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Overview

There is no separate free-tier class. Use the RdsInstance 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

Configure RdsInstance with these settings to stay within the AWS Free Tier.

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

All RdsInstance properties are available. The key properties for free-tier usage are listed below.

Core Properties

Storage

Backup and Maintenance

Optional Features (Disable for Free Tier)

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 (opt-in via credentials.secretRotation)
  • 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 the RdsInstance configuration.

Staying Within Free Tier

  1. Single database per AWS account
  2. 20 GB total storage (including backups)
  3. Set multiAz: false to avoid doubling costs
  4. Set proxy: false to avoid proxy charges
  5. Set readReplica: false to avoid replica charges
  6. Reduce backup retention to 7 days to save storage
  7. Delete after 12 months before charges apply

Cost After Free Tier Expires

Use Cases

Good for:
  • Development environments
  • Proof of concepts
  • Learning and experimentation
  • Low-traffic applications
  • CI/CD test databases
Not suitable for:
  • 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