# Inactive NAT Gateway | Cloud Efficiency Hub Canonical: https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/inactive-nat-gateway NAT Gateways are frequently left running after environments are re-architected, workloads are shut down, or connectivity patterns change. By: Taylor Houck [Cloud Efficiency Hub](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub) The short version NAT Gateways are frequently left running after environments are re-architected, workloads are shut down, or connectivity patterns change. [Taylor Houck](https://www.linkedin.com/in/twhouck/) Cloud FinOps Specialist @ PointFive AWS service [AWS NAT Gateway](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/cloud-services/aws-nat-gateway) Category [Networking](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/service-category/networking) Reference CER-0005 Type Idle or Unused Resource ## Explanation Why the waste happens and who it affects. In many cases, they continue to incur hourly charges despite no active traffic flowing through them. Because hourly fees are not tied to whether the gateway is needed-just whether it exists - these resources can quietly drive recurring costs without delivering ongoing value. Identifying and removing unused gateways is a simple way to reduce waste. ## Billing model The pricing dimensions that drive this cost. NAT Gateway charges include: Hourly cost per deployed gateway per Availability Zone Charged as long as the gateway exists, regardless of usage Per-GB data processing fee Charged for all data passing through the NAT Gateway There is no minimum usage threshold. Even an idle NAT Gateway accrues full hourly charges. ## How to detect 5 checks to find it in your estate. - List all NAT Gateways currently provisioned in each region - Review flow logs, CloudWatch metrics, or billing data to confirm whether any data has been processed through the gateway during the lookback period - Validate that no private subnet or route table is actively routing traffic through the NAT Gateway - Determine whether the gateway was created as part of a dev, staging, or legacy environment that is no longer active - Confirm with network or infrastructure owners whether the gateway is still required for any known process or dependency ## How to fix How to remove the waste. Delete NAT Gateways that have shown no data transfer activity and are no longer required. Review associated route tables to ensure removal will not disrupt network connectivity. Consider automating periodic audits of NAT Gateway usage across environments. ## Documentation Vendor references for pricing and configuration. - [AWS NAT Gateway Pricing aws.amazon.com](https://aws.amazon.com/vpc/pricing/#nat_gateway) - [Working with NAT Gateways docs.aws.amazon.com](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/userguide/vpc-nat-gateway.html) ## Related inefficiencies [Browse the library](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub) - AWS NAT Gateway CER-0325 ### [Excessive NAT Gateway Data Processing Charges from Unoptimized Traffic Routing](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/excessive-nat-gateway-data-processing-charges-from-unoptimized-traffic-routing) NAT Gateway charges a per-gigabyte data processing fee on all traffic that passes through it - in either direction - regardless of whether the destination is the public internet or another AWS service in the same region. This per-GB charge... Networking - AWS NAT Gateway CER-0128 ### [Suboptimal Cross-AZ Routing to NAT Gateway](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/suboptimal-cross-az-routing-to-nat-gateway) NAT Gateways are designed to serve private subnets within the same Availability Zone. When subnets in one AZ are configured to route traffic through a NAT Gateway in a different AZ, the traffic crosses AZ boundaries and incurs inter-AZ... Networking - AWS NAT Gateway CER-0106 ### [Suboptimal Routing Through NAT Gateway Instead of VPC Endpoint](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/suboptimal-routing-through-nat-gateway-instead-of-vpc-endpoint) Workloads in private subnets often access AWS services like S3 or DynamoDB. If this traffic is routed through a NAT Gateway, it incurs both hourly and data processing charges. However, AWS offers VPC Gateway Endpoints (for S3/DynamoDB) and... Networking --- Source: the public page above. Product screenshots and illustrative interfaces are examples, not live customer data.