Serverless Compute, Two Ways
Lightweight zip-based Lambdas for the chatbot, contact form, and security gateway — plus a containerized Lambda running a full TensorFlow model for Staylytics AI, because that doesn't fit a normal zip package.
← Solutions
◆ Solution We Built
◆ Solution We Built
Our own AWS bill: a guarded chatbot, a TensorFlow pipeline, and a live site for about $2/month.
This isn't a pricing estimate — it's our actual account. Serverless-first architecture and real cost discipline mean the infrastructure behind everything else on this page barely shows up on the invoice.
The Problem
Most "AI infrastructure" bills for idle capacity, not usage.
Provisioned databases, API Gateways, always-on servers, and Secrets Manager entries all charge whether or not anyone's using them. We architect the opposite way by default: compute that scales to zero, storage that bills per request, and automation that needs no one watching it.
- Lambda everywhere — including a containerized TensorFlow model, not just lightweight API handlers
- DynamoDB on-demand — no provisioned throughput sitting idle between visits
- No API Gateway — raw Lambda Function URLs where auth isn't needed
- Scheduled automation (EventBridge) runs unattended — no server, no cron box, no one checking in
Actual AWS Cost — July 2026 (7 days)
$0.52Total, 7 Days
$0.00Lambda
$0.00CloudFront
- $0.00 Lambda, CloudFront, API Gateway — inside AWS's Always Free tier
- $0.03 S3 storage + requests across 3 buckets/sites
- $0.39 Secrets Manager + KMS — the one legacy piece not yet on free-tier SSM
How It's Built
The same discipline across every project on this page
No Idle Databases
Every DynamoDB table runs PAY_PER_REQUEST — rate-limit windows, chat leads, and forecast data all bill per read/write, never for provisioned capacity sitting unused.
No API Gateway Tax
Where auth isn't needed, a bare Lambda Function URL replaces API Gateway entirely — one less metered service between the request and the code that answers it.
Always-Free CDN
Every site is served through CloudFront, which includes 1TB of egress and 10 million requests a month at no cost, indefinitely — not a 12-month trial that quietly starts billing later.
Secrets Without the Markup
API keys live in SSM Parameter Store's free SecureString tier by default, not Secrets Manager's $0.40/secret/month — reserved only for the one legacy case that still needs migrating.
Unattended Automation
An EventBridge schedule triggers the forecasting Lambda, which writes straight to S3 and invalidates CloudFront itself — no one runs a script or watches a dashboard for it to happen.
Being Straight About It
One known exception, and why it's still fine
01
Not Everything Is Optimized Yet
One older component still stores 2 secrets in AWS Secrets Manager instead of free Parameter Store — about $0.73/month plus related KMS request charges, not the $0 the rest of the account achieves.
02
A Deliberate Trade-Off, Not an Oversight
At current traffic, migrating it saves under $2/month. We track it, we know exactly what it costs, and we're not spending engineering time on it until the savings justify it.
03
The Whole Account, Not a Cherry-Picked Demo
The number in the panel above is this AWS account's actual Cost Explorer total for every project shown on this site combined — not a single service in isolation.
Tired of a cloud bill that doesn't match your actual usage?
This is the same architecture discipline we bring to client builds. Tell us what's running expensive today.