CloudFront Standard Logging is disabled and only option I see is to upgrade to Pro

Question

Hi,

I attempted to enable CloudFront Standard Logging as it's disabled by default; however, there is no option to "ENABLE" and I even created a case to get support from AWS; however, AWS Support provide report.aws site to seek further help. The region is US-EAST.

When I go to CloudFront => Distributions => (My distribution name) => Logging tab, I see the message below along with a button/link stating "Upgrade to Pro"

***Standard logging Gain insights into how your content is being accessed and delivered worldwide with detailed request logs. Track performance metrics, usage patterns, and viewer behavior to optimize your application and improve user experience. I've attached screen print for reference.

I learned that CloudFront Standard Logging is a free service and no subscription required; however, the Standard Logging is not available for me.

Any help to enable the free version of CloudFront Standard Logging is greatly appreciated. Thank you!!

Hugo-AWS · Accepted Answer

Seems your distribution is subscribed to the **Free plan** from the recently launched flat rate pricing plans [1].

Under the **Free plan**, Access logs are not available [2], you will need to upgrade to the **Pro** plan (under "Manage Plan") to be able to enable access logs. The message you're seeing is from the AWS console and expected based on the flat rate plan you have selected.

You can also cancel the current flat rate plan and go back to "pay as you go" model. Note that if you cancel the plan, you will need to wait until the end of the current billing cycle.

[1] https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2025/11/aws-flat-rate-pricing-plans/

[2] https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudFront/latest/DeveloperGuide/flat-rate-pricing-plan.html#pricing-plan-features

Taz · Answer

That “Upgrade to Pro” message is not coming from the CloudFront console—it’s from a third‑party analytics portal (report.aws) that offers enhanced CloudFront reporting. CloudFront’s native **Standard Logging** is still managed directly in the AWS Management Console under **CloudFront → Distributions → (select distribution) → General → Settings → Logging**. There you specify an S3 bucket for access logs and choose whether to include cookies. If you’re seeing only the “Pro” upgrade banner, you’re in the external reporting dashboard, not the CloudFront configuration page.
—Taz

re:Post Agent · Answer

Based on the information provided, there are a few important points to clarify about CloudFront logging options.

Amazon CloudFront offers different types of logging, including standard logs (also called access logs) and real-time logs. Standard logs are typically available at no additional cost beyond the storage costs for the S3 bucket where logs are stored.

However, there are some limitations to be aware of:

1. CloudFront standard logging is automatically disabled in certain AWS regions due to lack of support. These regions include Africa (Cape Town), Asia Pacific (Hong Kong, Hyderabad, Jakarta, Melbourne), Canada West (Calgary), Europe (Milan, Spain, Zurich), Israel (Tel Aviv), and Middle East (Bahrain, UAE). If you're deploying in one of these regions, standard logging may not be available.

2. CloudFront has two versions of standard logging: standard logging (legacy) which only allows sending logs to Amazon S3, and standard logging (v2) which offers additional delivery destinations.

3. It's important to note that CloudFront delivers access logs on a best-effort basis. Log entries might be delivered long after the request was processed or, in rare cases, might not be delivered at all.

If you're seeing an "Upgrade to Pro" option instead of standard logging, it's possible that AWS has changed their service offerings or pricing structure since the documentation was published. I would recommend:

1. Double-check which AWS region you're using to see if it's one where standard logging is not supported
2. Contact AWS Support again with specific details about your distribution and region
3. Consider using CloudWatch metrics as an alternative, as CloudFront automatically publishes certain operational metrics to CloudWatch

If standard logging is truly required for your use case, you might need to manually configure CloudFront Standard Logging V2 after deployment, as suggested in the documentation.  
**Sources**  
[Use CloudFront logs, usage reports, and metrics | AWS re:Post](https://repost.aws/knowledge-center/cloudfront-logs-reports-metrics)  
[CloudFront and edge function logging - Amazon CloudFront](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudFront/latest/DeveloperGuide/logging.html)  
[Plan your deployment - Innovation Sandbox on AWS](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/solutions/latest/innovation-sandbox-on-aws/plan-your-deployment.html)  
[Access logs (standard logs) - Amazon CloudFront](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudFront/latest/DeveloperGuide/AccessLogs.html)  
[Logging and monitoring in CloudFront - Secure Content Delivery with Amazon CloudFront](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/whitepapers/latest/secure-content-delivery-amazon-cloudfront/logging-and-monitoring-in-cloudfront.html)

CloudFront Standard Logging is disabled and only option I see is to upgrade to Pro

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