You've identified it correctly, only gp2 volumes are in-scope of Free Tier for RDS https://aws.amazon.com/rds/free/
> - 20 GB of General Purpose SSD (gp2) storage per month.
You should be able to convert youir gp3 to gp2 on-the-fly, I can't find an AWS page that explicitly says this but it was discussed at length in the answers to this question https://repost.aws/questions/QUDPKCzJclQbCwOt47lf7lFQ/changing-rds-storage-from-gp2-to-gp3
I agree that it's annoying that the setting defaults to gp3. The AWS re:Post community does not have visibility of your account, nor any billing information associated with it. To query any charges, including asking for your charges for gp3 to be waived, it is best to log a billing support call with AWS https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/billing-get-answers.html#billing-support Answer from Steve_M on repost.aws
AWS
aws.amazon.com › databases › amazon rds › free tier
AWS Free Tier with Amazon Aurora & RDS
5 days ago - Host, scale and manage your PostgreSQL deployments in the cloud with Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL.
AWS
aws.amazon.com › databases › amazon rds › pricing
Managed Relational Database - Amazon RDS Pricing - Amazon Web Services
5 days ago - Run managed SQL Server databases on Amazon RDS with Bring Your Own Media (BYOM) support to use your existing licenses through Microsoft's License Mobility program. Learn more about BYOM · If you signed up for AWS Free Tier prior to July 15, 2025, you can continue to use RDS for free for up ...
RDS Free Tier Charge
I set up my account this week, and after setting up a VPC I created an RDS instance using free tier specifications. Despite being in free tier it's still saying I will be charged "$0.115 per GB-mo... More on repost.aws
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November 7, 2024Unexpected charges on using RDS my AWS Free Tier account
I was using my AWS Free Tier account for a college project that utilizes a single instance of AWS S3 and RDS services. I was conscious of the free… More on reddit.com
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March 3, 2024amazon web services - AWS RDS free tier: Is free usage reset every month? - Stack Overflow
I'm using AWS RDS by free tier. I created a database in January, and created another databse in February. Today morning, I got a message that I was charged 12 dollars for overusage. I checked ... More on stackoverflow.com
How to use RDS for free in Free tier
This means your database will be accessible from the internet, which is an anti-pattern. I suggest move your backend service to aws. More on reddit.com
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June 5, 2025Videos
05:47
Week 4 - RDS Free Tier Pricing and Tips - YouTube
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How do I launch an Amazon RDS database instance that's covered ...
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How to Create an Amazon RDS Database & Get Free $20 in Credits ...
11:05
How the NEW AWS Free Tier ACTUALLY works - YouTube
11:45
Free MySQL database with AWS RDS Free Tier - YouTube
03:48
Set up Free Tier instance of RDS in AWS - YouTube
Amazon Web Services
aws.amazon.com › aws free tier › database
Free Databases - AWS
4 days ago - Build database solutions using ... the AWS Free Tier. Browse through our collection of videos and tutorials to deepen your knowledge and experience with AWS ... In this tutorial, you will learn how to create an environment to run your MySQL database (we call this environment an 'instance'), connect to the database, and delete the DB instance. We will do this using Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) and everything ...
Top answer 1 of 2
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You've identified it correctly, only gp2 volumes are in-scope of Free Tier for RDS https://aws.amazon.com/rds/free/
> - 20 GB of General Purpose SSD (gp2) storage per month.
You should be able to convert youir gp3 to gp2 on-the-fly, I can't find an AWS page that explicitly says this but it was discussed at length in the answers to this question https://repost.aws/questions/QUDPKCzJclQbCwOt47lf7lFQ/changing-rds-storage-from-gp2-to-gp3
I agree that it's annoying that the setting defaults to gp3. The AWS re:Post community does not have visibility of your account, nor any billing information associated with it. To query any charges, including asking for your charges for gp3 to be waived, it is best to log a billing support call with AWS https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/billing-get-answers.html#billing-support
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The charge you're seeing is likely due to using GP3 storage instead of GP2 for your RDS instance. The AWS RDS Free Tier specifically includes 20 GB of General Purpose SSD (gp2) storage per month. GP3 storage is not part of the free tier offering.
When setting up an RDS instance, even if you select the free tier option, it's possible that GP3 was selected as the default storage type. This could be because GP3 is a newer and more flexible storage option that AWS may be promoting. However, to stay within the free tier, you should manually select GP2 storage during the RDS instance creation process.
