Direct Connect Pricing Negotiation

AWS Direct Connect is the answer to high-volume, low-latency, compliance-sensitive hybrid connectivity between on-premises networks and AWS. It is also one of the most negotiable services on the AWS rate card — both on port fees and on the data transfer rates that move across those ports. Across the engagements our advisory team audits, Direct Connect optimization routinely delivers 30-55 percent reductions on hybrid connectivity spend.

This guide walks through Direct Connect pricing in detail, the dedicated vs hosted vs MACsec decision, when Direct Connect beats VPN-over-Internet, and the specific negotiation levers that work on enterprise renewals.

Direct Connect pricing components

Direct Connect bills on three components:

Component	Type	Typical rate
Port hours	Dedicated 1 Gbps	$0.30 / hour ($219/month)
Port hours	Dedicated 10 Gbps	$2.25 / hour ($1,642/month)
Port hours	Dedicated 100 Gbps	$22.50 / hour ($16,425/month)
Port hours	Hosted 50 Mbps - 10 Gbps	Partner-priced, typically $50-1,200 / month
Data Transfer Out (DTO)	Per GB	$0.02 / GB (US, EU); higher elsewhere
Data Transfer In	Per GB	Free
Direct Connect Gateway	Per attachment hour	$0.05 / hour

Key facts:

1. Direct Connect DTO is $0.02/GB — one of the lowest egress rates AWS sells. List Internet egress at the low tier is $0.09/GB. That's a 78% reduction just for routing through Direct Connect.
2. Port hours are flat regardless of traffic. Right-sizing port capacity matters.
3. DC Gateway charges per attachment — multi-region or multi-VPC topologies accumulate hours.

Dedicated vs Hosted Connections

The biggest pricing decision is dedicated vs hosted:

• Dedicated Connections — AWS provisions a dedicated port at a co-location facility. You provide your own cross-connect and router. Port speeds: 1, 10, or 100 Gbps. AWS bills you directly.
• Hosted Connections — an AWS Direct Connect Partner provisions a sub-port on their own dedicated AWS port and sells you capacity. Speeds: 50 Mbps to 10 Gbps. The partner bills you, then pays AWS.

Cost rule of thumb: hosted is cheaper for low/medium sustained throughput; dedicated wins above ~3 Gbps sustained. Above 10 Gbps, dedicated is the only option.

Direct Connect vs VPN

Volume	Best fit	Reasoning
Below 3 TB/month	Site-to-Site VPN	No port fees, predictable
3-50 TB/month	Either — model both	Crossover zone — depends on AZ count, latency requirements
Above 50 TB/month	Direct Connect	$0.02/GB transfer beats VPN over public Internet egress
Compliance-sensitive	Direct Connect	Dedicated port simplifies audit, eliminates Internet path
Sub-10ms latency required	Direct Connect	Dedicated path eliminates Internet jitter

The combined TGW + Direct Connect Gateway architecture is the default for large enterprises — one DC circuit serves many VPCs through a Transit Gateway hub. Transit Gateway pricing covers the hub-side economics.

The negotiation levers

Direct Connect is one of the most actively negotiated networking services on enterprise EDPs. Specific levers we routinely apply:

1. Port fee waivers

For multi-year commits with $1M+ annual Direct Connect spend (port + transfer combined), AWS will waive 50-100 percent of port hourly fees on at least the primary circuit. We have negotiated full port-fee waivers on 10 Gbps and 100 Gbps dedicated connections, saving $20K-$200K annually per port.

2. Data transfer rate discounts

The $0.02/GB DTO rate is the published rate. On committed-volume agreements, AWS will discount to $0.01/GB or lower. For organizations with sustained 5+ PB/month of Direct Connect transfer, we have negotiated below $0.008/GB.

3. Migration credits

For new Direct Connect deployments (especially migrating from VPN or competitive cloud egress), AWS will frequently fund 6-12 months of port and transfer fees as migration credits. These are buyer-initiated — AWS rarely volunteers them unless the migration is competitively threatened.

4. DC Gateway hourly waivers

For multi-VPC, multi-region Direct Connect topologies, AWS will waive the $0.05/hour DC Gateway attachment fees as part of bundled EDP scoping.

5. Redundancy credits

For enterprises required to deploy redundant Direct Connect circuits (typically at separate co-location facilities), AWS will discount the redundant port's hourly fees by 30-50 percent.

6. MACsec credits

For compliance-driven MACsec encryption on 100 Gbps ports, the additional fees are negotiable on multi-year commits.

Optimization beyond contract

Beyond negotiation, architectural tactics reduce Direct Connect costs:

Right-size port capacity

Most enterprises over-provision Direct Connect capacity. A 10 Gbps port running at 1.5 Gbps peak is paying for capacity it doesn't use. Hosted connections at 2 or 5 Gbps may be cheaper than dedicated 10 Gbps for medium workloads.

Consolidate cross-connects

Many enterprises have multiple physical Direct Connect ports at the same co-location facility from acquisitions or legacy decisions. Consolidating to a single dedicated 100 Gbps port can be cheaper than 4-6 dedicated 10 Gbps ports, particularly with negotiated waivers.

Route only what needs Direct Connect

Some traffic doesn't need Direct Connect — pushing Internet-facing traffic and CDN-fronted public content over DC inflates utilization and forces upsizing. Route only sensitive, high-volume, low-latency-requiring traffic.

Multi-region DC Gateway efficiency

A single DC Gateway can attach to multiple VPCs across multiple regions. Architecting for shared DC Gateway use across regions cuts attachment count and hourly fees.

Case study: $1.4M Direct Connect baseline

A global financial services firm we engaged with had $1.4M annualized Direct Connect spend. Composition: 48% port fees on six dedicated 10 Gbps ports, 38% data transfer at $0.02/GB on 158 TB/month sustained, 14% DC Gateway attachment fees across 27 VPC associations.

The intervention:

• Consolidated six 10 Gbps ports to two 100 Gbps ports at primary/secondary facilities. Eliminated capacity overprovisioning.
• Negotiated 50% port fee waiver on the secondary (redundant) 100 Gbps port.
• Negotiated DTO discount from $0.02 to $0.011/GB on committed 150 TB/month.
• Negotiated full DC Gateway attachment fee waiver for all 27 VPC associations.
• Locked the multi-year commit at the renewal point of the EDP renewal cycle.

Net result: Direct Connect spend dropped from $1.4M to $680K annualized — a 51 percent reduction. The architectural consolidation contributed about 25%, the negotiation contributed about 26%.

Action checklist

1. Inventory every Direct Connect port and connection across every region.
2. Measure port utilization at p95 and p99. Right-size overprovisioned ports.
3. Audit DC Gateway attachments. Consolidate where multi-region routing can collapse to fewer attachments.
4. Model VPN alternatives for low-utilization segments.
5. Scope Direct Connect into your EDP renewal with explicit port fee, DTO rate, and DC Gateway attachment line items.
6. Contact our advisory team for a Direct Connect cost audit benchmarked against $2.4B+ of reviewed AWS spend.

Direct Connect is the cleanest answer for high-volume, low-latency hybrid connectivity — but list pricing leaves significant savings on the table. The combination of architectural rightsizing, hosted vs dedicated optimization, and EDP-level negotiation routinely delivers 40-55 percent reduction. See our complete data transfer cost guide for how Direct Connect fits the broader transfer-cost picture.

Frequently asked questions