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Oracle counts licenses differently on AWS. This is where the cost comes from.
Oracle licensing on AWS runs by different rules than on-premises, and most teams plan a migration around compute and storage, then discover the bill at the end. AWS Oracle licensing counts capacity differently the moment you leave your own datacenter.
ON-PREMISIS
The core factor applies
x86 cores carry the 0.5 core factor, and the trap is partitioning scope: a movable VM can put every core in the cluster in scope.
ON AWS
The core factor does not apply
AWS is an Authorized Cloud Environment, counted by vCPU. Two vCPUs with hyperthreading equal one Enterprise Edition Processor license.
The Core Factor Table does not apply on AWS
On-premises, an Intel core is multiplied by a 0.5 core factor, so two cores need one Processor license. Under Oracle’s policy for Authorized Cloud Environments, which is what AWS is, the core factor is ignored. You count by vCPU instead.
You count by vCPU, not by core
For Enterprise Edition on EC2 or RDS, two vCPUs with hyperthreading enabled count as one Oracle Processor license. With hyperthreading off, one vCPU counts as one license. An oversized instance is not just wasted compute, it is wasted Oracle licenses at roughly $47,500 list per Processor plus support.
Edition is constrained by where you land
Amazon RDS License Included is Standard Edition 2 only. If you need Enterprise Edition or any priced option such as Partitioning, Advanced Security, the Diagnostics and Tuning Packs, or RAC, you are in Bring Your Own License territory on RDS BYOL or on EC2.
On AWS, the instance you pick is a licensing decision, not just a performance decision. Get the order wrong and you license capacity you do not use.
THE CORE DECISION
Where you land Oracle on AWS decides what you pay.
There is no single right answer. There is a right answer per workload tier. Use this as the first cut, then validate against your actual entitlements.
New to the services themselves? Start with our overview of running Oracle on RDS vs EC2.
| Landing Zone | Licensing Model | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Amazon RDS, License Included Most common |
Oracle SE2, bundled hourly |
Standard Edition workloads, smaller estates, teams that want zero license management |
SE2 only. No Enterprise Edition, no priced options. vCPU caps apply. |
|
Amazon RDS, BYOL |
Your existing EE or SE2 licenses |
Enterprise Edition workloads that still want managed RDS operations |
You license the Multi-AZ standby too. Some options are not supported on RDS. |
|
Oracle on EC2 (BYOL) Self-Managed |
Your existing licenses, self-managed |
Workloads needing full control, RAC, or options RDS does not support |
You own patching, HA, and backup. vCPU counting still applies. |
|
EC2 Dedicated Hosts / VMware Cloud on AWS Specialist case |
BYOL, socket or legacy terms |
Estates with socket-based or older contractual terms worth preserving |
Only pursue if your agreement makes it cheaper. |
The most common right answer for a mixed estate: SE2 workloads on RDS License Included, Enterprise Edition workloads on RDS BYOL or EC2 BYOL, with the instance sized to the license, not to the old on-prem host.
Your edition and options decide the landing zone. Most estates run SE2 on RDS License Included and Enterprise Edition on BYOL.
Oracle RAC on AWS deserves its own note: it is not supported on Amazon RDS for Oracle. Teams that genuinely need RAC for continuous availability have to self-manage it on EC2 BYOL, where the standard vCPU counting rules still apply per node. Most estates find RDS Multi-AZ meets the actual availability requirement without RAC’s licensing and operational overhead, reserve EC2-hosted RAC for the workloads that truly cannot run any other way.
WHAT GOES WRONG
Five AWS migration traps, and how to avoid each.
TRAP 1
Lifting the on-prem instance size into AWS
The old host was provisioned for a five-year peak. On AWS, every excess vCPU is an Oracle license. Right-size to actual usage before you map instances.
