Magento AWS Hosting: Architecture, Costs & Performance Guide 2026
Your Magento store runs slow because the server can't keep up. Not because of bad code. AWS fixes that, but only with the right architecture.
This guide shows you the exact AWS setup, real costs, and performance data from 5,000+ production Magento stores.
Key Takeaways
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Learn the exact AWS services, instance types, and configurations that power production Magento stores in 2026.
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See real cost breakdowns by store size, from $40/month to $4,000+/month, with specific EC2, database, and cache recommendations.
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Understand why Graviton ARM processors run PHP up to 40% faster than x86, and how that cuts your AWS bill by 20%.
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Follow architecture blueprints for small, medium, and enterprise Magento stores on AWS infrastructure.
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Avoid the 5 most common mistakes that destroy Magento performance on AWS cloud hosting.
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Compare Adobe Commerce Cloud ($40K+/year) vs self-hosted AWS to find the right option for your ecommerce store.
Your Magento store runs slow because the server can't keep up. Not because of bad code. AWS fixes that, but only with the right architecture.
This guide shows you the exact AWS setup, real costs, and performance data from 5,000+ production Magento stores.
TL;DR
Magento AWS hosting = Running your Magento ecommerce store on Amazon Web Services cloud infrastructure. It offers auto scaling, high availability, and sub-second page loads, but requires proper architecture to deliver results.
Perfect for: Growing ecommerce stores, businesses with traffic spikes, stores needing PCI DSS compliance, teams wanting managed hosting without vendor lock-in.
Not ideal for: Small hobby stores under 100 orders/month, teams without DevOps experience (unless using managed AWS hosting).
What is Magento AWS Hosting?
Magento AWS hosting means running your Magento 2 store on Amazon Web Services cloud infrastructure instead of traditional shared or dedicated servers.
AWS provides the compute power (EC2 instances), databases (Aurora/RDS), caching (ElastiCache), CDN (CloudFront), and security services (WAF, Shield) that Magento needs. You build a multi-tier architecture where each component scales on its own.
The key difference from traditional hosting: AWS lets you scale from 1 server to 50+ servers in minutes. During Black Friday or flash sales, auto scaling adds capacity based on real demand. When traffic drops, it scales back down. You pay for what you use.
Adobe chose AWS as the platform for Adobe Commerce on Cloud Infrastructure. That's not a coincidence. AWS has the widest range of Magento-tested services, the most mature Graviton ARM processors for PHP workloads, and the largest community of Magento hosting experts.
For store owners looking for a complete Magento hosting solution on AWS, managed providers handle the infrastructure setup, monitoring, and maintenance. You get the AWS performance advantage without building the architecture yourself.
The 2026 Magento AWS Stack
The AWS reference architecture for Magento is outdated. It still recommends PHP 7.4, MySQL 5.6, and Elasticsearch. None of these are supported in Magento 2.4.8 (released April 2025).
Here is the modern 2026 stack that production stores run:
| Component | 2026 Recommendation | Replaces |
|---|---|---|
| PHP | 8.3 or 8.4 on NGINX | PHP 7.4 (EOL) |
| Processor | AWS Graviton4 (ARM) | Intel/AMD x86 |
| Database | Amazon Aurora MySQL or RDS MySQL 8.0 | MySQL 5.6 (EOL) |
| Search | Amazon OpenSearch 2.19 | Elasticsearch (removed in 2.4.8) |
| Cache | ElastiCache Valkey or Redis 7.x | Redis 6.x |
| Full-Page Cache | Varnish 7.4 on EC2 | Varnish 6.5 |
| CDN | Amazon CloudFront with Origin Shield | Basic CDN |
| Message Queue | Amazon MQ (RabbitMQ 3.12) | No queue |
| Storage | S3 for media, EFS for shared code | EBS only |
| Security | AWS WAF v2 + Shield + GuardDuty | Basic firewall |
Why this matters: Stores still running the old stack miss 40% performance gains from Graviton, 5x faster database queries from Aurora, and 20-33% cache cost savings from Valkey. The 2026 stack is not about new features. It is about catching up with what AWS has shipped in the last three years.
Architecture by Store Size
Every guide says "it depends." This one gives you concrete numbers.
The architecture below comes from operating 5,000+ Magento stores on AWS. These are not theoretical setups. They are production configurations with real cost data.
