Overview
There is no separate free-tier class. Use theRdsInstance construct with free-tier-eligible settings to run a PostgreSQL database at no cost during your first 12 months on AWS.
Resource Class
Basic Usage
Free Tier Settings
ConfigureRdsInstance with these settings to stay within the AWS Free Tier.
| Setting | Value | Reason |
|---|---|---|
instanceType | "t4g.micro" | Free-tier-eligible instance |
allocatedStorage | 20 | 20 GB included in free tier |
multiAz | false | Multi-AZ doubles the cost |
proxy | false | RDS Proxy has its own charges |
readReplica | false | Read replicas are billed separately |
databaseInsights | false | Reduces monitoring overhead |
AWS Free Tier Limits
- 750 hours per month of db.t4g.micro usage
- 20 GB of General Purpose (GP3) storage
- 20 GB of backup storage
- Single-AZ deployment only
- 12-month eligibility period
Configuration Options
AllRdsInstance properties are available. The key properties for free-tier usage are listed below.
Core Properties
| Property | Type | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
vpc | IVpc | VPC for deployment | Required |
databaseName | string | Database name | ID without “Rds” |
instanceType | string | Instance type | "t4g.large" |
port | number | Database port | 35255 |
Storage
| Property | Type | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
allocatedStorage | number | Storage in GB | - |
maxAllocatedStorage | number | Max autoscaling storage | 500 |
Backup and Maintenance
| Property | Type | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
backupRetention | Duration | Backup retention | 14 days |
preferredMaintenanceWindow | string | Maintenance window | "Sat:12:30-Sat:20:30" |
Optional Features (Disable for Free Tier)
| Property | Type | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
multiAz | boolean | Multi-AZ deployment | true |
proxy | ProxyConfig | false | RDS Proxy | - |
readReplica | ReadReplicaConfig | false | Read replica | - |
databaseInsights | DatabaseInsightsConfig | false | Performance monitoring | Enabled |
Security Features
RdsInstance includes these security features by default, even in free-tier configuration:- Storage encryption with KMS
- GP3 storage type
- SSL/TLS connections via parameter group
- Automated credential generation
- Secret rotation (enabled by default)
- Deletion protection
Network Security
Methods
Get Host Endpoint
Get Host Port
Get Credentials
Get Connections
Complete Example
Upgrade Path
When you outgrow the free tier, update theRdsInstance configuration.
Staying Within Free Tier
- Single database per AWS account
- 20 GB total storage (including backups)
- Set
multiAz: falseto avoid doubling costs - Set
proxy: falseto avoid proxy charges - Set
readReplica: falseto avoid replica charges - Reduce backup retention to 7 days to save storage
- Delete after 12 months before charges apply
Cost After Free Tier Expires
| Resource | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| t4g.micro instance | ~$12 |
| 20 GB GP3 storage | ~$2 |
| Backup storage | ~$2 |
| Total | ~$16 |
Use Cases
Good for:- Development environments
- Proof of concepts
- Learning and experimentation
- Low-traffic applications
- CI/CD test databases
- Production workloads
- High availability requirements
- Applications needing consistent performance
- Databases larger than 20 GB
Next Steps
RDS Instance
Configure a production-grade PostgreSQL instance
RDS Aurora
Scale up to a managed Aurora cluster
Database Factory
Create databases with the DatabaseFactory pattern
AWS Free Tier
Review the current AWS Free Tier limits