I'm building a multi-tenant CRM system that will store various data like employee information, salaries, invoices, documents, and contracts. I'm pretty confused about how AWS S3 storage works and the costs involved. If I start with 10 tenants and each one has a total backend limit of 15GB, what specific AWS services will I need, and how much would that cost me monthly? Also, I've heard AWS charges on a per gigabyte per hour basis. So, if I accidentally upload a 1TB file and delete it after half an hour, I would only pay for the time it was stored, correct? Lastly, I need to perform backend requests like put and post to read documents and write to the database. Can anyone clarify these points?
5 Answers
Before diving in, make sure to familiarize yourself with AWS services you plan to use. It’s super easy to get hit with a high bill if you aren’t careful! A lot of people end up here asking for help dealing with sky-high AWS charges they didn’t anticipate. Just make sure you understand what each service does and how pricing works before you start implementing anything.
So do I just need S3 Standard for my setup or is there more to consider?
In terms of pricing, we charge for what you actually use, including storage per GB-month, as well as PUT/GET requests and outgoing data transfer. For a comprehensive look at pricing for S3, check out the [S3 pricing page](https://go.aws/486KWsi). If you need advice tailored to your use case, I recommend reaching out to our Sales support team through [this link](http://go.aws/contact-aws).
I tried contacting support through live chat but waited for hours without getting a response.
You’ve got some valid concerns! AWS S3 does charge you based on gigabytes per hour, but it varies depending on the access tier you select. Faster access tiers cost more. And yes, you are correct—if you upload a large file and delete it shortly after, you'll only pay for the time it was stored. Just be mindful that S3 also charges for requests (like PUT or GET), calculated per 1000 requests. Doing some reading on AWS pricing can save you from unexpected charges!
Why are these scary questions? 🙂
For live contact with our Sales support, please note it's available from 5:30 AM to 4:00 PM PT, excluding weekends and holidays. We suggest using our Sales contact form instead: [Sales Contact Form](https://go.aws/4iguxGK).
Definitely take the time to read through the documentation and pricing page for the services you plan to use. They are clearly written and will save you a lot of headache later on. Understanding quotas and pricing can prevent unexpected expenses when using AWS.
And what happens if that becomes a common issue? I mean, what should I do then?