AWS migration cost calculator
AWS migrations range from $50K for small workloads to $10M+ for enterprise. This calculator shows the full number, including the line items the AWS pricing calculator does not model.
SRC ──→ AWS
Source · From
Destination · To
Total project cost · low / typical / high
Post-migration monthly
$60K
vs current monthly
$80K
Break-even
86 mo
Indicative timeline · 9 months
Estimate based on published 2026 list pricing for AWS and industry-typical per-workload labour rates. Actual costs depend on committed-use discounts, partner credits (AWS MAP, Azure FastTrack), and your specific workload mix. Validate with your provider before commit.
What drives AWS migration cost
| Cost line | 2026 reference | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Migration tooling | Free for first 90 days per server | AWS Application Migration Service, free for 90 days per server |
| Data egress (source side) | $0.05–$0.09 / GB | 50 TB transfer ≈ $4,500. Use Snowball above 10 TB to bypass egress. |
| DataSync | $0.0125 / GB | Network-based bulk transfer add-on |
| Enterprise Support | 10% of monthly spend | Min ~$15K/month. Often missed in early estimates. |
| AWS Professional Services | $250–$350 / hr | Direct AWS consulting, partner rates often lower |
| Premier / Advanced Partner | $150–$350 / hr | Most enterprise migrations are partner-led |
| MAP credits | −25% to −40% of project | Apply via partner before contract is scoped |
Five costs the AWS pricing calculator will not show you
Parallel running
Both source and AWS billed at once for 3–18 months. Typically 1.5–2.5× monthly source spend.
Staff retraining
$1K–$5K per technical employee for AWS-specific services and certifications.
Application re-architecture
Refactor labour for managed services (RDS over self-managed, S3 over NFS).
Cutover downtime
Revenue-at-risk during the maintenance window. Build into the business case.
Licence changes
Oracle on EC2 and SQL Server on Windows EC2 are expensive. Audit before commit.
MAP credits change your migration math
The Migration Acceleration Program is AWS’ flagship enterprise migration funding vehicle. Credits typically cover 25–40% of project cost, applied as AWS service credits over 12–18 months. To qualify, the project is usually scoped through an AWS Premier or Advanced Tier Partner, and committed AWS spend post-migration is part of the agreement.
Worked example
100 servers, 20 TB data, mixed strategy, 12-month project.
- Project cost
- $1.9M
- MAP credits (35%)
- −$665K
- Net cash cost
- $1.2M
AWS migration questions
Q. How much does an AWS migration typically cost?
AWS migrations range from $50,000 for small workloads (under 20 servers) to $10M+ for full enterprise data centres. Mid-market enterprises (100 servers, 20 TB data, 12 month project) typically spend $1.5M to $3M all-in including labour, egress, parallel running, and support. Estimates that exclude parallel running and retraining are typically 40-60% understated.
Q. What are the biggest hidden costs of migrating to AWS?
The most underestimated AWS migration costs are: data egress fees during the migration ($0.05-$0.09/GB on the source side), parallel running where you pay for both old and new for 3-18 months, staff retraining on AWS-specific services, AWS Enterprise Support at 10% of monthly spend, and right-sizing premium during the first 90 days when teams over-provision lift-and-shift workloads.
Q. How long does an AWS migration take?
Small workload migrations (5-20 servers) take 2-4 months. Mid-size migrations (50-200 servers) typically run 6-18 months including testing and optimisation. Enterprise data centre migrations of 500+ workloads using a wave-based approach run 18-36 months. Every additional month of dual running adds 1.5-2.5x your monthly source infra spend.
Q. Does AWS offer migration credits or funding?
Yes. The AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP) provides credits typically covering 25-40% of migration costs for qualifying enterprise migrations. To qualify, work with an AWS Premier or Advanced Partner before formally scoping the project, MAP funding is harder to access once a contract is signed. AWS Application Migration Service is also free for the first 90 days per server.
Q. Can I migrate to AWS myself or do I need a partner?
Self-migration is realistic for under 20 workloads and a team with cloud skills. Above 50 workloads or with strict timelines, a partner is usually faster and cheaper net of MAP credits. Partner-led migrations typically run 1.5-3x base infra cost; self-migration is cheaper in cash but burns internal engineering time that has its own cost.