RDS Extended Support: are you paying it, and what will it cost?

The calendar: versions with dates in 2026 and 2027

Charges start on the "year 1–2 pricing" date and rise on the "year 3 pricing" date.

So as of October 2026, every database on RDS for PostgreSQL 11, 12 or 13, RDS for MySQL 5.7 or 8.0, Aurora PostgreSQL 11, 12 or 13, or Aurora MySQL version 2 is paying Extended Support. PostgreSQL 11 (RDS and Aurora) and RDS for MySQL 5.7 are already on the year-3 rate. Aurora MySQL version 3 (MySQL 8.0) stays in standard support until April 30, 2028.

What it costs per vCPU (us-east-1)

• Every instance pays: AWS charges the Multi-AZ standby too, so a Multi-AZ DB instance pays for twice its vCPUs. Read replicas and Aurora reader instances each pay for their own vCPUs. Reserved instance discounts don't apply to Extended Support.
• Aurora Serverless v2 is charged per ACU-hour instead: for Aurora PostgreSQL 13, $0.085 in years 1–2 and $0.170 in year 3.
• Not yet published: AWS's price list has no us-east-1 rate yet for RDS for PostgreSQL 14 or Aurora PostgreSQL 14, whose charges start Mar 1, 2027. For Aurora MySQL version 2, the calendar starts year-3 pricing on Dec 1, 2026, but the price list has no year-3 rate for it in us-east-1 or most other regions.
• Other regions cost more. For RDS for PostgreSQL 12 in years 1–2: $0.100 in us-east-2 and us-west-2, $0.108 in ca-central-1, $0.112 in eu-west-1, $0.122 in eu-central-1, $0.120 in ap-northeast-1 and ap-southeast-2, and $0.210 in sa-east-1. Year 3 is about double.

A worked example

A db.m5.large (2 vCPUs) running RDS for PostgreSQL 12, Multi-AZ, in us-east-1. The instance itself costs $0.356 an hour Multi-AZ, or $259.88 a month.

• Today (years 1–2): 2 vCPUs × 2 (primary and standby) × $0.100 × 730 hours = $292.00 a month, more than the instance.
• From Mar 1, 2027 (year 3): 2 × 2 × $0.200 × 730 = $584.00 a month, $7,008 a year.

An Aurora MySQL version 2 cluster with a writer and a reader on db.r6g.xlarge (4 vCPUs each) pays 8 × $0.100 × 730 = $584.00 a month today.

How to check your databases

In the RDS console, open Databases. The RDS Extended Support column shows whether each database is enrolled; if the column is missing, turn it on under the Preferences icon. Each database's Configuration tab shows its engine version, and its enrollment under Extended Support. Enrollment alone doesn't mean you're paying: charges start only when the version reaches the end of standard support. From the CLI, in each region you use:

aws rds describe-db-instances --region us-east-1 \
  --query 'DBInstances[].[DBInstanceIdentifier,Engine,EngineVersion,DBInstanceClass,MultiAZ,EngineLifecycleSupport]' \
  --output table

For Aurora, enrollment is set on the cluster:

aws rds describe-db-clusters --region us-east-1 \
  --query 'DBClusters[].[DBClusterIdentifier,Engine,EngineVersion,EngineLifecycleSupport]' \
  --output table

open-source-rds-extended-support means enrolled; open-source-rds-extended-support-disabled means opted out. To see the support dates AWS holds for a major version, run aws rds describe-db-major-engine-versions --engine postgres (or mysql).

To see what you've already paid: in Cost Explorer, group by Usage type and look for usage types containing ExtendedSupport, such as ExtendedSupport:Yr1-Yr2:PostgreSQL12 in us-east-1. Other regions add a prefix, as in USE2-ExtendedSupport:Yr1-Yr2:PostgreSQL12.

