Comparing the Costs of Common Network Architecture Patterns with Amazon VPC Lattice

Authored by Nikhil Bhagat, Senior Solutions Architect, AWS and Harsha W Sharma, Principal Solutions Architect, AWS

This re:Post article provides a cost comparison between traditional AWS networking and Amazon VPC Lattice based architectures. Since, the focus of this post is scoped primarily to cost comparison, we will not spend time discussing the technical patterns or their underlying applicability/nuances in any detail. For each pattern that this post discusses we'll call out a few working assumptions to simplify the cost analysis. The cost numbers discussed on this post are based on public pricing at the time of this article's publication. We will be comparing the costs of:

1. PrivateLink with VPC Lattice for Services
2. PrivateLink with VPC Lattice for Resources
3. Transit Gateway with VPC Lattice for Services
4. Transit Gateway with VPC Lattice for Resources
5. Transit Gateway and Centralized PrivateLink with VPC Lattice for Services
6. Transit Gateway and Centralized PrivateLink with VPC Lattice for Resources
7. NAT Gateway and Internet Gateway with VPC Lattice for Services

Public Pricing Summary

The cost comparisons in this post are based on the following public pricing assumptions for Transit Gateway (TGW), AWS PrivateLink, Network Load Balancer (NLB), NAT Gateway, Internet Gateway (IGW), Application Load Balancer (ALB), and Amazon VPC Lattice. These values provide a consistent reference point for the examples discussed in this post.

Component	Price
TGW Attachment	$0.05/hour per VPC attachment
TGW Data Processing	$0.02/GB
PrivateLink endpoint hourly	$0.01/hour
PrivateLink endpoint data processing	$0.01/GB
NLB hourly cost	$0.0225/hour
NLB LCU rate	$0.006/LCU/hour
VPC Lattice Service hourly cost	$0.025/hour
VPC Lattice Service data processing	$0.025/GB
VPC Lattice Service request charges	$0.10/Million requests (first 300k/hour free)
NAT Gateway hourly cost	$0.045/hour
NAT Gateway data processing	$0.045/GB
(EC2 intra-region data transfer) via IGW	$0.01/GB sender + $0.01/GB receiver = $0.02/GB
ALB hourly cost	$0.0225/hour
ALB LCU rate	$0.008/LCU/hour
ALB LCU thresholds	25 new connections/sec, 3,000 active connections, 1GB/hour processed, 1000 rule evaluations/sec

1. Comparing PrivateLink with VPC Lattice for Services

Figure 1 below illustrates two architectures using AWS PrivateLink (left) and Amazon VPC Lattice (right), that allow multiple clients across VPCs access a service hosted in a Service Provider VPC.

PrivateLink - Clients establish connections to a Service Provider VPC using VPC Endpoints. Each client VPC incurs a cost per Availability Zone (AZ) for maintaining the endpoint and a per-GB data processing fee. The service provider makes their backend services available via an Endpoint Service, which fronts a Network Load Balancer (NLB) that distributes traffic to a Target Group. Additional charges include hourly rates for the NLB and Load Balancer Capacity Units (LCUs), which are usage-based. This approach is ideal for isolated, point-to-point connectivity, where each consumer VPC must individually establish and manage a connection to the service.

VPC Lattice - Clients connect to a centralized VPC Lattice Service Network, which routes requests to a service exposed by the Service Provider VPC. The Lattice service acts as a unified interface for multiple clients, simplifying service discovery and access management. Charges are incurred per Lattice service, per GB of data processed ($0.025/GB), and based on the number of requests. This model supports a more scalable and loosely coupled design, allowing clients to interact with services without requiring individual endpoint setup or complex load balancing configurations.

With this understanding of the topology, let's lay out some base assumptions that will act as input to the costing exercise:

Parameter	Value
Number of Services	1
Region and AZs	N.Virginia (us-east-1) - 3 AZs
Traffic Intake	10 GB/hour
Requests	100,000 new connections/hour
Deployment	24/7 for a full month (730 hours)
Number of client VPCs	10

For the above costing assumptions, lets now estimate the AWS PrivateLink Cost, inclusive of the NLB.

