AWS Lightsail Pricing 2026: Plans, Costs & Raff Comparison

AWS Lightsail pricing in 2026 starts at $3.50/month for an IPv6-only Linux/Unix virtual server or $5/month for a Linux/Unix bundle with a public IPv4 address. The popular public-IPv4 General Purpose tier with 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 80 GB SSD, and 4 TB transfer is $24/month. Lightsail bundles compute, SSD storage, and a transfer allowance into one monthly cap, but snapshots, block storage, load balancers, databases, object storage, and transfer overages are separate charges.

Raff uses a different VM pricing model. Its current General Purpose 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB NVMe plan is $17.99/month with unmetered VM bandwidth. At the four Lightsail General Purpose shapes that match Raff on vCPU and RAM, Raff is about 25% to 36% lower on monthly VM price before any Lightsail transfer overage.

This page focuses on the actual cost question: what Amazon Lightsail costs, what the monthly bundle includes, where extra charges appear, and when the simpler Raff price model can be cheaper.

AWS Lightsail pricing in 2026

Amazon Lightsail offers General Purpose, Memory Optimized, and Compute Optimized virtual-server bundles. It also prices Linux/Unix and Windows separately and offers a lower-priced IPv6-only option for virtual servers that do not need a public IPv4 address.

The current Linux/Unix General Purpose bundles with public IPv4 include:

Lightsail also scales much higher than Raff, including larger General Purpose, Memory Optimized, and Compute Optimized bundles. That matters when a workload needs more than Raff's current 16 vCPU / 32 GB ceiling.

AWS Lightsail IPv6-only pricing

Lightsail discounts virtual servers that use only IPv6. Current Linux/Unix General Purpose examples are:

If the application can operate without public IPv4, the IPv6-only bundle is the correct Lightsail price to compare. If you need a public IPv4 address, use the public-IPv4 table instead of quoting the $3.50 entry price.

What is included in AWS Lightsail pricing?

Lightsail's core appeal is that a virtual-server plan bundles several resources under one monthly price. AWS currently lists a static IP address, management console, DNS management, one-click SSH or RDP access, API access, SSD storage, and server monitoring among the capabilities included with Lightsail plans.

The VM price also includes a transfer allowance. For the public-IPv4 General Purpose Linux bundles above, that allowance ranges from 1 TB on the smallest plan to 10 TB on the largest tiers.

However, the VM bundle is not the entire Lightsail bill. Common separate charges include:

The practical lesson is that Lightsail virtual-server pricing is predictable at the bundle level, but the full application price can grow as you add storage, backups, databases, load balancing, CDN, and transfer overages.

AWS Lightsail vs Raff pricing

Raff's current General Purpose VM lineup is designed around several CPU-to-memory ratios rather than one fixed ladder. Four Lightsail General Purpose shapes match a Raff plan on vCPU and RAM. On the two largest, Lightsail bundles more disk, so those rows are a CPU-and-memory match rather than a like-for-like disk match:

The comparison above is deliberately narrow. It compares monthly VM price at matching resource shapes. It does not imply identical CPU behavior, storage architecture, region coverage, ecosystem depth, or service feature parity.

Raff also offers smaller and alternative ratios, including 2 vCPU / 2 GB at $12.99, 4 vCPU / 4 GB at $24.99, and 4 vCPU / 8 GB at $33.99. All current Raff General Purpose VM plans include unmetered bandwidth on a 3 Gbps public port.

For current Raff sizes, see Raff cloud pricing and Raff General Purpose VM Plans.

AWS Lightsail bandwidth pricing and transfer overages

The transfer allowance is the most important variable after VM size.

AWS states that both inbound and outbound transfer count toward the Lightsail allowance, but only outbound transfer above the allowance is billed as overage. Transfer allowances are also smaller in several Asia-Pacific and South America regions than the headline bundle values.

Overage pricing varies by AWS Region. In US East, Lightsail transfer overage is currently $0.09/GB.

For the $24 public-IPv4 General Purpose plan with a 4 TB transfer allowance, a simple all-outbound example looks like this:

The Lightsail examples use $0.09/GB and 1 TB = 1,000 GB for the overage calculation. Real bills depend on region, ingress/outbound mix, pooled allowances, and other Lightsail resources.

For low-traffic applications, the included allowance may be plenty and no overage appears. For public downloads, media delivery, large restores, software distribution, or unexpectedly viral traffic, the transfer line can become the dominant cost.

Raff VM bandwidth is currently unmetered, so those examples remain at the VM's monthly price rather than adding a GB-based transfer charge.

Is AWS Lightsail free?

AWS currently includes Lightsail in the AWS Free Tier and advertises free-start offers for selected Lightsail bundles. The exact eligible plans and duration can depend on the current AWS Free Tier offer and account eligibility, so treat the free tier as an onboarding offer rather than the long-term production price.