How to upgrade

1. Pick a target. List the versions your database can upgrade to directly:

   aws rds describe-db-engine-versions --engine postgres --engine-version 12.22 \
     --query "DBEngineVersions[*].ValidUpgradeTarget[*].{EngineVersion:EngineVersion}" --output text

   AWS's upgrade tables list PostgreSQL 17 and 18 as direct targets from current PostgreSQL 11 to 15 versions, on both RDS and Aurora. RDS for MySQL upgrades one major version at a time: 5.7 to 8.0, then 8.0 to 8.4. Since 8.0 is itself in Extended Support, a 5.7 database needs both steps. Aurora MySQL version 2 upgrades in place to version 3.
2. Test on a copy. Major versions can change behavior and break applications, so AWS recommends testing the upgrade before production: restore a snapshot and upgrade that, or create an RDS Blue/Green Deployment. Most PostgreSQL extensions aren't upgraded with the engine and need upgrading separately, and a custom parameter group needs a matching one for the new version.
3. Upgrade. RDS for PostgreSQL or MySQL: Modify → DB engine version. Aurora: modify the cluster, or use aws rds modify-db-cluster --engine-version ... --allow-major-version-upgrade. An in-place major version upgrade takes the database offline while it runs, so schedule a window. With a Blue/Green Deployment you upgrade the green copy, then switch over; AWS says the switchover typically takes under a minute.
4. Stop it happening silently next time. Create databases with --engine-lifecycle-support open-source-rds-extended-support-disabled where you'd rather upgrade than pay. Be careful setting it on an existing database: if that database is already past its end of standard support, AWS upgrades it to the next supported major version straight away.

EKS has extended support too

Amazon EKS gives each Kubernetes version 14 months of standard support, then 12 months of extended support. A cluster costs $0.10 an hour in standard support and $0.60 an hour in extended support, so staying on an old version adds $365 a month per cluster ($0.50 × 730). Extended support is on by default, billing starts at the beginning of the end-of-standard-support day (UTC), and when extended support ends, EKS upgrades the cluster automatically.

Check a cluster's version with aws eks describe-cluster --name my-cluster --query cluster.version. The checkup doesn't check EKS.

Sources

• Calendars: Release calendar for Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL; Supported MySQL major versions on Amazon RDS (release calendar); Release calendars for Aurora PostgreSQL; Release calendars for Aurora MySQL.
• Rates: AWS Price List API, Amazon RDS offers for every region, version published October 1, 2026. us-east-1 usage types ExtendedSupport:Yr1-Yr2: and ExtendedSupport:Yr3: for PostgreSQL11, PostgreSQL12, PostgreSQL13, MySQL5.7, MySQL8.0, AuroraPostgreSQL11, AuroraPostgreSQL12, AuroraPostgreSQL13: $0.100 and $0.200 per vCPU-hour; ExtendedSupport:Yr1-Yr2:AuroraMySQL2 $0.100; ASv2-ExtendedSupport:Yr1-Yr2:AuroraPostgreSQL13 $0.085 and ASv2-ExtendedSupport:Yr3:AuroraPostgreSQL13 $0.170 per ACU-hour. Regional rates for PostgreSQL12 years 1–2 from the same offers. Per-vCPU and per-ACU billing: RDS for PostgreSQL pricing, RDS for MySQL pricing, Aurora pricing.
• db.m5.large PostgreSQL Multi-AZ $0.356 an hour (us-east-1, same Price List offer). vCPUs: Hardware specifications for DB instance classes (db.m5.large 2, db.r6g.xlarge 4).
• Charges, standbys and how they stop: Amazon RDS Extended Support charges, the Aurora equivalent, Amazon RDS Extended Support with Amazon RDS (automatic enrollment and automatic upgrade), Viewing enrollment, Viewing support dates, CreateDBInstance (EngineLifecycleSupport values). Replicas, readers and standbys all charged, no reserved instance discount, and the ExtendedSupport usage type in Cost Explorer: Estimating the charges for Amazon RDS Extended Support (AWS Cloud Financial Management blog).
• Upgrades: Choosing a major version for an RDS for PostgreSQL upgrade, Aurora PostgreSQL upgrade targets, Performing an Aurora PostgreSQL major version upgrade, Major version upgrades for RDS for MySQL, Upgrading the major version of an Aurora MySQL DB cluster, Overview of Amazon RDS Blue/Green Deployments.
• EKS: Understand the Kubernetes version lifecycle on EKS (calendar, billing start, automatic upgrade); Amazon EKS pricing ($0.10 and $0.60 per cluster per hour).
• 730 hours a month: AWS Pricing Calculator assumptions

Dates and prices checked October 3, 2026. AWS updates its calendars and price list; check the sources before you plan around a date.