Extended Support
Extended Support is the charge a reservation does not discount.
AWS charges extra to keep an old database or cache engine version running. A Reserved Instance does not lower that fee. On a common database, the fee is bigger than the whole reservation saving.
What it is
AWS bills extra for old engine versions, and it starts without a request.
Each open-source engine version has an end date for standard support. After that date, AWS keeps the version running and bills a separate Extended Support fee. RDS charges start the day after standard support ends.ElastiCache works the same way. You do not have to opt in.
The fee stops when you upgrade to a major version that AWS still supports, or when you delete the database. It starts again if the new version later enters Extended Support.
The discount gap
A reservation lowers the instance price. The fee is priced on its own.
AWS states: "RDS Extended Support charges are independent of instance charges. Therefore, Reserved Instance discounts are not applicable to RDS Extended Support charges." For ElastiCache, AWS states: "The RI discount does not apply to Extended Support charges."
RDS
AWS prices Extended Support per vCPU-hour: $0.100 per vCPU-hour in years 1 and 2, and $0.200 in year 3 (US East (N. Virginia)). The rate changes by Region. Multi-AZ standbys pay it too.
ElastiCache
AWS prices Extended Support as 80% of the on-demand node price in years 1 and 2, and 160% in year 3. AWS bills it per node.
Example: a MySQL database
The fee can be 2.2× the saving.
Take one db.r6g.large MySQL database, Single-AZ in US East (N. Virginia). The 1-year No Upfront reservation saves $797 a year against on-demand. If the database runs a version in Extended Support, the fee is $1,752 a year. The reservation does not touch it.
Multi-AZ makes it worse. The standby pays the fee too, so the same database costs $3,504 a year in fees. The Multi-AZ reservation saves $1,593 a year.
Example: a Redis OSS cache
A cache node pays 80% of its on-demand price on top.
Take one cache.r6g.large Redis OSS node in US East (N. Virginia). The 1-year No Upfront reservation saves $569 a year. The Extended Support fee is $1,444 a year, 2.5× the saving. AWS publishes its own example on the same page, with a different node type and Region.
AWS bills the fee per node. A replica is a node, so a primary with two replicas pays the fee three times.
The dates
Each engine version has its own start date.
A reservation bought today can last one or three years. A version that is still in standard support now can enter Extended Support inside that term. These dates come from the AWS MySQL, PostgreSQL, and ElastiCache pages.
| Engine version | Fee starts | Fee doubles |
|---|---|---|
| MySQL 5.7 | Mar 1, 2024 | Mar 1, 2026 |
| MySQL 8.0 | Aug 1, 2026 | Aug 1, 2028 |
| PostgreSQL 12 | Mar 1, 2025 | Mar 1, 2027 |
| PostgreSQL 13 | Mar 1, 2026 | Mar 1, 2028 |
| PostgreSQL 14 | Mar 1, 2027 | Mar 1, 2029 |
| Redis OSS 4 and 5 | Feb 1, 2026 | Feb 1, 2028 |
| Redis OSS 6 | Feb 1, 2027 | Feb 1, 2029 |
Fee starts
- MySQL 5.7Mar 1, 2024
- MySQL 8.0Aug 1, 2026
- PostgreSQL 12Mar 1, 2025
- PostgreSQL 13Mar 1, 2026
- PostgreSQL 14Mar 1, 2027
- Redis OSS 4 and 5Feb 1, 2026
- Redis OSS 6Feb 1, 2027
Fee doubles
- MySQL 5.7Mar 1, 2026
- MySQL 8.0Aug 1, 2028
- PostgreSQL 12Mar 1, 2027
- PostgreSQL 13Mar 1, 2028
- PostgreSQL 14Mar 1, 2029
- Redis OSS 4 and 5Feb 1, 2028
- Redis OSS 6Feb 1, 2029
Two dates fall inside a 1-year term bought today. The Redis OSS 6 fee starts on Feb 1, 2027. The PostgreSQL 14 fee starts on Mar 1, 2027. Check your own version against the AWS pages above, because these dates change.
Before you buy or renew
Check the engine version first.
Do four things before you buy or renew a reservation on a database or cache. First, read the engine version of each instance. Second, find its Extended Support start date. Third, compare the fee with the reservation saving for the full term. Fourth, if the date falls inside the term, plan the upgrade now. The fee stops when the upgrade ends.
Do not assume a reservation follows a major-version upgrade. Read the AWS reservation rules for your engine before you upgrade a reserved instance.
How this scales with you
The fee is the same rate for everyone. The number of databases is not.
You may run one or two databases. One database on an old version can cost more in fees than the reservation saves. Check the version before you buy, and write the next fee date in your calendar.
Databases pile up across teams, and each one has its own version and its own date. Keep one list of engine versions next to the list of reservation end dates. Review both at each renewal.
Thousands of instances span many accounts and Regions. Each version has its own start date. An old version left in place is billed on every instance that runs it, so a single missed upgrade date repeats across the fleet.
Where Reserver fits
Reserver records the engine version of each database and cache.
Reserver scans your RDS and ElastiCache resources and stores the engine version of each one. The instance detail page in the app shows it. Reserver does not warn you about Extended Support. You compare the version with the dates above yourself.
A renewal is the moment to check. Use the free Expiry Check tool to see which reservations end soon, then read the renewal playbook. For a related risk, see how old instance families age out under a fixed reservation.
What is RDS Extended Support?
It is a paid service that keeps an RDS database on an engine version after the community ends support for it. AWS applies it by default. You pay an hourly fee for each vCPU while the database stays on that version.
Does a Reserved Instance discount apply to the Extended Support fee?
No. AWS states that RDS Extended Support charges are independent of instance charges, so Reserved Instance discounts do not apply to them. For ElastiCache, AWS states that the RI discount does not apply to Extended Support charges.
Does the fee apply to the Multi-AZ standby?
Yes. AWS states that Extended Support charges apply to Multi-AZ standbys too. A Multi-AZ database pays the fee on both instances.
How do I stop the charge?
Upgrade the database to a major version that AWS still supports, or delete it. The charge stops when the upgrade ends. It starts again if the new version later enters Extended Support.
Can I turn Extended Support off?
For RDS, yes. Set the engine lifecycle support option to open-source-rds-extended-support-disabled when you create, restore, or modify the database. After the end date, RDS upgrades a database with this setting to the next supported major version. Test that upgrade first.
Should I check the engine version before I buy or renew a reservation?
Yes. A reservation lowers the instance price. It does not lower the fee. If the version enters Extended Support during the term, the fee can exceed the saving. A renewal date is a good time to look.
Sources, fetched and confirmed on 2026-10-15: RDS Extended Support charges; RDS for MySQL pricing; ElastiCache Extended Support charges; RDS for MySQL version management; RDS for PostgreSQL release calendar; ElastiCache pricing; and ElastiCache versions with Extended Support.
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