AWS r8gb.12xlargevsAWS r8gb.2xlarge

r8gb.12xlarge pairs 48 vCPUs with 384GB of RAM at $4.3723/hr On-Demand (about $3148/mo at 24×7). r8gb.2xlarge pairs 8 vCPUs with 64GB at $0.7287/hr (~$525/mo). r8gb.2xlarge is 83% cheaper per hour than r8gb.12xlarge ($3.6436/hr gap).

Because both instances are in the **r8gb 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: r8gb.12xlarge gives you 48 vCPUs and 384GB of RAM, r8gb.2xlarge gives you 8 vCPUs and 64GB. 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 pending for r8gb.12xlarge and 3350/26759 for r8gb.2xlarge. 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 r8gb.12xlarge when your workload is closer to memory-optimized (memory-bound work — in-memory databases, real-time analytics, large caches). Pick r8gb.2xlarge when it's closer to memory-optimized (memory-bound work — in-memory databases, real-time analytics, large caches). 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.