Component	Monthly Cost	Cost breakdown and details
NLB	$16.43	$0.0225/hour * 730 hours
LCU usage	$43.80	New connections per second: 100,000/hour / 3600 = ~27.78/sec (27.78 / 800 = 0.035 LCU/hour). Processed bytes: 10 GB/hour / 1 GB/hour = 10 LCU/hour. Use the maximum: 10 LCU/hour. 10 LCU/hour * 730 hours * $0.006 = $43.80
VPC Endpoints	$219	10 VPCs * 3 AZs * $0.01/hour * 730 hours
Data Processing	$73	10 GB/hour * 730 hours * $0.01/GB
Total	$352.23/month

Let's now look at the cost of VPC Lattice here:

Component	Monthly Cost	Cost breakdown and details
Service	$18.25	$0.025/hour * 730 hours
Requests	0	Covered by free tier
Data Processing	$182.50	10 GB/hour * 730 hours * $0.025/GB
Total	$200.75/month

Using VPC Lattice to access Services is more cost-effective at $200.75/month compared to $352.23/month for PrivateLink + NLB, representing a 43% cost reduction ($151.48 monthly savings)

2. Comparing PrivateLink with VPC Lattice for Resources

We'll broadly use the same topology we used for services to compare the cost of PrivateLink and Lattice for accessing Resources like a database. Figure 2 below shows two architectures using AWS PrivateLink/Resource Endpoint (left) and Amazon VPC Lattice (right).

Resource Endpoint - Each Client VPC establishes an individual connection to the Service Provider VPC using a Resource Endpoint. This connection incurs an hourly charge per endpoint and a tiered data processing cost. The Service Provider VPC exposes the shared resource through a Resource Configuration, which is accessed via a Resource Gateway. Data transferred from the resource carries an additional per-GB cost. Because each client must have its own endpoint configuration, scaling Resource Endpoint connections can lead to a linear increase in management overhead and cost.

VPC Lattice - All client VPCs connect to the VPC Lattice service network, which then routes traffic to the service provider's Resource Configuration. Instead of requiring separate endpoint configurations for each client, VPC Lattice simplifies access management through this single network entry point. Charges apply for the VPC Lattice resource association (hourly), data processed on the client and resource-owner sides; this approach reduces redundant per-VPC endpoint costs.

Costing assumptions

Parameter	Value
Number of Resources	1
Region and AZs	N.Virginia (us-east-1) - 3 AZs
Data Intake	10 GB/hour
Uptime	24/7 for a full month (730 hours)
Number of client VPCs	10
Data Volume	7300 GB/month

AWS Resource Endpoint Cost estimate

Component	Monthly Cost	Cost breakdown and details
Resource Endpoints	$146	10 endpoints * $0.02/hour * 730 hours
Data Processing (Client)	$73	7,300 GB * $0.01/GB
Data Processing (Resource Owner)	$43.80	7,300 GB * $0.006/GB
Total	$262.80

Amazon VPC Lattice Resources Cost Estimate

Component	Monthly Cost	Cost breakdown and details
Resource Association	$73	1 resource * $0.10/hour * 730 hours
Data Processing (Client)	$73	7,300 GB * $0.01/GB
Data Processing (Resource Owner)	$43.80	7,300 GB * $0.006/GB
Total	$189.80

VPC Lattice Resources demonstrates better cost efficiency at $189.80 per month, representing a 28% reduction from Resource Endpoint's cost of $262.80 per month. This cost advantage makes VPC Lattice Resources a more practical choice for accessing resources.

3. Comparing Transit Gateway with VPC Lattice for Services

Figure 3 below compares the traditional Transit Gateway (TGW) combined with an Application Load Balancer (ALB) architecture (left) against VPC Lattice (right) for exposing services to multiple client VPCs.

