See how quickly a one-off cost, such as migrating to a cheaper host or prepaying a reserved commitment, is recovered by the yearly saving it produces.
Enter the one-off cost of the change and the yearly saving it produces. The tool subtracts any credits, then adds up the saving year by year (growing it by the percentage you enter) until it covers the net cost. Net saving over the period = total savings within the horizon − net one-off cost.
Migration (default, illustrative): moving three servers to a cheaper provider costs $6,000 (contractor time, testing and two months of running both environments). The new provider offers $1,000 of migration credits, so the net cost is $5,000. The monthly bill drops by $350, a saving of $4,200 a year. Payback = $5,000 ÷ $4,200 = about 1.2 years. Over three years you save $12,600 − $5,000 = $7,600.
All-upfront commitment: to test prepaying a one-year reservation, enter the prepayment as the cost and the yearly on-demand price you would otherwise pay as the saving, with a one-year horizon. A positive net saving means the prepayment is cheaper than staying on demand, provided you use the server all year. For partial-upfront and no-upfront commitments, compare monthly costs directly as shown in the commitment payback guide.
Limits: the calculator does not discount future savings, model a commitment you stop using, or include the exit cost of leaving the new provider later. Include overlap months, data transfer for the move and staff time in the one-off cost. Figures are illustrative and ex GST.
Bill shocks, exits and official sources
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Worked estimates and choosing a host
Illustrative payback arithmetic for no-upfront, all-upfront and three-year cloud commitments, the break-even month if you stop using the server, and a migration payback example.
Bill shocks, exits and official sources
The one-off costs of moving to a new host or cloud provider, from planning and data transfer to overlap months and DNS cutover, an illustrative budget, payback test and common failure points.
Prices, bill drivers and 2026 rules
How on-demand, reserved instances, savings plans, committed-use discounts and spot capacity differ, how to size a commitment, and an illustrative break-even for a small business.
