NAT Gateways are convenient for enabling outbound access from private subnets, but in data-intensive environments, they can quietly become a major cost driver. When large volumes of traffic flow through the gateway—particularly during batch processing, frequent software updates, or hybrid cloud integrations—the per-GB charges accumulate rapidly. In some cases, replacing a managed NAT Gateway with a self-managed NAT instance can substantially reduce costs, provided that the organization is prepared to operate and maintain the alternative solution.
NAT Gateway pricing includes:
These charges apply regardless of usage pattern and can scale significantly in high-throughput environments.
In environments with large volumes of outbound traffic, consider replacing the managed NAT Gateway with a self-managed NAT instance to reduce per-GB data processing costs. Alternatively, evaluate architectural changes to reduce or avoid NAT usage altogether—such as using VPC endpoints for AWS service access. Weigh the trade-offs between cost savings and the operational complexity of managing your own NAT infrastructure.
