Reserved Instances and Savings Plans
Cloud providers reward commitment. If you know you will run certain resources steadily for a year or more, you can commit in advance through reserved instances or savings plans and pay significantly less than the standard hourly rate.
This article explains how these discounts work and when they make sense.
Pay-As-You-Go vs Commitment
On-demand pricing is flexible but the most expensive per hour. By committing to a one- or three-year term, you can save a substantial percentage — often a third or more — on workloads that run continuously.
Reserved Instances vs Savings Plans
- Reserved instances: commit to a specific type of resource for the best discount.
- Savings plans: commit to a level of spend with more flexibility on what you run.
Getting the Balance Right
Over-committing locks you into capacity you may not need; under-committing leaves savings on the table. We analyse your steady baseline and commit to that, while keeping flexible capacity for the variable part.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if my needs change?
We commit only to your stable baseline, so most flexibility is retained. Savings plans also allow some shifting between services.
If you need a hand with any of this, your Progressive Robot delivery team is ready to help. Raise a ticket from the Support area of your client portal or speak to your account manager and we will guide you through the next steps.