AWS Lambda
Run code without provisioning or managing servers
Founded
2014
Starting Price
Free
Category
Developer Tools
Last updated April 27, 2026
About AWS Lambda
AWS Lambda is a serverless compute service that runs your code in response to events and automatically manages the underlying compute resources. You pay only for the compute time you consume, with no charge when your code isn't running, making it ideal for event-driven applications, APIs, and data processing workloads.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- True pay-per-use with no idle costs
- Automatic scaling from zero to thousands of concurrent executions
- Deep integration with the broader AWS ecosystem
- Generous always-free tier suitable for many small projects
- Strong support for multiple languages and container deployments
Key Features
Event-Driven Execution
Trigger functions from over 200 AWS services and SaaS applications, including S3, DynamoDB, API Gateway, and EventBridge.
Multiple Language Support
Native runtimes for Node.js, Python, Java, Go, Ruby, .NET, and custom runtimes via Lambda Layers.
Automatic Scaling
Scales from a few requests per day to thousands per second automatically, with no capacity planning required.
Pay-Per-Use Pricing
Charged only for requests and compute time used, billed in 1ms increments with a generous free tier.
Lambda Layers
Share code, libraries, and dependencies across multiple functions to reduce deployment package size and complexity.
Container Image Support
Package and deploy functions as container images up to 10 GB in size for larger workloads and familiar tooling.
Provisioned Concurrency
Pre-warm functions to eliminate cold starts for latency-sensitive applications.
Pricing
Free Tier
Free/month
- 1 million free requests per month
- 400,000 GB-seconds of compute time
- Always free (no expiration)
- All AWS Lambda features included
Pay-as-you-go (x86)
Best For
Serverless APIs
Build REST and GraphQL APIs combined with API Gateway without managing any backend servers.
Event-Driven Data Processing
Process files uploaded to S3, transform DynamoDB streams, or react to Kinesis events in real time.
Scheduled Tasks & Cron Jobs
Run periodic jobs via EventBridge schedules without maintaining always-on infrastructure.
Backend for Mobile and Web Apps
Power authentication, business logic, and data access for client applications cost-effectively.
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