Which pricing approach offers maximum flexibility — no upfront cost and no minimum commitment — at the highest per-unit price?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D
Pay-as-you-go buys you total flexibility: resources can be created and deleted in minutes with no upfront payment and no term, but it carries the highest effective per-unit rate. Reservations and savings plans trade some of that flexibility for meaningful discounts by locking in a one- or three-year commitment. That makes pay-as-you-go the natural fit for new, short-lived, or unpredictable workloads, while steady workloads graduate to committed pricing for savings.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. A one-year reservation is a fixed commitment: cheaper per unit, but it constrains flexibility compared with pay-as-you-go.
- B. A three-year reservation is the longest commitment of the options, which is the opposite of maximum flexibility.
- C. Savings plans commit you to an hourly spend for a year or three — still a commitment that trades away full flexibility.