Small Store (Under 1,000 Orders/Day)
Best for stores with under 5,000 SKUs and less than 20,000 monthly visitors.
| Service | Instance/Config | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| EC2 Web (1x) | c7g.large (Graviton4) | ~$50 |
| EC2 Varnish (1x) | t4g.large | ~$48 |
| EC2 Admin/Cron (1x) | t4g.medium | ~$24 |
| RDS MySQL | db.t4g.medium (Multi-AZ) | ~$100 |
| ElastiCache Valkey | cache.t4g.medium | ~$45 |
| OpenSearch | t3.medium.search | ~$45 |
| ALB (2x) | Standard | ~$44 |
| S3 + EFS | 50 GB + 20 GB | ~$8 |
| CloudFront | 100 GB transfer | ~$10 |
| Total | ~$374/month |
Medium Store (1,000 to 5,000 Orders/Day)
For stores with 5,000 to 50,000 SKUs and up to 200,000 monthly visitors.
| Service | Instance/Config | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| EC2 Web (2x ASG) | c7g.xlarge (Graviton4) | ~$200 |
| EC2 Varnish (2x ASG) | c7g.large | ~$100 |
| EC2 Admin/Cron (1x) | m7g.large | ~$55 |
| Aurora MySQL | db.r7g.large (Multi-AZ) | ~$350 |
| ElastiCache Valkey | cache.r7g.large | ~$110 |
| OpenSearch | m7g.large.search (2 nodes) | ~$180 |
| ALB (2x) | Standard | ~$60 |
| S3 + EFS | 200 GB + 50 GB | ~$20 |
| CloudFront | 500 GB transfer | ~$45 |
| Amazon MQ | mq.m5.large | ~$30 |
| Total | ~$1,150/month |
Enterprise Store (5,000+ Orders/Day)
For stores with 50,000+ SKUs, 200,000+ monthly visitors, and flash sale traffic spikes.
| Service | Instance/Config | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| EC2 Web (4-8x ASG) | c7g.2xlarge (Graviton4) | ~$800-$1,600 |
| EC2 Varnish (2-4x ASG) | c7g.xlarge | ~$200-$400 |
| EC2 Admin/Cron (1x) | m7g.xlarge | ~$120 |
| Aurora MySQL | db.r7g.xlarge (Multi-AZ + 2 Read Replicas) | ~$800 |
| ElastiCache Valkey | cache.r7g.xlarge (cluster) | ~$300 |
| OpenSearch | r7g.xlarge.search (3 nodes) | ~$450 |
| ALB (2x) | Standard | ~$100 |
| S3 + EFS | 1 TB + 100 GB | ~$75 |
| CloudFront | 2 TB transfer | ~$170 |
| WAF + Shield | Standard tier | ~$50 |
| Total | ~$3,065-$4,065/month |
All prices: US East (N. Virginia), On-Demand, as of February 2026. European regions (eu-central-1) are 15-25% higher. With 1-year Savings Plans or Reserved Instances, expect 35-60% lower costs. See our AWS hosting cost guide for detailed pricing breakdowns.
Need help choosing the right architecture for your store? Request a free AWS architecture consultation and get a custom recommendation based on your traffic, catalog size, and growth plans.
Why Graviton Changes Everything for Magento
AWS Graviton processors are ARM-based chips designed by Amazon. Most Magento hosts still use Intel or AMD. That is a mistake.
Here is what Graviton delivers for Magento workloads:
| Metric | Graviton4 (ARM) | Intel x86 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHP-FPM throughput | 40% higher | Baseline | Graviton wins |
| Instance cost | 20% lower | Baseline | Graviton wins |
| vCPU architecture | Full physical core | Hyper-threaded | More consistent performance |
| Price-performance | Up to 60% better | Baseline | Graviton wins |
Why PHP runs faster on Graviton: Each Graviton vCPU is a full physical core, not a hyper-threaded slice. PHP-FPM worker pools benefit from this because each worker gets dedicated compute. AWS also contributed NEON instruction optimizations to PCRE2 (PHP's regex library), boosting regex performance by up to 8x on ARM.
The right EC2 instances for Magento on Graviton:
| Workload | Instance Family | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Web servers (PHP-FPM) | C7g (Compute Optimized) | Best PHP throughput per dollar |
| General purpose / Admin | M7g (General Purpose) | Balanced compute and memory |
| Large catalogs / Indexing | R7g (Memory Optimized) | 1:8 CPU to memory ratio for heavy queries |
| Dev / Staging | T4g (Burstable) | Cost-effective for non-production |
Graviton5 (M9g instances) has been in preview since December 2025. Early benchmarks show 25-35% higher performance compared to Graviton4. C9g and R9g variants are expected later in 2026. For production Magento setups, Graviton4 (C7g, M7g, R7g) remains the most stable and tested choice today. Plan for Graviton5 migration once general availability is confirmed.