Transit Gateway (w/ALB): Each Client VPC routes traffic through an AWS Transit Gateway (TGW) to reach the Service Provider VPC. The TGW incurs per-hour and per-GB data processing charges for each VPC attachment and the traffic flowing through it. Once traffic reaches the Service Provider VPC, it is distributed by an Application Load Balancer (ALB) to the backend Target Group. The ALB adds further hourly costs, Load Balancer Capacity Unit (LCU) charges. This architecture offers centralized routing through TGW and robust Layer 7 features through ALB, but the combined costs of multiple components (TGW, ALB, and data transfer) can become significant as the number of clients VPCs grows.

VPC Lattice: Offers a simplified design by providing a single service network that aggregates traffic from all client VPCs and routes it directly to the target group in the service provider VPC. This approach reduces dependency on multiple infrastructure components (TGW + ALB) and their associated costs while consolidating access control and traffic management at the service network level.

Costing assumptions

Parameter	Value
Number of Services	100
Region and AZs	N.Virginia (us-east-1) - 3 AZs
Traffic Intake	10 GB/hour
Uptime	24/7 for a full month (730 hours)
Number of client VPCs	10
Requests	1,000,000 requests/hour/service

Transit Gateway cost estimate (inclusive of ALB)

Service	Component	Monthly Cost	Calculation
TGW	Attachments	$401.50	(10 client VPCs + 1 service VPC) * $0.05/hour * 730 hours = $401.50
	Data Processing	$14,600.00	100 services * 10GB/hour * 730 hours * $0.02/GB = 730,000 GB * $0.02 = $14,600.00
	Total TGW Cost	$15,001.50	$401.50 + $14,600.00 = $15,001.50
ALB	ALB Hourly Cost	$16.43	$0.0225/hour * 730 = 16.43
	LCU Cost*	$70.08	12 LCUs/hour * $0.008 * 730 hours
	Total per Service	$86.51	$16.43 + $70.08 = $86.51
	Total ALB cost	$8,651.00	100 * $86.51 = $8,651.00
Total		$23,652.50	Total TGW + ALB cost

ALB LCU cost breakdown:*

• Data: 10GB/hour = 10 LCUs/hour
• Requests:- 1M requests/hour = 1,000,000/hour
• 1,000,000/hour / 3600 seconds/hour = 277.78 requests/second

Assuming each request initiates a new connection (worst-case scenario for calculating LCUs):

• 277.78 new connections/second / 25 = 11.11 LCUs (rounding up to 12 LCUs/hour).

Maximum of both dimensions:

• New Connections: 12 LCUs/hour
• Processed Bytes: 10 LCUs/hour

We are using the largest of the two LCUs for our cost estimate:

• ALB LCUs = 12 LCUs/hour per service

VPC Lattice cost estimate per service

Component	Monthly Cost	Cost breakdown and details
Hourly Cost	$18.25	$0.025/hour * 730 = $18.25
Data Processing	$182.50	10GB/hour * 730 hours * $0.025/GB = 7,300GB * $0.025 = $182.50
Request charges	$51.10	1M/hour - 300k/hour free = 700k/hour billable. 700k/hour * $0.10/Million = $0.07/hour. $0.07/hour * 730 hours = $51.10
Total cost per service	$251.85	$18.25 + $182.5 + $51.10 = $251.85
Total Lattice cost	$25,185.00	100 * $251.85 = $25,185.00/month

While Transit Gateway with ALB comes in at $23,652.50 per month compared to VPC Lattice's $25,185.00, the difference of $1,532.50 should be weighed against operational complexity. Organizations should opt for VPC Lattice when they prioritize simplified service management and reduced operational complexity over pure cost savings, particularly in environments with frequent service changes or limited networking expertise.

4. Comparing Transit Gateway with VPC Lattice for Resources

Figure 4 below compares the traditional Transit Gateway (TGW) architecture (left) against VPC Lattice (right) for making resources available to multiple client VPCs.

Transit Gateway - Each Client VPC is attached to a centralized TGW, which routes traffic to the Service Provider VPC.

The TGW incurs hourly attachment charges and per-GB data processing costs for all traffic passing through it. Once traffic reaches the Service Provider VPC, it can directly access the shared Resource.

