c5n.xlargeAWS Pricing, Specs & Benchmarks

The c5n family is a generation-5 compute-optimized line running on Intel Xeon (x86_64). c5n.xlarge provides 4 vCPUs and 10.5GB of RAM (a 1:3 vCPU-to-memory ratio), priced at $0.2160/hr On-Demand — about $155.52 per month at 24×7 utilization. In Sysbench CPU benchmarks it scores 1159 single-core and 3500 multi-core.

Compute-optimized instances are sized for CPU-bound web servers, batch processing, scientific computing, game servers, ad-serving, and any workload that sits near 100% CPU for extended periods. If your workload doesn't match that profile — for example, if you're running a memory-bound app on a compute-optimized instance, or a CPU-pegged batch job on a burstable t-series — you'll likely pay for capacity you can't use or run into bottlenecks you didn't anticipate. The pages for sibling families (linked further down) cover those alternatives in detail.

In the AWS instance-naming convention, the digit after the series letter is the generation — higher is newer. This appears to be one of AWS's newer generations in the series, so for most fresh workloads it's a reasonable default within its category. The family suffix tells you about hardware variants: "n" = enhanced networking (typically 25–100 Gbps depending on size).

Pricing varies by region (sometimes meaningfully — the gap between the cheapest and most expensive AWS region for the same SKU is often 15–30%). The regional pricing table further down shows where c5n.xlarge is cheapest today, both On-Demand and Spot. Spot pricing for c5n.xlarge is currently $0.0872/hr — roughly 60% off On-Demand — which makes the instance viable for fault-tolerant batch jobs, CI fleets, and any workload that can tolerate interruption with short notice.