Essential AWS Services for Magento Stores
Running Magento on AWS is not about picking one service. It is about building a multi-tier architecture where each layer handles a specific job.
Here is the request flow for a production Magento store on AWS:
User Request → CloudFront (CDN) → ALB (Load Balancer) → Varnish (Page Cache) → NGINX + PHP-FPM (Application) → Aurora (Database) + ElastiCache (Object Cache) + OpenSearch (Search)
Amazon Aurora MySQL
Aurora is up to 5x faster than standard MySQL for Magento workloads. It stores 6 copies of your data across 3 Availability Zones. Failover takes about 30 seconds, compared to 60-120 seconds with standard RDS.
Use Aurora for medium and large stores. For small stores, standard RDS MySQL 8.0 with Multi-AZ provides enough performance at lower cost. Read more in our Aurora auto-scaling guide.
ElastiCache (Valkey/Redis)
Magento uses three separate cache databases:
- DB 0: Default cache (config, layout, block output)
- DB 1: Full-page cache (for stores not using Varnish FPC)
- DB 2: Session storage (shopping carts, logged-in users)
AWS now offers ElastiCache for Valkey, a Redis-compatible fork. Node-based Valkey clusters cost about 20% less than Redis OSS. ElastiCache Serverless with Valkey saves up to 33%. Memory efficiency is comparable or better depending on workload. Migrating from Redis to Valkey requires zero code changes in Magento.
Amazon CloudFront
CloudFront serves static assets (JS, CSS, images) from 400+ edge locations worldwide. Set up separate distributions for static and media content for maximum cache efficiency. Our CloudFront setup guide covers the full configuration.
Amazon OpenSearch
Since Magento 2.4.8, OpenSearch is the only supported search engine. Elasticsearch support has been removed. Use OpenSearch 2.19 in the same VPC as your EC2 instances.
Auto-Scaling: How It Works in Practice
Auto scaling is the core advantage of hosting Magento on AWS. But it is more complex than "AWS adds servers when traffic grows."
A production Magento deployment uses two separate Auto Scaling Groups:
Layer 1: Varnish ASG scales the full-page cache tier. When Varnish CPU exceeds 60% for 5 minutes, AWS launches additional cache servers.
Layer 2: Application ASG scales the PHP-FPM tier. Same CloudWatch-based triggers, but this layer requires shared session storage (ElastiCache) and shared file system (EFS) to work with multiple instances.
The hidden challenge: Varnish needs to know the IP addresses of backend Magento servers. When the Application ASG adds or removes instances, the Varnish configuration must update in real-time. The solution is a cron-based script that polls the AWS API every 60 seconds and reloads Varnish's backend list.
For a deep dive into scaling strategies (target tracking, step scaling, predictive scaling), see our AWS auto scaling guide.
Black Friday Scenario
Here is what happens when a Magento store on AWS faces a 10x traffic spike:
- Predictive Scaling pre-warms capacity 30 minutes before the predicted spike (based on historical data).
- CloudFront absorbs 70-80% of requests at the edge. These never reach your servers.
- Varnish handles another 15-20% from cache. Only 5-10% of requests hit PHP.
- The Application ASG adds instances within 2-3 minutes when CPU crosses the threshold.
- Aurora read replicas handle increased database load without manual intervention.
- After the spike, capacity scales back down within 15 minutes.
The entire process is automatic. No manual intervention. No midnight pager alerts.
How Caching Absorbs a 10x Traffic Spike
Each layer filters requests before they reach your servers.
Real traffic distribution from production Magento stores during peak events
Cost Optimization Strategies
AWS On-Demand pricing is the most expensive way to run Magento. Here is how to reduce costs by 30-60%:
| Strategy | Savings | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Graviton instances | 20-40% | All workloads (switch from x86) |
| Reserved Instances (1 year) | Up to 40% | Baseline capacity (always-on instances) |
| Reserved Instances (3 year) | Up to 72% | Stable, long-running workloads |
| Savings Plans | Up to 66% | Flexible commitment (covers EC2 + Fargate) |
| Valkey over Redis | 20-33% | ElastiCache (drop-in replacement, 20% node-based, 33% serverless) |
| Spot Instances | Up to 90% | Non-critical batch jobs, indexing workers |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | Variable | Media storage (auto-moves cold data) |
The most impactful combo: Switch to Graviton instances (20% savings) and add 1-year Reserved Instances for baseline servers (40% savings). Combined, that is a 50%+ reduction from On-Demand pricing with zero performance compromise.
