RDS Extended Support for PostgreSQL: What It Costs and the Alternatives

The short answer

Amazon RDS Extended Support lets you keep running a PostgreSQL major version on Amazon RDS after the RDS end of standard support date. It is an additional charge on top of the normal RDS instance cost. In US East (N. Virginia) the extended support pricing is $0.100 per vCPU-hour in years 1 and 2 and $0.200 per vCPU-hour in year 3. The rate is the same for RDS for PostgreSQL and for Aurora PostgreSQL provisioned instances.

The charge applies to every vCPU on every instance that runs the old major version: the primary, the standby in a Multi-AZ deployment, both readable standbys in a Multi-AZ DB cluster, and every read replica. Reserved Instance discounts do not apply to it. A two-vCPU instance pays $0.20 an hour, roughly $146 a month, whatever its size in memory, and $292 a month once year 3 pricing starts.

The ways out: upgrade to a major version in standard support, or leave RDS for a self-managed database you patch yourself. The numbers come first, because the bill decides how fast either has to happen.

Which PostgreSQL versions are in RDS Extended Support

AWS publishes the dates in the release calendar for Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL. As of 28 September 2026:

Two things catch people out. Version 11 is already on year 3 pricing, and its extended support ends on 31 March 2027, after which RDS upgrades any remaining databases automatically. Version 14 reaches community end of life on 12 November 2026, but RDS standard support for it runs to 28 February 2027, so no charge starts until 1 March 2027.

The eligible minor versions on RDS are 11.22, 12.22 and 13.23. AWS ships its own patched builds on top, such as 13.23-rds.20260224, since the community releases nothing further for a retired major version. To check the dates from the AWS CLI:

aws rds describe-db-major-engine-versions --engine postgres \
  --query "DBMajorEngineVersions[].[MajorEngineVersion,SupportedEngineLifecycles]"

How RDS Extended Support charges work

Charges begin the day after the end of standard support date for any enrolled database. The pricing model has three inputs: vCPU count, AWS Region, and how many years past standard support the version is. Memory, storage, I/O and data transfer costs do not change it.

Enrolment is where accidental bills come from. Create or restore a DB instance through the AWS CLI, the RDS API or CloudFormation without setting the option, and RDS defaults to open-source-rds-extended-support. The console checkbox is off by default, but most estates are built with automation. Restoring an old RDS snapshot is a common route in: the new instance runs the snapshot's major version and is enrolled unless you say otherwise.

The charge stops when you upgrade to a version in standard support or delete the database. It restarts if that version later passes its own end of standard support date.

Worked cost: what RDS Extended Support costs per instance

The figures below use the us-east-1 price list and 730 hours per month. The instance column is the Single-AZ on-demand price for RDS for PostgreSQL, shown so you can see the extended support charge against it.

For a db.r6g.large, extended support adds about 89% to the instance cost in years 1 and 2 and about 178% in year 3. Small burstable instances fare worse: a db.t3.medium on version 11 costs $0.072 an hour, and $0.40 an hour for extended support on year 3 pricing. The support charge is more than five times the database it supports.

Does Multi-AZ double the extended support cost?

Yes. AWS charges RDS Extended Support on the primary and the standby of a Multi-AZ DB instance, and on the primary and both readable standbys of a Multi-AZ DB cluster. Read replicas running the same major version are charged too. For a db.r6g.2xlarge:

Scale that to an estate. As an illustration, ten Multi-AZ db.r6g.xlarge instances on version 13 are 80 charged vCPUs: $8 an hour, or $70,080 a year in years 1 and 2, rising to $140,160 in year 3. RDS Reserved Instances you already hold reduce none of it.

Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL

Amazon Aurora follows the same calendar for Aurora PostgreSQL 11 to 14, and provisioned instances pay the same $0.100 and $0.200 per vCPU-hour, on each instance, so readers add to it. Aurora Serverless v2 is billed per ACU-hour instead: $0.085 per ACU-hour in years 1 and 2 and $0.170 in year 3 in us-east-1. A Serverless v2 cluster that averages 8 ACUs would add about $496 a month, then about $993 a month in year 3.

How to find and monitor RDS Extended Support charges

• Find enrolled databases. aws rds describe-db-instances returns EngineLifecycleSupport for each instance. The value open-source-rds-extended-support means enrolled. Pair it with EngineVersion to see which ones are actually being charged.
• Watch the bill. In AWS Cost Explorer or the AWS Cost and Usage Report, filter usage types that contain ExtendedSupport. The usage type names the year band and engine version, for example ExtendedSupport:Yr1-Yr2:PostgreSQL13.
• Estimate before it lands. Multiply total vCPUs across primaries, standbys and replicas by the hourly rate and 730, and add it to your AWS Pricing Calculator estimate.
• Stop new ones. Set --engine-lifecycle-support open-source-rds-extended-support-disabled in your create and restore automation. After the end of standard support date, a create with that setting fails instead of quietly enrolling.

The alternatives to paying RDS Extended Support

1. Upgrade the major version

This is what the fee is designed to push you towards, and for most databases it is the right answer. The upgrade itself is routine on RDS: in place, or through an RDS Blue/Green deployment for a short, rehearsed cutover. The real work is elsewhere: extensions updated in step, query plans that change, and ISV products certified only on the old version. Jumping straight to 16 or 17 beats stepping to 14, which only buys time until 1 March 2027. Our PostgreSQL major version upgrade guide covers the sequence.

2. Pay RDS Extended Support for a planned period

Extended support is a reasonable cost when it is a line item with an end date, used to extend the runway for one specific upgrade. It includes security updates for critical and high CVEs, fixes for critical bugs, and normal AWS Support cases. Budget it per database, set the upgrade date, and track it. What it does not do is remove the deadline: extended support ends three years after the end of standard support, and RDS then upgrades whatever is left.

3. Move to self-managed PostgreSQL with patched builds

Run the old major version yourself, on EC2 or on-premises, with a supported build that has security fixes backported. This fits when the database cannot move within the RDS window, when the extended support bill across many vCPUs exceeds a support contract, or when you are leaving RDS anyway. The trade-off: you take back backups, failover, monitoring and patching. For a handful of small instances that is rarely worth it. For a large estate with a product pinned to version 11 or 12, it often is.

Where OSSeva fits

OSSeva provides patched builds and support for PostgreSQL 11, 12, 13 and 14 after community end of life, and helps plan and run the major version upgrade so the extended period has a real end. See PostgreSQL end-of-life support, and the dates for PostgreSQL 14, PostgreSQL 13 and PostgreSQL 11.

Frequently asked questions

How much does RDS Extended Support cost for PostgreSQL?

In us-east-1, $0.100 per vCPU-hour in the two years after standard support ends, and $0.200 per vCPU-hour in year 3. Other AWS Regions have their own rates, so check the pricing page for yours.

Do RDS Reserved Instances reduce extended support charges?

No. Reserved Instance discounts apply to the instance cost only. The extended support charge is billed separately at the published rate.

Will I be charged for read replicas?

Yes. RDS read replicas on a major version past standard support incur extended support charges per vCPU, like any other instance.

If I create a new instance on PostgreSQL 13 today, will I pay extended support?

Yes, if it is enrolled, which is the default through the AWS CLI and the RDS API. With extended support disabled, the create fails instead.

Does RDS Extended Support also cover MySQL?

Yes. RDS for MySQL is covered by the same programme. RDS for MySQL 5.7 was enrolled automatically when its standard support ended on 29 February 2024, and charges began on 1 March 2024.