I don't believe there to be an ideal cut-off point, as the value of the trade-offs are largely situational. Questions you should ask: - How does the monthly r

I don't believe there to be an ideal cut-off point, as the value of the trade-offs are largely situational. Questions you should ask: - How does the monthly rate change as we grow? (i.e. Do you have an architecture that doesn't scale well?) Maybe what you have is fine as you will grow into it. Maybe your cost growth will out-pace your revenue/user growth. This one is really important to understand. - How optimal is my current RDS/S3 setup? Are you using instance types above your needs? Are you retaining more data than you need? (i.e. Are you simply over paying?) - How optimal is my application's usage of AWS? (i.e. Are you using indiscriminately?) - How severely is the growth of my business impeded by the loss of $2k-$10k/month? Where else could it be applied to grow the business? (i.e. Is thinking about this the best use of your time, or is it just the most glaring, easy thing? Remember that saving on monthly expenses doesn't get you customers or grow your revenue.) - What hidden costs might there be from switching away from the status quo? In addition to the monthly costs, what will the development/operational costs be? Are you making trade offs in your availability or your ability to quickly recover from technical issues by switching?