Waste signals
- NAT Gateways processing < 1GB / day
- High data-processing charges for traffic to AWS services
- Cross-AZ NAT routing where intra-AZ NAT would suffice
AWS NAT Gateway cost optimization
NAT Gateways charge per-hour and per-GB processed. Many architectures keep one per AZ even when traffic is negligible, and route AWS-service calls through NAT instead of cheaper VPC endpoints.
Typical savings range$200-$4,500 / monthmulti-VPC, multi-AZ accounts
Optimization levers
- Consolidate idle NATs (after dependency audit)
- Add S3 / DynamoDB / SSM VPC endpoints to cut NAT data charges
- Move heavy AWS-service traffic to interface endpoints
Workflow
How TurboFinOps closes the loop
1. Scan
Inventory NATs, attached subnets and processed-bytes metrics.
2. Surface
Findings rank by idle hours and avoidable data-processing cost.
3. Approve
Consolidation passes route-table dependency check.
4. Verify
Receipts confirm the NAT line drops without traffic blackholes.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What about high availability when consolidating NATs?+
TurboFinOps preserves the minimum count needed for AZ-resilience and only flags surplus NATs. The conflict guard refuses any change that would orphan a route.
Are VPC endpoints free?+
Gateway endpoints (S3, DynamoDB) are free. Interface endpoints have per-hour and per-GB fees but typically cost less than the NAT charge they replace.
Related aws cost optimization guides
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