Shared vs Copy AMI

Question

Hello people!

I am developing a solution with AWS Image Builder, but I have reached a point where I cannot reach a clear conclusion as to which mechanism would have the lowest cost, based on the following scenarios:

- Scenario 1: Generate an AMI and share it with some accounts and attach the shared AMI in Launch template to the target account.
- Scenario 2: Copy the generated AMI to the accounts and attach the locally AMI.

In both scenarios I already have a mechanism that does the copying or sharing, my point is to understand which costs less, since I don't know if data transfer occurs in these cases. Share an AMI and run it "remotely" or copy AMIs and run it locally.

It is worth mentioning that each AMI must have around 60 GB and will be created weekly and used in 6 accounts in the same region and 1 in another region.

Thanks!!

Praveen Muppala · Answer

Hello diogoscs,

From a cost and management perspective, sharing an AMI is preferred. Copying an AMI incurs additional costs, as detailed in the AWS documentation: [Copy AMI Costs](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/CopyingAMIs.html#copy-ami-costs).

Sharing an AMI, on the other hand, does not incur extra costs and provides centralized management benefits. It allows you to retire AMIs efficiently by deregistering them centrally and leveraging central AMI tags to manage permissions and lifecycle policies effectively.

Shared vs Copy AMI

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