For production planning, use the normal bundle prices above and verify any free-tier credit separately on AWS before deployment.

AWS Lightsail snapshot and backup costs

Lightsail prices manual and automatic instance/disk snapshots at $0.05/GB-month. That means backup cost scales with snapshot storage rather than being permanently included in the VM bundle.

Raff uses a different backup model. Current Raff VM accounts receive a backup and snapshot storage pool, with additional storage priced separately. The important architecture point is that neither provider's backup cost should be inferred from the VM headline price alone: check retention, snapshot growth, and restore requirements.

For recovery planning, see VPS backup strategy and Raff Data Protection.

Lightsail block storage, load balancer, database, and object-storage pricing

A multi-service Lightsail architecture can add several fixed or usage-based components:

• Block storage: $0.10 per allocated GB-month, starting at 8 GB.
• Load balancer: $18/month.
• Object storage: bundles currently start at $1/month for 5 GB and 25 GB transfer; the 100 GB bundle is $3/month with 250 GB transfer.
• Managed databases: Standard plans start at $15/month; HA starts at $30/month.
• CDN distributions: start at $2.50/month.

This is why a fair Lightsail cost calculation should model the application architecture, not only the VM.

A WordPress site using a VM, CDN distribution, and object storage has a different monthly bill from a single Lightsail instance. A SaaS application using a VM, managed database, snapshots, and load balancer has a different cost again.

AWS Lightsail pricing calculator: what to include

Before comparing Lightsail with another VPS or cloud provider, estimate at least these variables:

1. Linux/Unix or Windows;
2. public IPv4 or IPv6-only;
3. General Purpose, Memory Optimized, or Compute Optimized;
4. required vCPU, RAM, and SSD capacity;
5. monthly inbound and outbound transfer;
6. transfer-overage region;
7. snapshot storage and retention;
8. attached block storage;
9. load balancers;
10. managed databases;
11. object storage and CDN usage;
12. whether the workload will stay inside Lightsail or expand into the wider AWS catalog.

That final point matters. Lightsail can be economical as a simple VPS, but an application that gradually adds RDS, S3, CloudFront, Lambda, Route 53, or other AWS services is no longer a Lightsail-only pricing problem.

AWS Lightsail vs Raff: features and operating model

Compute

Lightsail offers a much wider upper range than Raff and now exposes General Purpose, Memory Optimized, and Compute Optimized bundles. The smallest Lightsail plans are attractive for tiny workloads, especially when IPv6-only is acceptable.

Raff General Purpose starts at 2 vCPU / 2 GB / 40 GB NVMe for $12.99/month and offers multiple CPU-to-memory ratios through 16 vCPU / 32 GB. Raff also has a separate CPU-Optimized line for workloads that need a different compute model.

Networking

Raff current VM plans include a 3 Gbps public port and unmetered bandwidth, plus private networking, VPC, firewall controls, and IPv4 with optional IPv6.

Lightsail bundles a transfer allowance with each virtual server. Only outbound transfer above the allowance is billed, and regional overage prices apply. Lightsail also includes DNS tooling and supports load balancers and CDN distributions as separate products.

Storage

Both platforms separate VM disk from other storage products. Raff offers NVMe-backed VM disk, block volumes, and S3-compatible Object Storage. Lightsail offers SSD bundle storage, block storage, snapshots, and Lightsail Object Storage, with Amazon S3 available elsewhere in the AWS account.

Managed databases and application services

Lightsail offers managed databases and a container service, while the wider AWS account provides products such as RDS, Lambda, EKS, S3, CloudFront, and many more.

Raff provides managed databases, Kubernetes, Apps, Functions, object storage, VPC, and data protection under the same platform. AWS wins on catalog breadth; Raff focuses on a smaller infrastructure surface with simpler pricing.

What about AWS Lightsail performance?

There is no current controlled Raff-vs-Lightsail benchmark with the same VM shape, region, image, test window, and methodology that is strong enough to support a responsible performance winner.

The earlier comparison used third-party Lightsail data and Raff internal data from different regions and different memory sizes. Those results are not suitable for a direct speed claim, so this update does not present them as a benchmark.

If performance is the deciding factor, test the exact Lightsail and Raff shapes you would buy using the same OS image, CPU workload, disk test, network path, and sustained-load duration. Pricing can be compared from published rate cards; performance needs matched measurement.

When AWS Lightsail is the better choice

Choose Lightsail when:

• you want a very small VM starting below Raff's entry price;
• an IPv6-only server fits the workload and you want the lowest Lightsail bundle price;
• your application already lives inside an AWS account;
• you expect to use RDS, S3, CloudFront, Lambda, Route 53, or other AWS services;
• you need a much larger VM than Raff's current maximum;
• you need broader AWS region coverage;
• AWS-specific contracts, compliance controls, IAM practices, or operational tooling are already part of the organization.

