need a network engineer to peer with AWS, manage VLANs (private VIF + public VIF + transit VIF), and handle failover. This is not a click-and-go service.
Egress only, not ingress
Ingress is free over the internet AND over DX. DX only saves money on egress and on consistent latency. If your workload is ingress-heavy (uploads, log shipping in), DX adds cost without saving.
Region scope
A Direct Connect gateway is a global resource: one connection can reach VPCs in any AWS Region except China, with no separate gateway fee. What changes is the data transfer rate, set by source Region and DX location. A Transit Gateway ($0.05/hr per attachment plus $0.02/GB processed in us-east-1) is only needed to put many VPCs in one Region behind a transit virtual interface.
Frequently asked
Q.01How much does AWS Direct Connect cost in 2026?
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AWS Direct Connect has two charges. First, a port-hour fee for the dedicated connection: $0.30/hour ($219/month) for 1 Gbps, $2.25/hour ($1,643/month) for 10 Gbps, $22.50/hour ($16,425/month) for 100 Gbps, and $85.00/hour ($62,050/month) for 400 Gbps. Hosted connections through partners start at $0.03/hour for 50 Mbps. Second, data transfer out over Direct Connect is $0.02 per GB from US regions, versus $0.09 per GB over the internet. Ingress is free in both directions. Cross-connect fees at the colocation and any telco circuit are billed separately by those providers. Port and data transfer rates checked against the AWS Price List (AWSDirectConnect offer file, us-east-1) in October 2026.
Q.02What is the AWS Direct Connect data transfer (egress) charge per GB?
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Data transfer out over AWS Direct Connect is $0.02 per GB for traffic originating in a US region and leaving to a Direct Connect location in the contiguous United States. That is roughly a 78 percent discount on the $0.09 per GB first-tier internet egress rate. Inbound data transfer (ingress) over Direct Connect is free, exactly as it is over the internet, so Direct Connect only reduces cost on the outbound direction.
Q.03When is Direct Connect cheaper than internet egress?
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Each GB routed over Direct Connect saves $0.07 against the first internet tier ($0.09 minus $0.02), so the port fee is recovered once monthly volume passes the breakeven point: about 3.2 TB/month on a 1 Gbps port, 24 TB/month on a 10 Gbps port, roughly 410 TB/month on 100 Gbps, and about 1.9 PB/month on 400 Gbps. Above 150 TB/month the internet rate has already fallen to $0.05/GB, so the per-GB saving shrinks to $0.03 and larger ports break even later. Remember to add cross-connect and telco-circuit costs before committing.
Q.04How much is AWS Direct Connect Gateway pricing?
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AWS lists no separate charge for the Direct Connect gateway itself: you pay the port-hour fee for the connection plus data transfer out, which AWS prices by the source Region and the Direct Connect location the traffic leaves through. From us-east-1 that is $0.02/GB to Direct Connect locations in the US, Canada and Europe, $0.035/GB to Hawaii, $0.0491/GB to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, $0.06/GB to Australia, New Zealand and India, $0.1062/GB to Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, $0.11/GB to the Middle East and Africa, and $0.1107/GB to Latin America. A gateway reaches VPCs in any AWS Region except China, so one connection can serve several Regions without a Transit Gateway. A Transit Gateway is only needed to put many VPCs in one Region behind a transit virtual interface, and it adds $0.05 per attachment-hour plus $0.02 per GB processed (us-east-1). Checked against the AWS Price List, October 2026.