Break-even: cloud vs on-premise

Type a cloud month, on-prem capex, and optional opex. 500 and 20000 give 40 months. 800, 15000 and 200 give about 25 mo. 200, 5000 and 50 give about 34 mo. Typed cost, not AWS TCO.

ceil(capex / (cloud_month minus opex_month)) when cloud is the higher monthly. Not AWS TCO. Egress sits on bandwidth cost.

Input data

Porównanie kosztów
Additional options (optional)

Results

Enter data and click Calculate.

Cloud storage cost

Cloud storage cost: GB, a price per GB, and a free tier.

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Bandwidth cost (per GB)

Bandwidth cost: GB, a price, and free GB.

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How it works

Break-even: cloud vs on-premise in this calculator divides typed capex by the rate gap. 500 and 20000 give Break-even po 40 miesiącach. 800, 15000 and 200 give about 25 mo. 200, 5000 and 50 give about 34 mo. Typed cost, not AWS TCO.

Field roi-cloud-m is the cloud month. Field roi-onprem is capex. Field roi-onprem-monthly in the examples is 0, 200, or 50. 20000 / 500 = 40. 15000 / (800-200) = 25. 5000 / (200-50) = 33.3, ceil to 34.

40 does not come from an AWS calculator. 25 is not TCO with support. 34 does not know egress. You type three rates. The calculator does not pull a regional list.

Cloud storage cost next door multiplies GB. Bandwidth cost multiplies egress. Here 500 and 20000 stay 40 months, break-even from typed amounts.

Type 500 and 20000, opex 0, then Calculate. The result is Break-even po 40 miesiącach. A comma in 500,5 works. Cloud cheaper than opex does not close the formula. This is not an AWS quote.

500 and 20000 give 40. 800, 15000 and 200 give about 25. 200, 5000 and 50 give about 34. Another cloud month at 20000 changes 40.

Formula

months = ceil(capex / (cloud_month - opex_month)) when cloud_month > opex_month. Typed cost, not AWS TCO.

How to use

  1. Type 500 for the cloud month and capex 20000.
  2. Click Calculate. The result is Break-even po 40 miesiącach.
  3. 800, 15000 and 200 give about 25 mo. 200, 5000 and 50 give about 34 mo.
  4. Typed cost, not AWS TCO.
  5. Egress sits on bandwidth cost.

500 and 20000 = 40 months

Typed cost, not AWS TCO. 500 and 20000 give 40 months.

Break-even
Months from capex / the gap. 500 and 20000 leave 40. Not AWS.
cloud
Field roi-cloud-m. 800 at 15000 and 200 gives about 25 mo.
on-premise
Capex and opex. 200, 5000 and 50 give about 34 mo. Typed cost.

Examples

Example 1

  • cloud 500
  • capex 20000
  • opex 0

Break-even po 40 miesiącach

How many months at 500 and 20000? Break-even po 40 miesiącach. Typed cost, not AWS TCO.

Example 2

  • cloud 800
  • capex 15000
  • opex 200

Break-even: ok. 25 mies. (z kosztem mies. on‑prem)

What about 800, 15000 and 200? About 25 mo with on-prem opex.

Example 3

  • cloud 200
  • capex 5000
  • opex 50

Break-even: ok. 34 mies. (z kosztem mies. on‑prem)

What about 200, 5000 and 50? About 34 mo with on-prem opex.

Common questions

How many months at 500 and 20000?

Break-even po 40 miesiącach. 20000 / 500. Typed cost, not AWS TCO.

What about 800, 15000 and 200?

About 25 mo. 15000 / (800-200).

What about 200, 5000 and 50?

About 34 mo. 5000 / 150, then ceil.

Is this AWS or GCP TCO?

No. Three typed rates. The calculator does not load a price list.

Does 40 include egress and support?

No. A flat cloud month minus opex, then capex. No TCO.

Does a comma in 500,5 work?

Yes. Another month at 20000 changes 40.

What if cloud is cheaper than opex?

The formula does not close. Break-even from a rate gap needs a higher cloud month.

Where do I price egress?

On bandwidth cost. Here 40 from 500 and 20000 stays.

Is 40 an ROI percent?

No. Months to even. The H1 stays break-even, not a percent.

Knowledge sources

The calculator counts bits, bytes or throughput from your numbers. Below are SI and bit definitions (NIST).

Page updated in 2026.