What Are Egress Fees?
Egress fees are charges that cloud providers apply when data leaves their network. Every time a user downloads a file, an API returns data, or you transfer data to another service, you're potentially paying egress fees.
The Math That Hurts
Let's look at a real example. Say you're running a video platform:
- Storage: 10TB of video content
- Monthly views: 100,000
- Average video size: 500MB
Traditional Cloud Provider Costs
| Cost Type | Calculation | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | 10TB × $0.023/GB | $230 |
| Egress | 100,000 × 500MB × $0.09/GB | $4,500 |
| Total | $4,730 |
The egress fees are 19x higher than the storage costs!
Why Do Providers Charge So Much for Egress?
There are a few reasons:
- Lock-in: High egress fees make it expensive to leave
- Revenue optimization: Storage is competitive; egress is less visible
- Network costs: Data transfer does have real costs (but not $0.09/GB)
How ElasticLake Is Different
We believe egress fees should be predictable and reasonable. Here's what we offer:
Included Egress
Every plan includes a generous egress allowance:
- Starter: 50GB included
- Growth: 500GB included
- Professional: 2TB included
- Enterprise: Custom high-volume allowances
Transparent Overage
If you exceed your allowance, overage is priced fairly at $0.01/GB—not $0.09 or more.
No Surprises
Our dashboard shows real-time egress usage so you always know where you stand.
Tips to Reduce Egress Costs
Even with fair pricing, here are ways to optimize:
- Use a CDN: Cache frequently accessed content at the edge
- Compress data: Smaller files mean less transfer
- Batch operations: Combine multiple small requests
- Regional placement: Keep data close to your users
Calculate Your Savings
Curious how much you could save? Try our cost calculator to compare your current costs with ElasticLake.
Stop overpaying for egress. Start your free trial today.