Cost - Video on Demand on AWS
Example cost for a 60-minute source video

Cost

You are responsible for the cost of the AWS services used while running this solution, which can vary based on the following factors:

  • The size of your videos.

  • The number of outputs created.

  • The number of views the published content receives through CloudFront.

AWS Elemental MediaConvert composes the majority of the cost. For more information about MediaConvert pricing, refer to AWS Elemental MediaConvert Pricing.

We recommend creating a budget through AWS Cost Explorer to help manage costs. Prices are subject to change. For full details, refer to the pricing webpage for each AWS service used in this solution.

Example cost for a 60-minute source video

As of February 2023, the estimated cost for using this solution with the default encoding settings to process a 60-minute source video in the US East (N. Virginia) Region is approximately $5.40. This estimate may vary depending on the source video size and format. The following test was run with a 1080p 60-minute input video file. This does not include Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) storage costs, which vary depending on input file size. 4K video input will increase costs.

AWS service Dimensions Cost [USD]
MediaConvert

Output profile:

AVC codec

1 pass quality

30 fps

 $5.40
Amazon CloudFront Free tier. Transfer costs depend on how much you watch the video through CloudFront. The first 1 TB of data transfer out is free. Refer to the CloudFront pricing page for more information. $0.00
AWS Step Functions Free tier $0.00
AWS Lambda Free tier $0.00
Amazon S3 Free tier. Depending on video file size and length of storage, you may incur S3 costs. Refer to the Amazon S3 pricing page for more information. $0.00
Amazon DynamoDB Free tier $0.00
Amazon CloudWatch Free tier $0.00
Amazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS) Free tier $0.00
Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS) Free tier $0.00
Total: $5.40
(Optional) AWS Elemental MediaPackage $0.05

The following table lists the professional tier costs for the MediaConvert settings used in this example:

Output Cost [USD]
SD resolution $0.0075/min
HD resolution $0.015/min

Outputs with calculations:

HLS profile: 4 SD and 4 HD (4 x 60 x $0.0075) + (4 x 60 x $0.015)

Total cost = $1.80 + $3.60 = $5.40

The costs for CloudFront and Amazon S3 storage varies depending on the number and format of outputs created and the number of requests to view the content delivered through CloudFront. To calculate your average cost, use the data size of your output multiplied by the average number of viewers for your stream. We recommend creating a budget through AWS Cost Explorer to help manage costs. Prices are subject to change. For full details, refer to the pricing webpage for each AWS service used in this solution.