This inefficiency arises when snapshots are retained long after they’ve served their purpose. Snapshots may have been created for backups, migrations, or disaster recovery plans but were never deleted—even after the related workload or volume was decommissioned. Over time, these unused snapshots accumulate, continuing to incur storage costs without providing operational value.

This inefficiency occurs when legacy volume types such as gp2 or io1 remain in use, even though AWS has released newer types—like gp3 and io2—that offer better performance at lower cost. Gp3 allows users to configure IOPS and throughput independently of volume size, while io2 provides higher durability and more predictable performance than io1. These newer volumes are generally more cost-effective and can be adopted without re-architecting workloads. Many teams continue using outdated types due to default AMIs, automation templates, or simple oversight.

This inefficiency occurs when an EBS volume has provisioned IOPS levels that consistently exceed the actual I/O requirements of the workload it supports. This can happen when performance buffers are estimated too high, usage patterns change over time, or default settings are left unadjusted. Provisioned IOPS above the included baseline generate ongoing charges that may not reflect actual utilization, resulting in avoidable cost.

This inefficiency occurs when an EC2 instance is stopped but still has one or more attached EBS volumes. Although the compute resource is not generating charges while stopped, the attached volumes continue to incur full storage and performance-related costs. These volumes are often overlooked in cost reviews, especially if the instance is temporarily paused or has been left in a stopped state long-term. Without regular validation, these volumes may represent unused capacity that delivers no value.

EBS volumes frequently remain detached after EC2 instances are terminated, replaced, or reconfigured. Some may be intentionally retained for reattachment or backup purposes, but many persist unintentionally due to the lack of automated cleanup. When these detached volumes are also inactive—showing no read or write activity—they represent unnecessary ongoing costs. Identifying and removing these orphaned volumes can produce meaningful savings without affecting running workloads.