To resolve this issue and ensure you're using the free tier benefits:
1. Verify that your instance is using a supported free tier instance class (db.t3.micro or db.t4g.micro for PostgreSQL).
2. Check if you're within the 750 hours per month limit for the free tier.
3. Modify your RDS instance to use GP2 storage instead of GP3.
4. Ensure you're not exceeding the 20 GB storage limit for the free tier.
If you've made these adjustments and still see unexpected charges, it would be advisable to open a support ticket with AWS to clarify the situation. They can provide specific guidance based on your account and usage details.
Remember that the free tier is designed to help you get started, but it's always important to carefully review the settings when creating resources to ensure they align with the free tier specifications.
**Sources**
Can some one confirm why RDS free tier is charged a small amount? | AWS re:Post
Do I currently have free tier / will this be covered by free tier | AWS re:Post
Hosted PostgreSQL - Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL - AWS
AWS
aws.amazon.com › amazon rds › amazon rds for mysql › pricing
Amazon RDS for MySQL pricing
5 days ago - New AWS customers can get started with RDS for MySQL for free as part of the AWS Free Tier, which includes includes 750 hours on a selection of Single-AZ instance databases, 20 GB of General Purpose SSD (gp2) storage, and 20 GB of storage for automated database backups each month for one year.
AWS
aws.amazon.com › amazon rds › amazon rds for postgresql › pricing
Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL Pricing
5 days ago - New AWS customers can get started with RDS for PostgreSQL for free as part of the AWS Free Tier, which includes includes 750 hours on a selection of Single-AZ instance databases, 20 GB of General Purpose SSD (gp2) storage, and 20 GB of storage for automated database backups each month for one year.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/aws › unexpected charges on using rds my aws free tier account
r/aws on Reddit: Unexpected charges on using RDS my AWS Free Tier account
March 3, 2024 - I was using my AWS Free Tier account for a college project that utilizes a single instance of AWS S3 and RDS services. I was conscious of the free tier limits and being charged for exceeding the limits so I read everything carefully related to free tier limits on RDS and S3.
Usage AI
usage.ai › home › aws › rds free tier: 750 hours of db.t3.micro — what is actually free
AWS RDS Free Tier | What 750 Hours Actually Gets You and What It Does Not | Usage.ai
May 7, 2026 - RDS free tier gives 750 hrs of db.t3.micro, 20 GB storage, 12 months only. Two instances? You pay. Multi-AZ? You pay. Here is every limit, named and priced.
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From the AWS documentation:
750 hours of Amazon RDS Single-AZ db.t2.micro Instance usage running MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Oracle BYOL or SQL Server (running SQL Server Express Edition) – enough hours to run a DB Instance continuously each month
so if you run two instances, that will be a total of 1500 hours of usage, so you will be charged extra. But you can run one instance for free each month. Note that the RDS instance is part of the 12 months free tier in AWS. That means that this offer only holds for 12 months after creation of your AWS account.
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I created an AWS account and use it for several years now. Now, I was experimenting with the RDS instance (free tier) and this started to change me.
So, I believe that the free tier is only free within 12 months of the AWS account creation.
CHECK DAILY THE AWS ACCOUNT, I had another mistake earlier that cost me $300 for that.
AWS
aws.amazon.com › databases › amazon rds › faqs
Amazon RDS FAQs | Cloud Relational Database | Amazon Web Services
2 weeks ago - If you signed up for AWS Free Tier prior to July 15, 2025, you can continue to use RDS for free for up to 12 months on select single-AZ instance databases with up to 750 hours per month. Your usage is aggregated across instance types if using more than one instance.
DEV Community
dev.to › chrisgreening › deploying-a-free-tier-relational-database-with-amazon-rds-3jd2
Deploying a free tier relational database with Amazon RDS - DEV Community
August 21, 2024 - This frees up our valuable time so we can focus on app development and not on expensive database administration. ... Amazon Free Tier is a collection of AWS' products offered under varying types of limited usage for free.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/aws › how to use rds for free in free tier
r/aws on Reddit: How to use RDS for free in Free tier
June 5, 2025 -
Hi,
I actually started a RDS instance in free tier but it started incurring charges for IPv4 public ip. I want to connect the db instance to my backend service hosted on Hostinger. Is there any way to connect to my server for free?
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This means your database will be accessible from the internet, which is an anti-pattern. I suggest move your backend service to aws.
