PricingNest

Bandwidth Cost Calculator

Estimate egress/bandwidth cost and a recommended price using your own per-GB costs, fixed overhead, and target gross margin.

Inputs

Scenarios

Applies to the selected input only; adjust other inputs manually if needed.

Results

Estimated monthly cost
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Recommended monthly price
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Effective price per GB
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Gross margin
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Insights

Auto-generated from your inputs.
Adjust inputs to see recommendations.

Compare

Save a baseline to see deltas for every output.
Estimated monthly cost
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Delta -
Recommended monthly price
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Delta -
Effective price per GB
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Delta -
Gross margin
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Delta -

Sensitivity

Adjust the input to see how outputs respond to small changes.
Estimated monthly cost
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Base -
High -
Recommended monthly price
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Effective price per GB
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Gross margin
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Guide

This page is a calculator first, but it's also a quick reference you can share internally. Start with the presets, then adjust inputs and copy the share link. Example defaults for this tool are shown below.

Example Inputs Outputs How it works Modeling tips Validation checks Common mistakes Interpretation Use cases Mini walkthroughs Scenarios Edge cases FAQ

Example (defaults)

Example inputs: GB egress per month = 2000, Cost per GB = 0.03, Monthly fixed cost = 300

Estimated monthly cost
$360.00
Recommended monthly price
$1,800.00
Effective price per GB
$0.90
Gross margin
80%

Inputs explained

Input Default Notes
Currency USD Adjust to match your product assumptions.
GB egress per month 2000 Adjust to match your product assumptions.
Cost per GB 0.03 Adjust to match your product assumptions.
Monthly fixed cost 300 Adjust to match your product assumptions.
Target gross margin (%) 80 Adjust to match your product assumptions.

Outputs explained

Output What it means
Estimated monthly cost A money value based on your selected currency.
Recommended monthly price A money value based on your selected currency.
Effective price per GB A money value based on your selected currency.
Gross margin A percentage value derived from the inputs.

How it works

  • Bandwidth variable cost = GB per month x cost per GB.
  • Monthly cost = bandwidth variable cost + fixed overhead.
  • Recommended price = monthly cost / (1 - target margin).

Modeling tips

  • Use a blended egress cost per GB across regions and CDNs.
  • Model average monthly GB, not peak traffic spikes.
  • Include CDN request costs in fixed overhead if they are material.
  • Apply commitment discounts by lowering the blended cost per GB.
  • Test a high-traffic scenario to confirm margins hold at scale.
  • If you have free transfer, subtract it before entering GB.

Validation checks

  • Effective price per GB should exceed cost per GB at your target margin.
  • Recommended price should be greater than or equal to monthly cost.
  • If fixed cost is zero, confirm you are not missing support overhead.
  • Monthly cost should equal GB per month x cost per GB plus fixed overhead.

Common mistakes

  • Using list egress pricing instead of blended rates.
  • Mixing internal transfer with billable egress.
  • Ignoring regional cost differences.
  • Forgetting free transfer allowances or CDN credits.
  • Leaving out request fees that are material.

Interpretation

  • Use effective price per GB to set overage rates or a separate line item.
  • If prices look high, improve cache hit rates or reduce egress costs.
  • Consider regional pricing if costs vary materially.
  • Pair bandwidth with storage pricing to avoid double counting.

Use cases

CDN pricing
Estimate margin-safe bandwidth pricing for content delivery.
High-traffic tiers
Model pricing for customers with large monthly egress.

Mini walkthroughs

Egress pricing baseline
  1. Enter monthly GB and blended cost per GB.
  2. Add fixed overhead and margin target.
  3. Review effective price per GB.
Cost sensitivity
  1. Increase cost per GB for a high-cost region.
  2. Check the recommended price impact.
  3. Decide if regional pricing is needed.

Scenarios

Low egress plan
500 GB per month to model a starter plan with low traffic.
High egress plan
2 TB per month to test pricing for bandwidth-heavy customers.
Multi-region traffic
Increase cost per GB to reflect higher-cost regions or CDN mix.
CDN offload
Lower cost per GB to model improved cache hit rates.

Edge cases

  • If GB per month is 0, the model only reflects fixed overhead.
  • If cost per GB is 0, confirm CDN or egress pricing is not missing.
  • If target margin is too high, price may exceed market benchmarks.
  • If cost per GB spikes in a region, consider region-specific pricing.

FAQ

Is this a CDN pricing calculator?
It's a cost and price estimator. Enter your own per-GB costs and assumptions.
What cost per GB should I use?
Use a blended egress cost per GB after discounts, tiers, and CDN mix. If you have multiple regions, use a weighted average.
Should I include origin fetch and request costs?
If request pricing is meaningful for your workload, include it in fixed overhead or model it separately and add it to the monthly cost.
How do I handle free CDN tiers?
Treat free tiers as a lower blended cost per GB or subtract a fixed free allowance before pricing.
What if bandwidth is a pass-through cost?
Use a lower target margin or price bandwidth as a separate line item to keep usage transparent.