AWS c8gd.8xlargevsAWS c8gd.metal-24xl

c8gd.8xlarge pairs 32 vCPUs with 64GB of RAM at $1.5677/hr On-Demand (about $1129/mo at 24×7). c8gd.metal-24xl pairs 96 vCPUs with 192GB at $4.7030/hr (~$3386/mo). c8gd.8xlarge is 200% cheaper per hour than c8gd.metal-24xl ($3.1354/hr gap).

Because both instances are in the **c8gd family**, the only thing that changes between them is sizing — same silicon, same architecture (AWS Graviton (ARM64)), same burstable/sustained behavior. The choice is purely about how much capacity you actually need: c8gd.8xlarge gives you 32 vCPUs and 64GB of RAM, c8gd.metal-24xl gives you 96 vCPUs and 192GB. AWS scales pricing close to linearly within a family, so picking the right size is mostly about right-sizing your workload, not getting a better deal per vCPU.

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 3336/106420 for c8gd.8xlarge and pending for c8gd.metal-24xl. 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 c8gd.8xlarge when your workload is closer to compute-optimized (CPU-bound work — batch processing, web servers under sustained load, game servers). Pick c8gd.metal-24xl 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.