A convertible reserved instance buys you the right to change your mind. A standard reserved instance buys you a deeper discount. This guide explains the gap between them and how to decide which fits each workload.
The difference between convertible and standard reserved instances comes down to one right: the right to exchange the reservation for a different instance configuration during its term. A standard RI gives you the deepest discount AWS offers but locks the configuration; a convertible RI trades a few points of that discount for the freedom to switch families, sizes, and operating systems mid-term. Choosing between them is really a bet on how confident you are in your own forecast.
This guide is part of the complete guide to cloud commitment management, and it narrows in on a decision that AWS buyers face directly. If you are still choosing between RIs and the more flexible savings plans entirely, start with reserved instances vs savings plans vs CUDs; this page assumes you have decided a reserved instance is the right vehicle and now need to pick the type.
A standard reserved instance commits you to a specific instance family, size, region, tenancy, and operating system for a one or three year term, and in return gives the largest discount available, up to roughly 72 percent off on-demand on a three-year all-upfront purchase as of 2026. You cannot change the instance attributes, but you can modify some dimensions (availability zone, scope, and instance size within the same family) and you can sell unused standard RIs on the AWS Reserved Instance Marketplace, an exit covered in selling and exchanging unused reservations.
Standard RIs are the right tool for a workload you are genuinely confident will run on the same instance type for the full term: a stable database, a steady baseline of identical application servers. The deeper rate is real money, and on a rock-stable base it is the better economic choice.
A convertible reserved instance lets you exchange it during the term for one or more convertible RIs of equal or greater value, with a different family, size, OS, or tenancy. That flexibility costs a few percentage points of discount compared with a standard RI. The exchange must be value-neutral or value-positive, so you cannot exchange down to a cheaper commitment and pocket the difference, but you can follow your architecture as it evolves without stranding the reservation.
Convertibles make sense when you believe a workload will stay committed-worthy but expect the underlying instance type to change, for example because you anticipate moving to a newer generation or to Graviton, or because the workload is being actively rightsized. The exchange right is what keeps a convertible from becoming one of the idle commitments that quietly inflate a bill.
| Dimension | Standard RI | Convertible RI |
|---|---|---|
| Max discount | Deepest (up to ~72%, 3-yr all upfront) | Slightly lower (a few points less) |
| Change instance family | No | Yes, via exchange |
| Change size within family | Yes (Linux, Regional) | Yes, via exchange |
| Sell on Marketplace | Yes | No |
| Best for | Rock-stable, unchanging workloads | Stable but evolving architectures |
Figures reflect AWS programs as documented in 2026 and should be confirmed against current AWS pricing before purchase. The structural trade-off, depth versus the right to change, is the durable part.
We separate the rock-stable base from the evolving layer, place standard RIs where the rate is safe and convertibles where change is likely, and ladder the terms. On the performance model, if we do not save you money, there is no fee.
Get a commitment audit →The rule of thumb is straightforward. If you would bet money the instance type will not change for the term, buy standard and take the deeper rate. If there is a real chance you will move families, sizes, or to a new generation, the convertible's exchange right is cheap insurance against stranding the commitment. In practice many AWS buyers now use convertibles for the evolving layer and lean on savings plans for the genuinely fluid fleet, reserving standard RIs for the truly static base.
Whichever type you choose, the sequence is the same one we apply on every engagement: rightsize first so you are not reserving an oversized instance, forecast the stable base, then commit. The full method is in how to build a commitment purchase strategy, and the financial check on whether a reservation pays off at all is in the commitment pillar's break-even guidance.
The convertible-versus-standard decision is one node in a continuous discipline. Read the complete guide to cloud commitment management for the whole portfolio view, and download The Commitment Strategy Playbook: RIs, Savings Plans, CUDs for the worksheets. When you want the portfolio built and maintained for you, see our commitment management service.
New commitment instruments, FOCUS changes, hyperscaler pricing shifts, and the plays that actually move a bill. No schedule, no filler.