Practical guide
NLB pricing: estimate NLCU-hours from measured capacity
calculate Network Load Balancer capacity costs. Includes a worked example, calculator scope, and practical questions.
Updated · Sources checked
Use NLCUs, not ALB LCUs
Network Load Balancer has a time charge plus Network Load Balancer Capacity Unit usage. NLCU definitions depend on protocol and the applicable connection, flow, and processed-byte dimensions. Do not reuse an ALB request-to-LCU conversion or assume one GB means one NLCU in every configuration.
For an existing workload, a billing-derived NLCU-hour total is the safest starting point. For a new workload, record the protocol and derive its normalized dimensions using the official pricing definition before applying the maximum rule.
Worked example: a predictable daily peak
Suppose the resulting usage is two NLCUs for 18 hours each day and six NLCUs for the remaining six hours. Daily consumption is 18 × 2 + 6 × 6 = 72 NLCU-hours.
Across a hypothetical 30-day month, that becomes 2,160 NLCU-hours. One continuously provisioned NLB adds 720 load-balancer hours. The subtotal is 720H + 2,160N, where H is the hourly NLB rate and N is the relevant NLCU-hour rate.
Enter the summed 2,160 capacity-hours, not the daily 72 or the peak value six. If there are multiple NLBs, sum their running hours and applicable capacity usage consistently. A duplicate fleet multiplier can otherwise inflate both components.
Protocol and traffic changes need a fresh model
Connection reuse can reduce new-connection activity without reducing processed bytes. Conversely, a payload-size reduction can leave a connection-heavy workload’s dominant dimension unchanged. Track the driver that sets the maximum rather than assuming any traffic optimization delivers proportional savings.
The calculator converts supplied NLCU-hours to a US East cost subtotal. It does not discover traffic dimensions or price all transfer paths, public IPv4 addresses, and other networking resources. Capacity reservation arrangements also need separate treatment where applicable.
Use a normal period and a peak period when validating the estimate. If measured capacity differs from the assumption, inspect protocol mix, connection churn, and transferred bytes before changing prices.
Frequently asked questions
Can I enter requests per second in the NLCU-hours field? No. Convert the workload into NLCU-hours under the correct protocol rules first.
Is the highest monthly peak billed for every hour? This estimate should sum actual or scenario-specific hourly capacity, not apply one peak to the entire month without justification.
Calculate your scenario
Use the network load balancer cost calculator. Keep the displayed region, pricing date, billing units, and exclusions alongside your result. The arithmetic examples above illustrate usage or explicitly hypothetical rates; they are not AWS quotes.
Source
Billing structure checked against official AWS documentation on September 6, 2026.