Quick Answer: What is a CFD?
A Commitment Free Discount (CFD) is CloudFix's proprietary method that gets you 40-55% savings on AWS EC2 instances without 3-year commitments.
CFDs work by leveraging AWS's Convertible Reserved Instances (cRIs) and automatically exchanging them when your usage changes. You get Reserved Instance pricing with on-demand flexibility.
Bottom line: Same discounts as RIs/Savings Plans (40-55%), but without the lock-in risk. If your usage changes, CloudFix swaps your discounts automatically.
What You'll Learn
What Exactly is a Commitment Free Discount?
Let's cut through the marketing speak. A Commitment Free Discount (CFD) is a smart wrapper around AWS's existing Convertible Reserved Instance (cRI) program. CloudFix automates the complexity and gives you the discount without the usual drawbacks.
The Problem CFDs Solve
Traditional AWS discounts have always forced you to choose:
❌ Standard RIs
Lock into specific instance types. If you need to change from m5.2xlarge to c5.4xlarge, you lose your discount.
⚠️ Savings Plans
Commit to a hourly spend (e.g., $10/hour). If you drop below, you still pay. Good for steady workloads, bad for variable ones.
âś… CFDs
Get 40-55% discounts with:
- No commitment to specific instances
- No commitment to hourly spend amounts
- Automatic exchanges when your usage changes
- No lock-in beyond 30-day notice period
How CloudFix Does It
CFDs aren't magic—they're smart automation. Here's the secret:
- CloudFix buys Convertible RIs: These are AWS reserves that can be exchanged for other instance types.
- Optimization algorithms: CloudFix analyzes your usage patterns and predicts the best instances to cover.
- Automatic exchanges: When your usage changes, CloudFix exchanges your cRIs to match—no manual intervention.
- Risk management: CloudFix handles the commitment risk. You just get the savings.
The innovation isn't in the discount rate (AWS determines that). The innovation is in removing the lock-in risk while keeping the discount.
How CFDs Work: The 4-Step Formula
Here's exactly what happens when you use RightSpend RightSpend CloudFix CFDs, from signup to savings.
Connect Your AWS Account
You connect CloudFix to your AWS account via AWS Marketplace (this is required for CFDs). CloudFix gets read-only access to your billing and usage data.
Time: 5 minutes via AWS Marketplace
CloudFix Analyzes Your Usage
CloudFix's algorithms analyze your EC2 usage over the past 30-90 days. They identify:
- Which instance families you actually use
- Your usage patterns (steady, spiky, growing, shrinking)
- Opportunities for Convertible RI coverage
Time: 24-48 hours for initial analysis
CloudFix Applies Optimal CFD Mix
Based on your usage, CloudFix purchases and applies Convertible RIs to maximize your coverage. This happens automatically—you don't need to approve anything.
The key difference: CloudFix can exchange these RIs anytime your usage changes, so you're never locked into the wrong instances.
Time: 3-5 days after analysis completes
Ongoing Optimization & Exchanges
CloudFix monitors your usage daily. When you:
- Add new instance types: CloudFix exchanges cRIs to cover them
- Change regions: Exchanges maintain coverage
- Scale up or down: CFD mix adjusts automatically
Time: Continuous, automatic
đź’ˇ Key Insight: The "Commitment" Explained
You might wonder: "If it's commitment free, why do I need to give 30 days notice to cancel?"
Here's the distinction:
- RIs/Savings Plans: You're committed to specific instances or spend amounts for 1-3 years. Change your usage? You're locked in or you pay penalties.
- CFDs: You're committed to using CloudFix for 30 days minimum. But within that, you can change your instances, regions, usage patterns—whatever you need. The commitment is to the service, not to specific instances.
CFDs vs Reserved Instances: The Key Difference
Let's compare CFDs directly against traditional Reserved Instances to see why CFDs win for most modern workloads.
| Dimension | Standard RIs | CFDs |
|---|---|---|
| Discount Rate | Up to 75% (Standard), 54% (Convertible) | 40-55% |
| Instance Lock-in | ✗ Locked into specific instance type | ✓ Flexible—can change anytime |
| Region Lock-in | ✗ Locked into specific region | ✓ Flexible—can change regions |
| Exchangeable | ✗ Only Convertible RIs (lower discount) | ✓ Yes—automatic exchanges |
| Manual Management | âś— Requires manual purchasing & optimization | âś“ Fully automated by CloudFix |
| Best For | Steady, predictable workloads | Variable, changing, growing workloads |
When RIs Still Make Sense
CFDs aren't always the answer. Traditional Standard RIs (up to 75% off) still beat CFDs for:
- Production databases: You know exactly what instances you need and won't change them for 3 years.
