aws hosting plans explained for startups and growing teams
What makes them different
Amazon Web Services offers flexible options that scale from a single demo to global production. Choices span EC2 for virtual servers, Lightsail for simplified bundles, containers with ECS or EKS, and Lambda for serverless tasks. Pricing models include on‑demand, reserved, and spot instances, so you balance cost against agility. Storage, bandwidth, and support tiers layer on top, letting you assemble a plan that fits today and expands tomorrow.
When to choose which plan
If you need predictable monthly bills and quick setup, Lightsail shines. For custom stacks or legacy apps, EC2 plus Auto Scaling delivers control. Event-driven workloads thrive on Lambda, while containerized microservices benefit from ECS or EKS with managed scaling.
- Prototype fast: Lightsail bundles and snapshots
- Steady traffic: EC2 with reserved capacity
- Spiky demand: Auto Scaling groups and spot savings
- Serverless APIs: Lambda and managed gateways
- Compliance-heavy apps: dedicated hosts and backups
Practical benefits
Expect global regions, layered security, cost visibility with Cost Explorer, and pay‑as‑you‑go flexibility that supports growth without lock‑in.