Security Architecture for Magento on AWS
Magento stores handle payment data. Security is not optional. Here is the layered security architecture that AWS provides:
| Layer | AWS Service | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| DDoS Protection | AWS Shield (Standard = free) | Automatic mitigation at network layer |
| Web Application Firewall | AWS WAF | Blocks SQL injection, XSS, bot attacks |
| Network Isolation | VPC + Private Subnets | App servers and databases never exposed to internet |
| Threat Detection | Amazon GuardDuty | ML-based anomaly detection |
| Encryption at Rest | EBS, S3, RDS encryption | AES-256 with KMS-managed keys |
| Encryption in Transit | TLS/SSL via ACM | Free certificates from AWS Certificate Manager |
| Audit Trail | CloudTrail | Logs every API call |
PCI DSS Compliance: AWS holds PCI DSS Level 1 certification (the highest level). Magento Commerce is a PCI Level 1 Solution Provider. Together, they cover most of the infrastructure compliance requirements for accepting payment cards.
WAF rules for Magento: Deploy these AWS Managed Rule Sets as your baseline:
- Core Rule Set (CRS) for common web exploits
- SQL Database rules for injection prevention
- PHP Application rules for PHP-specific attacks
- Rate limiting: 2,000 requests per 5 minutes per IP
- Bot Control for known bad bots
5 Mistakes That Kill Magento Performance on AWS
These come from real production incidents across thousands of Magento stores.
Mistake 1: Running Crons on Web Servers
Magento crons (indexing, email, catalog rules) consume CPU and memory. When they run on the same servers handling customer requests, page load times spike during cron execution.
Fix: Use a dedicated admin/cron EC2 instance. Ensure only one instance runs crons to avoid duplicate processing.
Mistake 2: Skipping Varnish
Magento without Varnish is 10-100x slower for cacheable pages. Varnish serves cached pages in microseconds. Without it, every page request hits PHP and the database.
Fix: Varnish is not optional for production. Deploy it as the first tier after the load balancer.
Mistake 3: Using EFS for Everything
EFS (Elastic File System) enables shared storage across multiple EC2 instances. But it has higher latency than EBS for I/O-heavy operations. Running setup:di:compile or setup:static-content:deploy on EFS causes extreme slowdowns.
Fix: Build and compile on a local EBS volume. Deploy the compiled output to EFS. Use S3 for media storage, not EFS.
Mistake 4: Undersizing ElastiCache
When Redis/Valkey runs out of memory, it evicts cache entries. Sessions get destroyed. Customers lose their shopping carts. Cache misses increase database load.
Fix: Monitor the evictions and used_memory CloudWatch metrics. Size your ElastiCache instance with 30-40% headroom above normal usage.
Mistake 5: On-Demand Pricing Only
Running all instances On-Demand when your baseline capacity is predictable wastes 30-60% of your AWS budget.
Fix: Use Reserved Instances or Savings Plans for servers that run 24/7 (database, cache, admin). Keep On-Demand only for Auto Scaling overflow.
Adobe Commerce Cloud vs Self-Hosted AWS
Adobe Commerce Cloud (ACC) runs on AWS. But it costs more because Adobe bundles the hosting with their managed platform.
| Factor | Adobe Commerce Cloud | Managed AWS Hosting | Self-Managed AWS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual cost (typical) | From $40,000/year (Starter), six figures for Enterprise | $3,000-$20,000 | $5,000-$15,000 |
| Infrastructure | Pre-provisioned | Custom architecture | Full control |
| Scaling | Limited by plan tier | Up to 50+ servers | Unlimited |
| DevOps required | No | No | Yes (dedicated team) |
| Customization | Restricted | Full | Full |
| Support | Adobe + hosting | Hosting provider | Self or contractor |
| PCI compliance | Included | Provider-assisted | Your responsibility |
When ACC makes sense: Enterprise businesses with $10M+ revenue, deep Adobe ecosystem integration (AEM, Analytics, Target), and budget for premium support.
