Node.js on AWS Amplify
AWS Amplify documents a generic path that covers Node.js, rather than a dedicated guide.
JavaScript runtime used to run servers and build tooling outside the browser.
What Node.js needs.
Every host claims to run Node.js, so the claim on its own decides nothing. These are the things Node.js actually requires from the platform underneath it, and what AWS Amplify publishes about each. AWS Amplify documents 2 of the 4.
Persistent processes
Not supported
A long-running process is the point: WebSocket connections, in-memory caches and job queues all die with it. A host that only runs functions cannot keep one alive.
Sources (1) →Sources ↓
- Deployment specification for Amplify Hosting compute — AWS Amplify Hosting User Guide ↗
“This storage isn't shared between execution instances, but is shared among subsequent invocations within the same execution instance. Execution instances are limited to a maximum execution time of 15 minutes, and the only writable path within the execution instance is the /tmp directory.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
Max request duration
15 minutes (maximum execution time of an SSR compute execution instance)
Anything the process does inside a request — a large upload, a slow query, a streamed response — is bounded by this ceiling.
Sources (1) →Sources ↓
- Using the Amplify Hosting deployment specification to configure build output - AWS Amplify Hosting ↗
“Execution instances are limited to a maximum execution time of 15 minutes, and the only writable path within the execution instance is the /tmp directory.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
Docker deployment
Not documented
Node apps routinely need a system binary the platform's buildpack does not ship. A Dockerfile is the escape hatch when they do.
Scales to zero
Not documented
An always-on process bills while idle. Scaling to zero removes that cost and adds a cold start to the next request instead.
What AWS Amplify documents.
AWS Amplify documents a generic path that covers Node.js, rather than a dedicated guide.
This example explains how to deploy a basic Express server using the Amplify Hosting deployment specification. Limited: Node.js is covered only as a worked Express example of the generic deployment-manifest path, not as a first-class Node.js hosting guide.
Sources (1) →Sources ↓
- Deploying an Express server using the deployment manifest - AWS Amplify Hosting ↗
“This example explains how to deploy a basic Express server using the Amplify Hosting deployment specification. Limited: Node.js is covered only as a worked Express example of the generic deployment-manifest path, not as a first-class Node.js hosting guide.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
What it costs to run there.
- Entry paid plan
- No monthly minimum — Amplify Hosting is billed per unit. A representative month for one small app, priced at Amplify's published rates: 100 build minutes ($1.00), 5 GB stored ($0.11), 100 GB served ($15.00), with SSR requests inside the free 500,000 — about $16.11. Our arithmetic on Amplify's rates, not a price Amplify quotes, and it moves with traffic: egress is 93% of it. Recorded without a magnitude for that reason.
- Pricing model
- Usage-based; pay for what you use, with no monthly minimum
- When you exceed a cap
- Billed automatically: pay-as-you-go with no monthly minimums; storage charges keep recurring until the app is deleted
Sources (1) →Sources ↓
- AWS Amplify Pricing ↗
“$0.01 per minute for a Standard Instance [...] $0.023 per GB per month [...] $0.15 per GB served [...] SSR requests are free up to 500,000 per month”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
Whether it suits you.
Front-end apps deployed from Git onto AWS with usage-based pricing and no monthly minimum, including 1,000 build minutes and 15 GB of transfer under the free tier.
Consider something else if…
Egress beyond the free allowance is $0.15 per GB, which is the highest of the platforms compared here, and SSR compute is capped at 15 minutes.
Visit AWS Amplify documentation