LCU math without the spreadsheet
Elastic Load Balancing Pricing Calculator
Estimate load balancer hourly fees plus ALB/NLB/GWLB capacity units or Classic processed GB before traffic scales. us-east-1 list pricing.
- No signup
- Instant results
- ~2 min
Rates reviewed
Load balancer type
us-east-1list rates, pricing as of 2026-10-17. Source: AWS public pricing.
us-east-1 rates (2026-10-17). Modern workloads usually use ALB or NLB; GWLB targets security appliances; CLB is legacy.
Cloud cost optimization ·EKS calculator
Capacity & traffic
Simplified LCU model: average max dimension per hour × hours. CLB uses processed GB per month instead.
ALB/NLB/GWLB LCU dimension — not used for CLB.
NLB TLS NLCU dimension — 50 TLS connections/sec = 1 NLCU.
Your Estimated ELB Cost
LB type · count · LCU
Total Monthly Cost
live resultCost Breakdown
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Hourly vs LCU split, dimension detail, and migration tips — emailed to you.
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Detailed ELB line items below.
Line Items
ELB Cost Optimization Tips
- ALB vs NLB: Layer-7 features cost ALB LCUs; raw TCP/UDP often fits NLB with lower NLCU rates.
- Rule sprawl: ALB LCU includes rule evaluations — consolidate listener rules where possible.
- Shared LBs: One ALB with host-based routing beats many small ALBs on hourly fees.
- Retire CLB: Classic Load Balancers lack modern features — migration removes legacy GB metering surprises.
Want this applied to your real account?
FactualMinds maps ELB spend from CUR and flow logs — networking reviews often find 15–30% savings from consolidation.
Talk to FinOps Experts →Who This Tool Is For
Network architects, platform teams, and FinOps analysts forecasting Elastic Load Balancing for EKS Ingress, ECS, or EC2 fleets. A handful of ALBs at 730 hours each plus LCUs can exceed compute if traffic is chatty.
Why We Built This Tool
ELB bills combine a fixed hourly per load balancer and usage-based LCUs (or GB processed for Classic). We use a simplified max-dimension LCU model aligned with AWS documentation — us-east-1 pricing as of 2026-10-17.
What Problem It Solves
- Four LB types. ALB, NLB, GWLB, and CLB rate cards in one wizard.
- LCU visibility. See which dimension (connections, GB, rules) drives capacity units.
- Multi-LB scale. Multiply hourly and LCU costs by load balancer count.
- Budget defensibility. Monthly and annual totals for architecture reviews.
Pair with cloud cost optimization, the EKS calculator, or NAT Gateway calculator for full ingress/egress.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do these prices come from?
Elastic Load Balancing us-east-1 list prices as of 2026-10-17: ALB $0.0225/hr + $0.008/LCU-hr, NLB $0.0225/hr + $0.006/NLCU-hr, GWLB $0.0125/hr + $0.004/GLCU-hr, CLB $0.025/hr + $0.008/GB processed. Confirm in the AWS Pricing Calculator.
How is LCU calculated here?
ALB: max(newConn/25, activeConn/3000, gbPerHr/1, rules/1000). NLB/GWLB: max(newConn/800, activeConn/100000, gbPerHr/1), plus optional NLB TLS (50 TLS conn/s = 1 NLCU). Simplified average max-dimension model — peak hours can bill higher.
Are data transfer charges included?
No — inter-AZ and internet egress data transfer bills separately. This covers ELB hourly and LCU/GB processing only.
Does this include WAF?
AWS WAF attached to ALB bills WAF capacity units separately — not included here.
What about cross-zone load balancing?
Cross-zone traffic can add data transfer charges between AZs. LCUs still accrue on processed bytes and connections as modeled.
How accurate is this estimate?
Arithmetic matches published rates and the simplified LCU formula. Peak-hour LCUs above your averages will increase the bill.