- Stable baseline loads: The 20% of your usage that never changes.
- Maximum discount scenarios: When you're certain about your infrastructure and want the absolute highest discount.
The pro move: Use Standard RIs for your stable 20% baseline, CFDs for the variable 80%.
Real Example: E-Commerce Company
Scenario: Medium E-Commerce Site
Setup: Mix of web servers (m5 instances) and batch jobs (c5 instances). Traffic spikes during holidays.
❌ With Standard RIs
Buy 3-year RIs for m5.2xlarge web servers. Holiday traffic hits, need more web servers—but you're locked in. New instances cost on-demand rates. During slow months, you're paying for RIs you don't fully use.
âś… With CFDs
CloudFix covers baseline with cRIs. Holiday spike hits? CloudFix exchanges to cover the new instances automatically. Slow month? Adjusts down. You always pay 40-55% less than on-demand, regardless of traffic patterns.
CFDs vs Savings Plans: Which Saves More?
Both CFDs and Savings Plans leverage Convertible Reserved Instances under the hood. The difference is in the commitment model.
| Dimension | Savings Plans | CFDs |
|---|---|---|
| Discount Rate | Up to 66% (Compute), 72% (EC2) | 40-55% |
| Commitment Type | Hourly spend amount ($/hour) | Usage-based (pay for what you use) |
| If Usage Drops | ✗ Still pay committed amount | ✓ Pay less—no penalty |
| If Usage Grows | âś“ Coverage extends automatically | âś“ Coverage extends automatically |
| Automation | Partial—auto-applies, but you manage commitment | Full—CloudFix handles everything |
| Best For | Steady, predictable spend | Variable or uncertain workloads |
The Spend Commitment Trap
Savings Plans require you to commit to an hourly spend. Here's why that can backfire:
⚠️ The Problem Scenario
You commit to $50/hour in Compute Savings Plans for 3 years. You're consistently spending $60-70/hour—great, you're saving 40%.
Then:
- Product gets cancelled—usage drops to $20/hour
- You still pay $50/hour because of the commitment
- You're now paying more than on-demand for unused capacity
With CFDs, your spend would drop to $20/hour Ă— (discounted rate). No penalty.
When Savings Plans Win
Savings Plans can beat CFDs when:
- Your baseline never changes: You're 100% certain you'll spend at least $X/hour for 3 years.
- You want maximum discount: Savings Plans can go up to 72% off vs 55% for CFDs (theoretical max).
- You don't want a third-party tool: You can buy Savings Plans directly in AWS Console.
For most companies, the flexibility of CFDs outweighs the small discount difference.
Real CFD Examples: What Companies Actually Save
Let's look at real companies using RightSpend RightSpend CloudFix CFDs and what they've saved. These aren't hypotheticals—these are actual results.
Higher education software company: \$1M-\$10M Saved in Year One
Challenge: Higher education software company runs massive AWS infrastructure for higher education software. Usage patterns vary wildly by academic calendar—heavy during semesters, light during breaks.
Before: 100% on-demand pricing. No discounts because usage was too variable for RIs.
After CFDs: CloudFix applied CFDs across their EC2 fleet. Automatic exchanges handled semester-to-semester changes.
đź’° Result: \$1M-\$10M saved in year one
42% average discount on significant AWS EC2 investment—with full flexibility to scale during semester spikes.
Fortune 500 consulting firm: $75K Monthly Savings
Challenge: Fortune 500 consulting firm runs analytics workloads for clients across multiple regions. Project-based workloads spin up and down constantly.
Before: Tried Reserved Instances but wasted money when projects ended early. Tried Savings Plans but overcommitted when projects were smaller than expected.
After CFDs: CloudFix automatically adjusts CFD coverage as projects start and end. No manual management.
đź’° Result: $75K saved per month
45% discount on substantial monthly AWS spend—without lock-in risk for project-based workloads.
Automotive manufacturer: $10K Monthly Savings
Challenge: Automotive manufacturer runs delivery logistics software. Usage varies by customer acquisition and seasonal demand (holidays, etc.).
Before: Growing startup—didn't want to commit to 3-year RIs but was bleeding money on on-demand rates.
After CFDs: CloudFix covered their growing usage with CFDs. As they scaled from 50 to 200 instances, CFD coverage scaled automatically.
đź’° Result: \$10K-\$15K saved per month
48% discount on moderate monthly AWS spend—with flexibility to keep growing without re-negotiating discounts.
When CFDs Are the Right Choice
CFDs aren't for everyone. Here's how to decide if they're right for you.
âś… CFDs Are Perfect For...
Variable Workloads
Your usage changes week to week or month to month. Seasonal businesses, project-based work, growing startups.
Multi-Region Deployments
You run instances in multiple regions and need flexibility to shift workloads without losing discounts.