TRAP 2
Carrying RAC across when Multi-AZ would do
RDS Multi-AZ gives you a synchronous standby for high availability, which removes the need for the Oracle RAC option in most cases. Note the nuance: under BYOL you still license the running standby instance, so Multi-AZ saves the RAC option cost, not the second instance.
TRAP 3
Paying for premium options AWS already covers
Advanced Security maps to AWS KMS and TLS. Network isolation maps to security groups and IAM. Confirm what you actually still need before carrying Advanced Security or Database Vault into the target.
TRAP 4
Assuming the core factor still helps
Teams model the AWS estate at a 0.5 core factor out of habit, then the real count lands at double. The core factor does not apply in AWS. Model at the vCPU rule from the start.
TRAP 5
Migrating non-production at production edition
Dev, QA, DR, and reporting default to Enterprise Edition because the production template shipped that way. Reclassify before the move and a large share of the licensing demand disappears.
Not sure which landing zone fits each workload, or how many vCPUs you would actually license?
DO IT IN THIS ORDER
Size the licensing before you size the migration.
A risk-managed Oracle-to-AWS migration runs the licensing analysis first, because the licensing answer changes the architecture.
1
Inventory the estate by usage, not allocation
Which databases, which editions, which options are actually exercised.
2
Reconcile against entitlements
What you own, including dormant NUP pools and Test and Development licenses that can cover the gap.
3
Choose the landing zone per workload
RDS License Included, RDS BYOL, or EC2 BYOL, using the table above.
4
Right-size to the license, then to the workload
Map instances to the vCPU count you are willing to license, not to the old peak.
5
Migrate, then monitor for drift
Feature usage and configuration drift in AWS is what creates the next surprise. Watch it continuously.
Done in this order, the typical outcome is that the deficit closes through architecture and entitlement reclamation, not through buying more licenses. In one Fortune 500 insurance migration to Amazon RDS, a $1.89M projected deficit modeled to zero this way, with no net-new purchase.
WHERE HOUSE OF BRICK COMES IN
This guide is the framework. An OLA is your numbers.
The decisions above are estate-specific. Getting your real answer means parsing your contracts, correlating workloads to entitlements, and modeling each landing zone against what you actually own. That is what an Optimization and Licensing Assessment does, and the House of Brick agentic OLA delivers it in under a business week with no new agents in your environment.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Oracle on AWS, answered.
More questions? See our full Running Oracle on AWS FAQ.
Does Oracle apply the Core Factor Table on AWS?
No. AWS is an Oracle Authorized Cloud Environment, and the Processor Core Factor Table does not apply there. You count by vCPU: two vCPUs with hyperthreading on equal one Enterprise Edition Processor license, one vCPU equals one license with hyperthreading off.
Is Amazon RDS License Included cheaper than BYOL?
For Standard Edition 2 workloads it usually is, because there is no license to own or manage. But RDS License Included is SE2 only. Enterprise Edition or any priced option pushes you to BYOL on RDS or EC2, where the economics depend on what you already own. The right model is per workload, not per estate.
Can I run Oracle RAC on AWS?
Not on Amazon RDS for Oracle. RAC can be self-managed on EC2, but for most high-availability needs RDS Multi-AZ is the simpler answer and removes the RAC option requirement. Under BYOL you still license the Multi-AZ standby instance.
Do I have to license the RDS Multi-AZ standby?
Under BYOL, yes. The standby is a continuously running instance, so it carries its own Enterprise Edition licensing. Multi-AZ saves you the cost of the RAC option, not the cost of the second instance.
Will moving Oracle to AWS force me to buy more licenses?
Usually not, if you run the licensing analysis before you size the instances. Right-sizing to actual usage and reclaiming dormant entitlements typically closes the gap without a net-new purchase.
What happens to the data?
It stays under your control. Opscompass processes it under signed engagement governance terms. Specifics available on request before kickoff.
What about SQL Server on AWS?
SQL Server follows different rules, including Microsoft License Mobility through Software Assurance. If your estate is mixed, assess both together so you do not optimize one and inflate the other.
