# Underutilized EC2 Instance

Canonical: https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/underutilized-ec2-instance

[Cloud Efficiency Hub](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub) 

# Underutilized EC2 Instance

## Explanation

EC2 instances are often overprovisioned based on rough estimates, legacy patterns, or performance buffer assumptions. If an instance consistently uses only a small fraction of its provisioned CPU or memory, it likely represents an opportunity for rightsizing. These inefficiencies persist unless usage is periodically reviewed and instance types are adjusted to align with actual workload requirements.

## Relevant Billing Model

EC2 instances are billed based on:

- Instance type and size - Larger or more specialized instances incur higher hourly or per-second costs

- Uptime - Charged per second with a one-minute minimum (Linux); hourly for Windows or certain older usage types

- Storage and data transfer

## Detection

- Review average CPU and memory utilization of running EC2 instances.

- Determine whether actual usage justifies the selected instance type or size

- Confirm whether performance buffers, licensing rules, or other constraints require overprovisioning

- Check whether the workload could be better served with burstable instances (e.g., T family) or smaller sizes within the same family

- Validate with application owners whether the instance can be safely resized

## Remediation

Resize the EC2 instance to a smaller type that better matches observed usage. Consider using burstable instances for smaller workloads with spiky or inconsistent usage. Review Auto Scaling policies to allow dynamic adjustment when necessary.

## Relevant Documentation

[AWS EC2 Pricing](https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/pricing/)

[Submit Feedback](https://hub.pointfive.co/inefficiencies/underutilized-ec2-instance)

## At a glance

Reference

CER-0047

Cloud provider

AWS

Service

AWS EC2

Category

[Compute](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/service-category/compute)

Inefficiency type

Overprovisioned Resource

## Contributed by

- Taylor Houck 

### Taylor Houck

Cloud FinOps Specialist @ PointFive

[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/twhouck/)

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