VPC Lattice - Replaces the need for TGW in this use case by providing a service network that client VPCs can connect to directly. This service network aggregates requests and enforces access controls while routing traffic to the Resource Configuration in the Service Provider VPC. The approach reduces the operational overhead of managing multiple TGW attachments and enables a more streamlined cost structure.

Transit Gateway cost estimate

Component	Monthly Cost	Cost breakdown and details
Attachments	$401.50	10 client VPCs + 1 resource VPC = 11 attachments. $0.05/hour * 11 * 730 hours = $401.50
Data Processing	$146	10GB/hour * 730 hours = 7,300GB/month. $0.02/GB * 7,300 = $146.00
Total	$547.50

VPC Lattice cost estimate Resources

Component	Monthly Cost	Cost breakdown and details
Resource Hourly Cost	$73	1 resource * $0.10/hour * 730 = $73.00
Client Data Processing	$73	10GB/hour * 730 hours = 7,300GB/month. Client Side: $0.01/GB * 7,300 = $73.00.
Resource Owner Data Processing	$43.80	Resource Owner Side: $0.006/GB * 7,300 = $43.80
Total	$189.80

Transit Gateway costs $547.50 per month, while VPC Lattice Resource comes in at $189.80, offering a substantial 65% cost reduction. Organizations should strongly consider VPC Lattice Resource for scenarios involving a single shared resource across multiple VPCs, as it not only provides significant cost savings but also simplifies network architecture and reduces operational overhead compared to Transit Gateway.

5. Comparing Transit Gateway and Centralized PrivateLink with VPC Lattice for Services

TGW + Centralized PrivateLink: Each Client VPC sends traffic through TGW, which routes to a centralized PrivateLink endpoint in a shared hub VPC. The Service Provider VPC uses a Network Load Balancer (NLB) to distribute requests to the backend Target Group. Multiple layers of charges apply, including TGW attachment/hourly fees, per-GB data processing fees, PrivateLink endpoint and data charges, as well as NLB hourly and Load Balancer Capacity Unit (LCU) costs. This design offers a way to centralize access while maintaining a PrivateLink boundary, but the combination of TGW, PrivateLink, and NLB can result in higher cumulative costs and increased configuration complexity.

Costing assumptions

Parameter	Value
Number of Services	1
Region and AZs	N.Virginia (us-east-1) - 3 AZs
Traffic Intake	10 GB/hour
Uptime	24/7 for a full month (730 hours)
Number of client VPCs	10
Requests	1,000,000 requests/hour

TGW + Centralized PrivateLink cost estimate

Service	Component	Monthly Cost	Calculation
TGW	Attachments	$401.50	(10 client VPCs + 1 service VPC) * $0.05/hour * 730 = $401.50
	Data Processing	$146.00	10GB/hour * 730 * $0.02 = 7,300GB * $0.02 = $146.00
PrivateLink	Endpoint Hourly	$21.90	1 endpoint * $0.01/hour * 730 * 3 = $21.90
	Data Processing	$73.00	7,300GB * $0.01 = $73.00
NLB	Hourly Cost	$16.43	$0.0225/hour * 730 = $16.43
	LCU Cost	$43.8	10 * $0.006/hour * 730 = $43.8
Total		$702.63

VPC Lattice Service cost estimate

Component	Monthly Cost	Cost breakdown and details
Hourly Cost	$18.25	$0.025/hour * 730 = $18.25
Data Processing	$182.50	10GB/hour * 730 hours * $0.025/GB = 7,300GB * $0.025 = $182.50
Request charges	$51.10	1M/hour - 300k/hour free = 700k/hour billable. 700k/hour * $0.10/Million = $0.07/hour. $0.07/hour * 730 hours = $51.10
Total cost per service	$251.85

Transit Gateway with Centralized PrivateLink and NLB incurs a monthly cost of $702.63, while VPC Lattice services come in at $251.85, offering a substantial 64% cost reduction. Organizations should favor VPC Lattice for scenarios involving a single service accessed by multiple VPCs, as it not only provides significant cost savings but also dramatically simplifies the network architecture. VPC Lattice eliminates the need for separate Transit Gateway, PrivateLink, and load balancer configurations, reducing both operational complexity and potential points of failure.

