# Inactive VPC interface endpoint | Cloud Efficiency Hub Canonical: https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/inactive-vpc-interface-endpoint VPC Interface Endpoints are commonly deployed to meet network security or compliance requirements by enabling private access to AWS services. By: Taylor Houck Updated: 2026-09-28 [Cloud Efficiency Hub](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub) # Inactive VPC Interface Endpoint The short version VPC Interface Endpoints are commonly deployed to meet network security or compliance requirements by enabling private access to AWS services. [Taylor Houck](https://www.linkedin.com/in/twhouck/) Cloud FinOps Specialist @ PointFive AWS service [AWS VPC](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/cloud-services/aws-vpc) Category [Networking](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/service-category/networking) Reference CER-0038 Type Idle or Unused Resource ## Explanation Why the waste happens and who it affects. However, these endpoints often remain provisioned even after the original use case is deprecated. In some cases, the applications have been decommissioned; in others, traffic routing has changed and the endpoint is no longer used. Since interface endpoints generate hourly charges whether or not they are used, identifying and removing inactive ones can eliminate unnecessary costs. ## Billing model The pricing dimensions that drive this cost. VPC Interface Endpoints incur costs based on: - Hourly Charges: Billed per hour for each provisioned interface endpoint, in each Availability Zone, regardless of traffic. - Data Processing Charges: Billed per gigabyte (GB) of data processed through the endpoint. Because hourly charges continue to accrue even when no data flows through the endpoint, idle endpoints result in ongoing costs with no business value. ## How to detect 6 checks to find it in your estate. - Identify all VPC Interface Endpoints currently provisioned in your account - Review data transfer activity to determine whether any data has flowed through the endpoint over a representative time period - Confirm whether the associated AWS service or endpoint service is still used by any workloads in the environment - Evaluate whether the endpoint is tied to any running EC2 instances, Lambda functions, or container workloads - Check whether the endpoint is linked to a deprecated environment or redundant architecture - Engage with networking or application teams to verify that no current dependencies exist ## How to fix How to remove the waste. Decommission VPC Interface Endpoints that show no recent usage and are not tied to any active application dependencies. Since endpoints are billed hourly, removing unused ones immediately eliminates ongoing charges. This change has no impact on availability or connectivity as long as no resources are routing traffic through the endpoint. Coordinate with application and networking teams to ensure safe removal. ## Documentation Vendor references for pricing and configuration. - [AWS PrivateLink Pricing aws.amazon.com](https://aws.amazon.com/privatelink/pricing/) - [Access an AWS service using an interface VPC endpoint - Amazon Virtual Private Cloud docs.aws.amazon.com](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/privatelink/create-interface-endpoint.html) ## Related inefficiencies [Browse the library](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub) - AWS VPC CER-0118 ### [Missing VPC Endpoints for High-Volume AWS Service Access](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/missing-vpc-endpoints-for-high-volume-aws-service-access) When EC2 instances, Lambda functions, or containerized workloads in private subnets access AWS-managed services without VPC Endpoints, that traffic typically reaches the service's public endpoint through a NAT Gateway, and every GB incurs... Networking - AWS VPC CER-0349 ### [Unnecessary Public IPv4 Addresses on In-Use Resources](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/unnecessary-public-ipv4-addresses-on-in-use-resources) Since February 1, 2024, AWS charges an hourly fee for every public IPv4 address, whether it is idle or attached to a running resource. Many resources still receive public addresses they never use: default subnets and subnets with... Networking - AWS EIP CER-0110 ### [Unassociated Elastic IP Address](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/unassociated-elastic-ip-address) Elastic IPs are often provisioned but forgotten - left unassociated, or still attached to EC2 instances that have been stopped. AWS bills every public IPv4 address, including an EIP, by the hour whether it is in use or idle, so in either... Networking --- Source: the public page above. Product screenshots and illustrative interfaces are examples, not live customer data.