AWS c8g.metal-48xlvsAWS c8gn.16xlarge

c8g.metal-48xl pairs 192 vCPUs with 384GB of RAM at $7.6570/hr On-Demand (about $5513/mo at 24×7). c8gn.16xlarge pairs 64 vCPUs with 128GB at $3.7920/hr (~$2730/mo). c8gn.16xlarge is 50% cheaper per hour than c8g.metal-48xl ($3.8650/hr gap).

Both are generation-8 compute-optimized instances, but they run on different silicon: **c8g.metal-48xl** is AWS Graviton (ARM64), **c8gn.16xlarge** is AWS Graviton (ARM64). AMD variants (suffix `a`) are typically 10% cheaper than Intel siblings at comparable single-thread performance. Graviton variants (suffix `g`) are usually 20–40% cheaper but require ARM64-compatible binaries — most modern Linux stacks are fine, but verify any compiled extensions, native modules, or third-party binaries before migrating. Same vCPU/RAM ratio, same network performance class, different processor.

Benchmark data for at least one of these instances is still being collected, so a direct performance-per-dollar comparison isn't possible yet. Sysbench scores are pending for c8g.metal-48xl and 3331/213037 for c8gn.16xlarge. Check back as the benchmark queue completes — newer-generation instances typically score 10–30% higher on single-thread and 15–50% higher on multi-core vs the previous generation in the same series.

In practice, pick c8g.metal-48xl when your workload is closer to compute-optimized (CPU-bound work — batch processing, web servers under sustained load, game servers). Pick c8gn.16xlarge when it's closer to compute-optimized (CPU-bound work — batch processing, web servers under sustained load, game servers). When neither side is obviously right, the cheaper hourly rate usually wins for fault-tolerant batch workloads, while the higher single-core score usually wins for latency-sensitive web traffic. The regional pricing tables linked from each instance page below show where each is currently cheapest — sometimes a >20% regional gap flips the comparison entirely.