# Redshift Serverless vs Provisioned — Decision Matrix (July 2026)

| Signal | Prefer Serverless | Prefer Provisioned (RA3 + RI/SP) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Idle nights/weekends / bursty BI | Yes | No |
| Steady 24/7 warehouse | Usually no | Yes |
| No historical sizing data | Start here | After patterns stabilize |
| Need fixed monthly compute bill | Soft (use Max RPU-hours) | Strong (1y/3y RI) |
| Fine-grained classic WLM queues | Limited | Yes |
| Redshift ML (CREATE MODEL) | Supported (verify region/features) | Supported |

## Serverless knobs (verify pricing page)

- **Base capacity:** 4–1024 RPUs (AI-driven price/performance target optional)
- **MaxRPU / Max RPU-hours:** hard cost controls
- Billing: RPU-second with **60-second minimum** per charge window; storage = RMS GB-month
- Spectrum / concurrency scaling included in Serverless pricing model (no separate Spectrum line for Serverless)

## Migration

Snapshot → restore to Serverless namespace; update workgroup endpoint; dual-run 1–2 weeks; watch `SYS_SERVERLESS_USAGE` / ComputeSeconds.