When self-hosted AWS makes sense: Stores that need custom infrastructure, want transparent pricing (pay AWS direct), and have traffic patterns that benefit from true auto scaling. A managed Magento hosting provider on AWS gives you the performance advantage without the DevOps burden.
FAQs
1. What is Magento AWS hosting?
Magento AWS hosting means running your Magento ecommerce store on Amazon Web Services cloud infrastructure. AWS provides compute (EC2), databases (Aurora/RDS), caching (ElastiCache), CDN (CloudFront), and security (WAF, Shield). You build a scalable, multi-tier architecture instead of relying on a single server.
2. How much does Magento hosting on AWS cost?
A small Magento store on AWS costs about $374/month (On-Demand pricing). Medium stores run around $1,150/month. Enterprise stores with auto scaling range from $3,065 to $4,065/month. Reserved Instances and Graviton processors can cut these costs by 30-60%.
3. Which EC2 instance type is best for Magento?
C7g (Compute Optimized, Graviton4) instances are best for Magento web servers. They deliver the highest PHP-FPM throughput per dollar. Use M7g for admin/cron servers, R7g for stores with large catalogs (100K+ products), and T4g for development environments.
4. Is AWS better than other cloud providers for Magento?
AWS has three advantages other cloud providers lack: an official Magento reference architecture, Graviton ARM processors with direct PHP optimization contributions, and the fact that Adobe Commerce Cloud itself runs on AWS. The Magento-on-AWS community is also the largest, with the most battle-tested configurations.
5. How does auto scaling work for Magento on AWS?
Auto scaling uses CloudWatch alarms to monitor CPU and memory. When thresholds are crossed (e.g., 60% CPU for 5 minutes), AWS launches new EC2 instances and adds them to the load balancer. Production setups use two separate Auto Scaling Groups: one for Varnish cache servers and one for PHP application servers.
6. Should I use Aurora or standard RDS MySQL for Magento?
Use Aurora for medium and large stores. Aurora is up to 5x faster than standard MySQL, supports 15 read replicas (vs 5 for RDS), and fails over in 30 seconds. For small stores under 1,000 orders/day, standard RDS MySQL 8.0 with Multi-AZ is sufficient and more cost-effective.
7. What is the best way to deploy Magento on AWS?
Use a managed hosting provider for the fastest path. For self-managed setups, start with the AWS Quick Start for Magento (Terraform-based), configure separate tiers for web, cache, database, and search. Deploy in at least 2 Availability Zones for high availability. Never run a single-instance production setup.
8. How do I secure my Magento store on AWS?
Deploy AWS WAF with Managed Rule Sets (Core, SQL Database, PHP Application). Use private subnets for Magento and database instances. Enable AWS Shield for DDoS protection (free Standard tier). Encrypt all data at rest (EBS, S3, RDS) and in transit (TLS via ACM). Enable CloudTrail and GuardDuty for monitoring.
9. What is the difference between Magento on AWS and Adobe Commerce Cloud?
Adobe Commerce Cloud runs on AWS but bundles hosting with Adobe's managed platform starting at about $40,000/year for Starter plans, with Enterprise tiers reaching well into six figures. Self-hosted Magento on AWS costs $5,000-$15,000/year but requires DevOps expertise. Managed AWS hosting providers offer a middle ground: AWS performance with professional management at a fraction of ACC pricing.
10. Can Magento handle Black Friday traffic on AWS?
Yes. With proper auto scaling, Magento on AWS handles 10x traffic spikes. CloudFront absorbs 70-80% of requests at the edge. Varnish caches another 15-20%. Auto Scaling Groups add PHP servers within 2-3 minutes. Predictive Scaling pre-warms capacity before predicted spikes.
Summary
Magento AWS hosting delivers the performance, scalability, and security that production ecommerce stores need. The key is proper architecture: Graviton4 instances for 40% faster PHP, Aurora for 5x database speed, Varnish for sub-second cached pages, and auto scaling for traffic spikes.
The 2026 stack (PHP 8.3, Graviton4, Aurora, OpenSearch 2.19, Valkey) replaces the outdated AWS reference architecture. Stores still running the old stack leave performance and cost savings on the table.
Whether you choose self-managed AWS or a managed Magento hosting provider, the architecture principles remain the same. Start with the right instance types, separate your tiers, enable auto scaling, and invest in caching. Your Magento store will run fast, stay secure, and scale when it matters most.
