How to understand and estimate combined AWS WAF and AWS Shield Advanced costs

This article provides guidance on estimating combined AWS WAF and AWS Shield Advanced costs using pricing calculators, Cost Explorer, and Cost and Usage Reports to understand pricing components and optimize security spending.

• AWS WAF and Shield Advanced pricing is variable and usage-based, depending on request volume, data transfer, and rule complexity
• Shield Advanced covers up to 1,500 WCU and default body inspection for AWS WAF, plus waives anti-DDoS AMR fees for up to 50 billion requests monthly
• Use AWS Pricing Calculator for initial planning, Cost Explorer for analyzing current spending trends, and CUR data for granular resource-level analysis
• Shield Advanced usage types in billing data change from standard prefixes (e.g., USE1-WebACLV2) to Shield-prefixed variants (e.g., USE1-ShieldProtected-WebACLV2)
• Shield Advanced subscription fee is $3,000/month per organization with additional per-resource data transfer charges
• CUR queries enable month-over-month trend analysis and accurate cost forecasting for phased rollout scenarios

A data-driven approach using the right tools helps organizations protect applications while optimizing cloud security spending and supporting informed deployment decisions.