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AWS API Gateway Pricing: HTTP API vs REST API Cost Breakdown

AWS offers two API Gateway types with fundamentally different pricing. HTTP API costs 70% less than REST API for most workloads. Here is exactly what each costs, including the data transfer charges that double your bill.

Quick Verdict

Use HTTP API for 80%+ of workloads. It costs $1.00/million vs $3.50/million for REST API. Only use REST API if you need request transformation, API keys with usage plans, or per-stage caching.

HTTP API vs REST API Pricing

Pricing DimensionHTTP APIREST API
First 300M requests/mo$1.00/million$3.50/million
Next 700M requests/mo$0.90/million$2.80/million
Over 1B requests/mo$0.80/million$1.51/million
Data transfer (outbound)$0.09/GB$0.09/GB
WebSocket connectionsNot supported$0.25/million conn-min
WebSocket messagesNot supported$1.00/million messages
CachingNot supported$0.028/GB/hour
Free tier1M requests/mo (12 months)1M requests/mo (12 months)

Monthly Cost by Volume (10 KB avg payload)

Monthly RequestsHTTP API RequestsData TransferHTTP API TotalREST API Total
1M$1.00$0.95$1.95$4.45
10M$10.00$9.54$19.54$44.54
50M$50.00$47.68$97.68$222.68
100M$100.00$95.37$195.37$445.37
500M$470.00$476.84$946.84$1,876.84
1B$890.00$953.67$1,843.67$3,263.67

Data transfer calculated at 10 KB avg response x volume / 1,048,576 = GB x $0.09. First 1 GB/month is free (excluded from calculations at this scale).

Data Transfer: The Cost That Doubles Your Bill

AWS charges $0.09/GB for outbound data transfer from API Gateway to the internet. This is the most commonly overlooked cost. At scale, data transfer often exceeds request charges:

Avg PayloadGB at 100M req/moData Transfer Cost% of Total Bill (HTTP)
1 KB95 GB$98%
5 KB477 GB$4330%
10 KB954 GB$8646%
20 KB1,907 GB$17263%
50 KB4,768 GB$42981%
100 KB9,537 GB$85890%

Cloudflare charges $0 for data transfer. At 100M requests with 20 KB payloads, you save $172/month on data transfer alone by switching to Cloudflare.

AWS Free Tier Details

First 12 Months

  • ✓1 million HTTP API calls/month
  • ✓1 million REST API calls/month
  • ✓750,000 WebSocket connection minutes/month
  • ✓1 million WebSocket messages/month

After 12 Months

  • ✗Free tier expires completely
  • ✗All usage billed from first request
  • ✗No permanent free tier (unlike Cloudflare, Kong)
  • !Set billing alerts before month 12

When to Use REST API vs HTTP API

Use HTTP API (80%+ of workloads)

  • Lambda proxy integrations
  • JWT/OIDC authorization
  • Simple CRUD APIs
  • CORS-enabled public APIs
  • Internal microservice routing
  • Cost-sensitive workloads

Use REST API (specific needs only)

  • Request/response VTL transformation
  • API keys with usage plans and quotas
  • Per-stage response caching
  • AWS WAF integration (built-in)
  • Request validation
  • Legacy integrations requiring REST features

AWS vs Alternatives

ProviderPer MillionData TransferCost at 100M req/mo
AWS HTTP API$1.00$0.09/GB$195
AWS REST API$3.50$0.09/GB$445
Cloudflare$0.15Free$15
Kong Konnect$0.60$0.07/GB$127
Azure APIM (Consumption)$3.50$0.087/GB$433
Google Apigee$2.00$0.08/GB$276

Based on 100M requests/month with 10 KB average payload. Includes request charges + data transfer. Excludes caching, WAF, and support costs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is AWS API Gateway expensive?▼
Compared to alternatives, yes. AWS REST API at $3.50/million is the most expensive mainstream option. HTTP API at $1.00/million is more competitive. At 100M requests/month, AWS HTTP API costs roughly $100 in request fees plus $95 in data transfer (10 KB payloads). Cloudflare handles the same volume for about $15 with zero data transfer charges.
Should I use HTTP API or REST API?▼
Use HTTP API for most new workloads. It costs 70% less ($1.00 vs $3.50/million), supports Lambda proxy, JWT authorizers, and CORS. Use REST API only if you need: request/response transformation, API keys with usage plans, per-stage caching, or AWS WAF integration. Less than 20% of workloads need REST API features.
Does AWS API Gateway have a free tier?▼
Yes. 1 million HTTP API calls, 1 million REST API calls, and 750,000 WebSocket connection minutes per month for the first 12 months. After 12 months, the free tier expires and all usage is billed. This is a key difference from Cloudflare (free forever) and Kong (1M free indefinitely).
How do I reduce AWS API Gateway costs?▼
Five strategies: (1) Switch from REST to HTTP API (70% savings), (2) Enable response compression to reduce data transfer, (3) Use caching for repeated requests ($20/month for 1 GB cache can save hundreds in request charges), (4) Implement request batching to reduce call volume, (5) Negotiate enterprise pricing for 100M+ monthly requests.