Cost Explorer shows a fleet of EC2 instances averaging 5% CPU for months. The team wants the lowest-effort way to cut compute spend while keeping capacity headroom. What should they do first?
A.Purchase Reserved Instances for the current sizes
Committing to current sizes locks in the waste.
B.Right-size the instances using AWS Compute Optimizer recommendations
Correct. Compute Optimizer right-sizing removes persistent overprovisioning.
C.Move all instances to Spot capacity
Spot is for interruptible workloads, not steady services.
D.Add more instances behind the load balancer
More instances raise cost without addressing utilization.
Why this answer
AWS Compute Optimizer analyzes CloudWatch metrics and recommends better-fitting instance types/sizes. Right-sizing chronically underutilized instances is the standard first cost-optimization move before committing to discounts on oversized capacity.
Correct answer: B · Last reviewed 2026-10-25
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