On-Demand vs Provisioned Capacity
~8 min read
Pay-per-request versus committing to a baseline throughput, and how Auto Scaling bridges the gap.
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Key points
- •On-Demand: pay per request, zero capacity planning, higher per-request cost, best for new/unpredictable workloads
- •Provisioned: commit to RCU/WCU throughput, cheaper if well-utilized, requests beyond capacity are throttled without Auto Scaling
- •Auto Scaling adjusts Provisioned capacity automatically within configured bounds based on utilization
- •Switching between modes is limited to once per 24 hours — plan ahead rather than reactively