AWS Directory Service Pricing Calculator
Estimate Managed Microsoft AD editions, domain controllers, and directory sharing — the fixed monthly line item lift-and-shift plans forget.
- No signup
- Instant results
- ~3 min
Rates reviewed
Directory type
us-east-1list rates, pricing as of 2026-07-05. 30-day free trial (1,500 DC-hours) not modeled. Source: AWS public pricing.
Who This Tool Is For
IT directors and migration leads running hybrid AD for on-prem apps, RDS SQL Server, or WorkSpaces during a cloud migration.
Why We Built This Tool
Standard vs Enterprise editions differ ~3× in base price; each additional DC and shared directory adds hourly charges.
What Problem It Solves
- Fixed overhead. Two domain controllers run 24/7 — ~$88/mo Standard or ~$292/mo Enterprise before sharing.
- Sharing multiplier. Each additional AWS account sharing the directory adds an hourly fee.
- Not Cognito. Employee AD and customer identity (Cognito) solve different problems — model both.
See Application Modernization or the migration estimator.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum domain controller count for Managed Microsoft AD?
AWS provisions a minimum of two domain controllers per managed directory for high availability. You cannot run fewer than two DCs.
Standard vs Enterprise — when is Enterprise required?
Enterprise supports up to 500,000 directory objects and advanced features like multi-Region replication and trust relationships for large orgs. Standard caps at ~30,000 objects.
Does AD Connector cost the same as Managed Microsoft AD?
No. AD Connector proxies to your on-prem AD at $0.015/hr (~$11/mo) — much cheaper because AWS does not host domain controllers.
How does directory sharing affect the bill?
Each additional AWS account you share a managed directory with bills hourly ($0.018/hr Standard, $0.06/hr Enterprise in us-east-1). VPC sharing within the same account is free.
Can I reduce cost by using Cognito instead of AD?
Cognito handles customer and app-user identity. Employee SSO and Windows-integrated auth still need AD or AD Connector for hybrid workloads.
Where do these prices come from?
Rates are AWS published us-east-1 list prices (AWS Directory Service pricing), pricing as of 2026-07-05.