6. TGW + PrivateLink + NLB vs. VPC Lattice Resource + NLB

This pattern is conceptually similar to the TGW + Centralized PrivateLink (Section 5) comparison, but instead of focusing on services, it focuses on resources. The architecture still involves TGW attachments, PrivateLink endpoints, and an NLB, but the cost drivers differ slightly because the consumption model is resource-based. VPC Lattice provides an alternative by directly associating resources while still leveraging NLB for traffic distribution.

Figures 6a and 6b illustrate how network architectures can evolve from Transit Gateway (TGW) with Centralized PrivateLink to Amazon VPC Lattice.

Step 1 - TGW + Centralized PrivateLink

Each client VPC connects through TGW attachments to a centralized VPC that exposes services using PrivateLink and a Network Load Balancer (NLB). While functional, this design introduces multiple cost layers (TGW attachments, data processing, PrivateLink endpoints, NLB hourly and LCU usage).

Step 2 - VPC Lattice with Centralized Endpoint

With Amazon VPC Lattice, organizations can simplify connectivity by replacing TGW with a Lattice service network. A centralized VPC endpoint is still retained, providing a familiar topology while consolidating access management into the service network.

Step 3 - VPC Lattice without Endpoints

The most streamlined model eliminates the need for separate VPC endpoints entirely. Here, client VPCs connect directly to the VPC Lattice service network, which handles service discovery, routing, and policy enforcement natively. This removes endpoint costs and reduces operational overhead even further.

Two Options with VPC Lattice

VPC Lattice provides flexibility to adopt either approach depending on your use case:

• If you'd like to retain a centralized topology (e.g., SaaS providers or environments where service-provider VPCs should remain unchanged), you can continue with a centralized endpoint as shown in Figure 6b (left panel).
• If you want to eliminate TGW and PrivateLink entirely, VPC Lattice supports direct service connectivity without a centralized VPC, as shown in Figure 6b (right panel).

TGW + PrivateLink + NLB cost estimate

Service	Component	Monthly Cost	Calculation
TGW	Attachments	$401.50	(10 client VPCs + 1 service VPC) * $0.05/hour * 730 = $401.50
	Data Processing	$146.00	10GB/hour * 730 * $0.02 = 7,300GB * $0.02 = $146.00
PrivateLink	Endpoint Hourly	$21.90	1 endpoint * $0.01/hour * 730 * 3 = $21.90
	Data Processing	$73.00	7,300GB * $0.01 = $73.00
NLB	Hourly Cost	$16.43	$0.0225/hour * 730 = $16.43
	LCU Cost	$43.8	10 * $0.006/hour * 730 = $43.8
Total		$702.63

VPC Lattice Resource + NLB cost estimate

Service	Component	Monthly Cost	Calculation
Lattice	Resource Hourly Cost	$73.00	$0.10/hour * 730 = $73.00
	Client Data Processing	$73.00	7,300GB * $0.01/GB = $73.00
	Resource Owner Data Processing	$43.80	7,300GB * $0.006/GB = $43.80
NLB	Hourly Cost	$16.43	$0.0225/hour * 730 = $16.43
	LCU Cost	$43.8	10 LCUs/hour * $0.006/hour * 730 = $43.8
Total		$250.03

In this comparison, both patterns continue to rely on an NLB to distribute traffic to the underlying resource. However, the TGW + PrivateLink + NLB design introduces layered costs from TGW attachments, per-AZ PrivateLink endpoints, and additional data transfer charges, which add complexity to manage. Amazon VPC Lattice with a resource association and NLB streamlines this model by eliminating redundant endpoints and consolidating access through a single network construct not only reduces architectural complexity but also lowers cost by approximately 64% in this scenario.