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Hello, The following article on re:Post explains why you were charged for the public IPv4 on Free Tier while using RDS: https://go.aws/3T7iPSS . For more details on what is covered under the Free Tier for RDS, kindly review our page , here: https://go.aws/3Teq2QY . - Ben G.
NovelVista
novelvista.com › blogs › cloud-and-aws › aws-free-tier
AWS Free Tier: What's Included and How to Use It?
Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers a generous Free Tier to help new users get started with cloud computing. Here we will take a closer look at the types of Free Tier offers and the essentials of setting up an account and understanding its eligibility criteria. Amazon EC2: 750 hours of t2.micro or t3.micro instances per month. Amazon S3: 5 GB of standard storage, 20,000 GET requests, and 2,000 PUT requests per month. Amazon RDS: 750 hours of db.t2.micro or db.t3.micro instances, plus 20 GB of database storage.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/aws › aws rds free tier dirty trick: beware!
r/aws on Reddit: AWS RDS Free Tier dirty trick: BEWARE!
August 29, 2022 -
If you are completely new to AWS RDS and just created a Free Tier account, be VERY CAREFUL when creating a database instance (or EC2 virtual box):
Even though you are on Free account, your option list for creating databases and virtual boxes - also contains COMMERCIAL instances, and if you accidentally select that one, there will be no further warning.
Especially, be aware that Amazon Aurora database IS NOT COVERED by free tier account, you will be charged for every hour of working instance.
There is no safeguard, no warning message, no nothing if you create a commercial instance being in Free Tier account. They just start billing you immediately and at the end of the month you can easily meet $500-800 bill.
Yes, there is a notification in small letters that db is covered by Free Tier when you select free DBs; When you select Aurora (or Oracle), it shows in small letters hourly price, and if you are totally new to AWS console, it is so easy to miss that detail. It was intentionally created that way.
This is obviously an unfair practice designed to lure inexperienced newcomers into hidden charges.The honest business would either exclude commercial options from Free Tier account, or at least show a loud and clear warnings when free account is about to use such options.
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There is no such thing as a free tier account. You have an AWS account, and can choose to use some services that are in the free tier.
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Yep congrats. You have realized that you are responsible for understanding how services are billed and what is covered and not covered under the “free tier” Welcome to the big leagues.
Amazon Web Services
docs.aws.amazon.com › amazon rds › user guide for aurora › what is amazon aurora? › amazon aurora on the aws free tier
Amazon Aurora on the AWS Free Tier - Amazon Aurora
June 19, 2026 - Learn about using Aurora PostgreSQL on the AWS Free Tier.
FreeTiers
freetiers.com › directory › aws-rds
[Infographic] AWS RDS Free Tier – Pricing & Limits (2025)
October 20, 2025 - 🎁 Try AWS RDS free for 12mo: 20 GB, 750 hours. ✓ Commercial OK. Compare alternatives & limits.
CloudZero
cloudzero.com › home › blog › a beginner’s guide to amazon rds pricing
Amazon RDS Pricing: A Complete Guide (2026)
April 15, 2026 - Pricing is tiered and starts at $0.09 per GB for the first 10 TB per month. Data transfer out to the internet is free for 100GB each month, spanning all AWS regions and AZs — excluding ...
AWS
aws.amazon.com › databases › amazon rds › features
Cloud Relational Database – Amazon RDS Features
2 weeks ago - If you signed up for AWS Free Tier prior to July 15, 2025, you can continue to use RDS for free for up to 12 months on select single-AZ instance databases with up to 750 hours per month, 20 GB of General Purpose SSD storage (gp2) per month, and 20 GB of automated database backup storage per ...
Quora
quora.com › Is-AWS-database-PostgreSQL-or-any-other-RDS-free-under-the-AWS-free-trial-If-so-what-are-the-limitations-Can-someone-with-experience-explain-how-it-works-and-if-there-are-any-hidden-charges-after-the-trial-period
Is AWS database (PostgreSQL or any other RDS) free under the AWS free trial? If so, what are the limitations? Can someone with experience explain how it works and if there are any hidden charges after the trial period? - Quora
Answer: So, the free trial period isn’t “Hey, EVERYTHING is free”. Instead, it’s a free bucket of money of a fixed size. You can spend your money any way you want. Let’s say it’s $250 (that’s one of the more common ones I’ve seen). Go to the cost calculator for AWS: ...