# Inactive Network Load Balancer (NLB) | Cloud Efficiency Hub Canonical: https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/inactive-network-load-balancer-nlb Network Load Balancers that are no longer needed often persist after architecture changes, service decommissioning, or migration projects. By: PointFive Updated: 2026-09-28 [Cloud Efficiency Hub](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub) The short version Network Load Balancers that are no longer needed often persist after architecture changes, service decommissioning, or migration projects. PointFive Research Cloud cost research at PointFive AWS service [AWS ELB](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/cloud-services/aws-elb) Category [Networking](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/service-category/networking) Reference CER-0006 Type Idle or Unused Resource ## Explanation Why the waste happens and who it affects. When no active TCP connections or traffic flow through the NLB, it still generates hourly operational costs. Identifying and removing these idle resources helps reduce unnecessary networking expenses without affecting service availability. ## Billing model The pricing dimensions that drive this cost. Network Load Balancers are billed for each hour or partial hour of operation plus the Network Load Balancer Capacity Units (NLCU) consumed, and internet-facing NLBs also incur standard public IPv4 address charges. Inactive NLBs that remain provisioned without traffic continue to incur the hourly and IPv4 charges, even when no connections are being handled. ## How to detect 5 checks to find it in your estate. - Identify Network Load Balancers with no active connections or minimal data processing over a defined monitoring window - Confirm there are no registered targets, listener rules, or backend services depending on the NLB - Review networking and security configurations to ensure the load balancer is not being used for future failover or redundancy scenarios - Check tagging and documentation history to assess whether the NLB was tied to a deprecated workload or temporary environment - Validate findings with infrastructure or application teams before initiating removal ## How to fix How to remove the waste. If confirmed to be inactive, delete the load balancer through the AWS Console, CLI, or API to stop further billing. Where possible, document the reason for decommissioning and update tagging or inventory systems to prevent reaccumulation of unused resources. ## Documentation Vendor references for pricing and configuration. - [Network Load Balancer Documentation docs.aws.amazon.com](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticloadbalancing/latest/network/introduction.html) - [Elastic Load Balancing Pricing aws.amazon.com](https://aws.amazon.com/elasticloadbalancing/pricing/) ## Related inefficiencies [Browse the library](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub) - AWS ELB CER-0059 ### [Inactive Classic Load Balancer (CLB)](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/inactive-classic-load-balancer-clb) Classic Load Balancers that no longer serve active workloads will persist if they are not properly decommissioned. This often happens after application migrations, architecture changes, or testing activities. Even if no connections or... Networking - AWS ELB CER-0003 ### [Inactive Application Load Balancer (ALB)](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/inactive-application-load-balancer-alb) Application Load Balancers that no longer serve active workloads may persist after application migrations, architecture changes, or testing activities. When no incoming requests are processed through the ALB, it continues to generate the... Networking - AWS ELB CER-0062 ### [Inactive Gateway Load Balancer (GWLB)](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/inactive-gateway-load-balancer-glb) Gateway Load Balancers that no longer have active traffic flows can continue to exist indefinitely unless proactively decommissioned. This often happens after network topology changes, security architecture updates, or environment... Networking --- Source: the public page above. Product screenshots and illustrative interfaces are examples, not live customer data.