GP3 throughput formulas
Workload throughput equals IOPS multiplied by average I/O size. Divide KiB per second by 1,024 for MiB/s. Effective throughput uses the smallest active system performance limit.
Workload throughput (MiB/s) = IOPS × I/O size (KiB) ÷ 1,024
Effective throughput = min(workload demand, gp3 throughput, EC2 limit, IOPS-derived limit) × efficiency
Required IOPS = target throughput × 1,024 ÷ I/O size
Transfer time = data size (MiB) ÷ effective throughput (MiB/s)Cost combines storage, additional IOPS, and additional throughput charges. Baseline allowances are removed before calculating additional performance costs. Regional prices should always replace the example rates shown.
How to use this calculator
- Select the regional or Outposts gp3 platform.
- Enter per-volume capacity, IOPS, and throughput.
- Describe workload IOPS, I/O size, and read ratio.
- Add volume count, aggregation efficiency, and instance limits.
- Enter transfer data, duration, and editable regional prices.
- Optionally add CloudWatch totals for observed comparisons.
- Calculate and review bottlenecks, costs, and recommendations.
Sample gp3 configurations
| Workload | Volume size | IOPS | Throughput | I/O size | Expected focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boot volume | 80 GiB | 3,000 | 125 MiB/s | 16 KiB | Balanced baseline |
| Database | 500 GiB | 12,000 | 500 MiB/s | 16 KiB | IOPS sensitivity |
| Analytics | 2 TiB | 16,000 | 1,500 MiB/s | 128 KiB | Sequential throughput |
| Backup | 4 TiB | 8,000 | 2,000 MiB/s | 256 KiB | Large transfers |
GP3 throughput questions
What is gp3 throughput?
It measures sequential data delivery in MiB each second. Provisioned throughput works independently from storage capacity. Actual speed still depends on workload and instance limits.
How does I/O size affect throughput?
Larger operations transfer more data during each I/O. Small operations may reach IOPS limits first. Workload design determines which performance limit becomes active.
Why can effective throughput be below provisioned throughput?
The instance, IOPS, or workload may impose lower limits. Software overhead can also reduce delivered performance. This calculator applies each entered limit before reporting throughput.
Does gp3 require burst credits?
GP3 performance is provisioned without the gp2 credit model. Workloads can use configured performance consistently. Instance limits and workload behavior still affect results.
Why are pricing fields editable?
Storage and performance prices can vary by region. Rates may also change over time. Editable fields prevent one fixed estimate from misleading users.
Can multiple gp3 volumes increase throughput?
Parallel volumes can increase aggregate throughput and IOPS. Applications must distribute traffic across those volumes. The EC2 instance remains an important upper performance boundary.
What does RAID efficiency represent?
It estimates overhead from mirroring, striping, and coordination. Real efficiency changes with workload and implementation. Enter measured efficiency whenever production data is available.
What CloudWatch data should I enter?
Use read bytes, write bytes, read operations, and write operations. All totals must cover the same period. Latency and queue values provide additional pressure signals.
What is the difference between MB/s and MiB/s?
MB uses decimal units based on one million bytes. MiB uses binary units based on 1,048,576 bytes. Storage performance documentation commonly reports MiB each second.
Can this calculator select an EC2 instance?
It identifies required aggregate EBS throughput and IOPS. Compare those requirements with current instance specifications. Choose an instance that preserves suitable performance headroom.
Are results guaranteed production performance?
No model can guarantee every production workload result. Filesystems, queues, applications, and networks introduce overhead. Validate important configurations with representative performance testing first.