7. Comparing NAT Gateway and Internet Gateway with VPC Lattice for Services

In the NAT Gateway (NGW) + Internet Gateway (IGW) setup each Client VPC sends traffic through an NGW+IGW to reach a Public ALB in the Service Provider VPC. The ALB terminates incoming traffic and distributes it to the backend Target Group. This approach introduces multiple cost layers, including NAT Gateway per-hour and per-GB data processing charges, intra-region data transfer costs, ALB hourly charges, and Load Capacity Unit (LCU) costs.

The VPC Lattice service network setup allows client VPCs to directly connect to services within the Service Provider VPC without the need for NAT, IGW, or a public-facing ALB. This reduces public exposure, simplifies the network path, and removes the compounded costs of multiple network components.

Costing assumptions

Parameter	Value
Number of Services	1
Region and AZs	N.Virginia (us-east-1) - 3 AZs
Traffic Intake	10 GB/hour
Uptime	24/7 for a full month (730 hours)
Number of client VPCs	10
Requests	1,000,000 requests/hour

NAT Gateway + IGW + ALB cost estimate

Service	Component	Monthly Cost	Calculation
NGW	Hourly Cost	$32.85	$0.045/hour * 730 = $32.85
	Data Processing	$328.50	10GB/hour * 730 * $0.045 = 7,300GB * $0.045 = $328.50
ALB	Hourly Cost	$16.43	$0.0225/hour * 730 = $16.43
	LCU Cost	$64.88	11.11 LCUs/hour * $0.008 * 730 = $64.88
IGW	Data Transfer	$146.00	7,300GB * $0.02/GB = $146.00
Total		$588.66

VPC Lattice Service cost estimate

Component	Monthly Cost	Cost breakdown and details
Hourly Cost	$18.25	$0.025/hour * 730 = $18.25
Data Processing	$182.50	10GB/hour * 730 hours * $0.025/GB = 7,300GB * $0.025 = $182.50
Request charges	$51.10	1M/hour - 300k/hour free = 700k/hour billable. 700k/hour * $0.10/Million = $0.07/hour. $0.07/hour * 730 hours = $51.10
Total cost per service	$251.85

The NAT Gateway, Internet Gateway, and Public ALB configuration costs $588.66 per month, while VPC Lattice services amount to $251.85, representing a 57% cost reduction. Organizations should opt for VPC Lattice when exposing services to multiple VPCs, as it not only offers substantial cost savings but also significantly simplifies the network architecture.

Summary

The comparisons in this post were based on a consistent set of assumptions (number of VPCs, services, and hours of usage) to illustrate relative cost trade-offs across different networking patterns. These values were chosen to keep the examples concrete and comparable. Your actual costs will vary depending on workload characteristics such as request rates, data transfer volumes, and deployment topology. We recommend using your own parameters with the AWS Pricing Calculator to arrive at estimates that are tailored to your environment.

The table below summarizes the monthly costs and savings observed in our examples:

Pattern	Traditional Cost ($/month)	Lattice Cost ($/month)	Savings ($)	Savings (%)	Key Decision Factor
PrivateLink vs Lattice Services	352.23	200.75	151.48	43%	Best for multi-VPC service exposure
Resource Endpoints vs Lattice Resources	262.80	189.80	73.00	28%	Simplified management with moderate savings
TGW + ALB vs Lattice Services	23,652.50	25,185.00	-1,532.50	-6%	Choose Lattice for operational simplicity
TGW vs VPC Lattice Resources	547.50	189.80	357.70	65%	Ideal for single shared resources
TGW + Centralized PrivateLink vs Lattice Services	702.63	251.85	450.78	64%	Significant savings with reduced complexity
TGW + PrivateLink + NLB vs Lattice Resources	702.63	250.03	452.60	64%	Streamlined architecture with cost benefits
NATGW + IGW + Public ALB vs Lattice	588.66	251.85	336.81	57%	Enhanced security with private connectivity

References

This post used public pricing from the following official AWS pricing pages:

• AWS PrivateLink Pricing
• Transit Gateway Pricing
• Amazon Elastic Load Balancer Pricing
• Amazon VPC Lattice Pricing
• NAT Gateway Pricing