Lightsail's strongest advantage is the path into the broader AWS ecosystem, not merely the VPS bundle price.

When Raff is the better choice

Choose Raff when:

• a current Raff shape matches the workload and you want a lower monthly VM price;
• bandwidth usage is high or difficult to predict;
• you want unmetered VM transfer rather than a transfer allowance and regional overage model;
• the application needs the common infrastructure layers rather than the full AWS service catalog;
• you want VM, database, storage, networking, Kubernetes, Apps, Functions, and support under a smaller platform surface;
• predictable monthly infrastructure cost matters more than access to hundreds of AWS services.

At the exact 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB match, Raff is currently $17.99/month versus Lightsail public-IPv4 General Purpose at $24/month.

Migrating from AWS Lightsail to Raff

1. Export the real monthly cost first. Review the last several Lightsail bills for VM bundles, transfer overage, snapshots, block storage, databases, CDN, and load balancers.
2. Inventory AWS dependencies. Identify S3, RDS, CloudFront, Route 53, IAM, Lambda, or other services that will stay in AWS if only the VM moves.
3. Choose the Raff shape from measured usage. Match CPU, RAM, and storage based on actual workload metrics instead of copying the Lightsail bundle blindly.
4. Provision networking and security. Recreate firewall rules, private networking, credentials, and monitoring before moving production traffic.
5. Move state deliberately. Copy files, database data, and application assets using a tested migration plan. Keep the source available until checks pass.
6. Lower DNS TTL and cut over. Switch traffic only after application, database, storage, and backup verification.
7. Delete unneeded AWS resources after rollback. Removing the instance alone may not remove snapshots, disks, databases, static IPs, load balancers, or other billable resources.

If the application depends heavily on AWS-native services, moving only the VM can increase cross-cloud complexity. In that case, the lower VM price may not justify the architectural split.

Frequently asked questions

How much does AWS Lightsail cost?

Linux/Unix General Purpose virtual servers currently start at $3.50/month for IPv6-only or $5/month with a public IPv4 address. Larger public-IPv4 bundles include $24/month for 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB with 4 TB transfer and $44/month for 2 vCPU / 8 GB / 160 GB with 5 TB transfer.

Is AWS Lightsail cheaper than EC2?

There is no universal answer. Lightsail bundles compute, SSD storage, and transfer into a fixed monthly plan, while EC2 exposes more instance families and pricing dimensions. Lightsail is usually easier to estimate for a simple VPS; EC2 is more flexible for broader AWS architectures.

Is AWS Lightsail free?

AWS includes Lightsail in its Free Tier offers for eligible accounts and selected plans. Treat the free offer as temporary onboarding and use normal bundle pricing for long-term production budgeting.

Does AWS Lightsail charge for bandwidth?

Each Lightsail VM includes a transfer allowance. Both inbound and outbound traffic count toward that allowance, but only outbound transfer above the allowance is charged. Regional overage pricing applies; US East is currently $0.09/GB.

How much do Lightsail snapshots cost?

Manual and automatic instance/disk snapshots are currently $0.05/GB-month.

What is the cheapest AWS Lightsail plan?

The cheapest current Linux/Unix General Purpose virtual-server bundle is $3.50/month with IPv6 only. The cheapest bundle with a public IPv4 address is $5/month.

Is Raff cheaper than AWS Lightsail?

At four matching public-IPv4 General Purpose shapes, Raff is currently about 25% to 36% lower on the monthly VM price. The exact 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB comparison is $17.99/month on Raff versus $24/month on Lightsail. Lightsail can still be the better choice when AWS ecosystem access, global regions, or larger instances matter more than VM price.

Does Lightsail have a pricing calculator?

AWS provides pricing pages and the broader AWS Pricing Calculator. For Lightsail, estimate the VM bundle plus transfer overage, snapshots, block storage, load balancers, databases, object storage, CDN, and any wider AWS services the application uses.

Sources

• Amazon Lightsail pricing
• AWS Free Tier for Lightsail
• Raff pricing
• Raff General Purpose VM Plans
• Pricing verified: 2026-08-28

Conclusion: AWS Lightsail pricing vs Raff

AWS Lightsail remains one of AWS's simplest compute products because the VM price bundles memory, vCPU, SSD storage, and a transfer allowance. Linux plans start at $3.50/month for IPv6-only and $5/month with public IPv4, while larger General Purpose bundles scale far beyond Raff's current maximum.

For directly matched public-IPv4 VM shapes, Raff is currently about 25% to 36% lower on monthly VM price and includes unmetered VM bandwidth. Lightsail's trade-off is access to a larger AWS operating model: broader regions, much larger servers, and a path into hundreds of AWS services.

Choose AWS Lightsail when AWS integration, region choice, very small entry plans, or large instance sizes matter most. Choose Raff when the workload fits Raff's current VM range and predictable pricing with unmetered VM bandwidth is the stronger requirement.