Frequent Instance Changes
You're constantly upgrading to new instance types, testing different sizes, or optimizing performance.
Companies Growing >50% YoY
Your infrastructure is scaling fast. You need discounts that scale with you without renegotiation.
❌ CFDs Are NOT For...
100% Static Workloads
If you haven't changed your instances in 2 years and won't for 3 more, Standard RIs will give you a higher discount (75% vs 55%).
Tiny AWS Spend (<$1K/month)
If your EC2 bill is tiny, the management overhead of any discount strategy might not be worth it.
Companies Wanting Direct AWS Only
If your company prohibits third-party tools, you'll need to use RIs or Savings Plans directly from AWS.
Spot-Instance-First Strategies
If 80%+ of your workloads run on Spot instances, CFDs won't move the needle much.
The Hybrid Approach: What Most Companies Do
Smart companies don't choose one or the other. They combine strategies:
Recommended Discount Stack
- Spot Instances (0-90% off): For fault-tolerant, interruptible workloads (batch jobs, CI/CD, testing).
- Standard RIs (up to 75% off): For your stable baseline—the 20% of usage that never changes (production databases, core services).
- CFDs (40-55% off): For the variable 80%—web servers, auto-scaling groups, dev/test, experimental workloads.
- On-Demand: Only for true spikes and emergency capacity.
CloudFix actually implements this stack for you automatically. That's why their average customer saves 40-55% overall.
How to Get CFDs for Your AWS Account
Ready to try CFDs? Here's the step-by-step process.
Step 1: Check Your Eligibility
CFDs work best if you meet these criteria:
- Monthly EC2 spend of at least $1,000
- Running EC2 for at least 30 days (usage history needed)
- AWS account in good standing
- Variable or growing workloads
Don't meet all criteria? You might still benefit—schedule a call to discuss.
Step 2: Connect via AWS Marketplace
CFDs require CloudFix to be connected via AWS Marketplace (this is how AWS enables the automated RI management).
The process:
- Visit the CloudFix listing on AWS Marketplace
- Click "Subscribe" (free trial available)
- Grant CloudFix read-only billing access
- CloudFix deploys a lightweight CloudFormation stack (no performance impact)
Time: 5-10 minutes
Step 3: Let CloudFix Analyze Your Usage
Once connected, CloudFix takes 24-48 hours to:
- Analyze your EC2 usage patterns
- Identify CFD opportunities
- Calculate projected savings
- Generate a recommendation report
You'll get a clear breakdown: "We can save you $X/month by applying CFDs to Y% of your usage."
Step 4: Approve and Start Saving
If you like the projected savings, approve the plan and CloudFix:
- Purchases Convertible RIs on your behalf
- Applies them to your instances
- Monitors usage daily
- Exchanges RIs automatically when needed
Result: You start seeing reduced EC2 costs on your next AWS bill.
Step 5: Ongoing Optimization
CloudFix doesn't set it and forget it. They continuously:
- Watch for new instance types you launch
- Exchange CFDs to cover new usage
- Optimize for new AWS generations (m5 → m6, etc.)
- Identify opportunities to increase coverage
You get weekly reports showing your savings percentage and dollar amount.
🚀 Want to See Your Projected Savings?
CloudFix can analyze your AWS account and show you exactly what you'd save with CFDs—no commitment required.
Schedule Free AnalysisFrequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be a CloudFix customer to use CFDs?
Yes. CFDs are CloudFix's proprietary offering. They're part of CloudFix's automated AWS cost optimization service. You'll need to connect your AWS account via AWS Marketplace to access CFDs.
What if my usage drops to zero?
Unlike Savings Plans, you won't be charged for unused capacity. However, CloudFix requires a 30-day notice to cancel CFD service. This is the "commitment"—to the service, not to specific instances or spend amounts.
How long does it take to start saving?
Most companies see savings on their first AWS bill after signing up. The full process: connect (1 day) → analysis (1-2 days) → CFDs applied (3-5 days) → savings appear on next bill.
Can I use CFDs with GovCloud or China regions?
CFDs work in all commercial AWS regions. For AWS GovCloud (US) and AWS China (Beijing/Ningxia), contact CloudFix directly—these regions have separate compliance requirements.
What happens if I need to cancel CloudFix?
You can cancel with 30 days notice. Your Convertible RIs will expire naturally (they're 1- or 3-year terms). You won't face cancellation penalties, but you'll lose the ongoing optimization and automatic exchanges.
Do CFDs work with other AWS services beyond EC2?
CFDs are specifically for EC2, EBS, and Lambda (via Compute Savings Plans). CloudFix also offers optimization for RDS, ElastiCache, and other services through their platform.
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