Generational Evolution
AWS General Purpose Evolution: M4 vs M5 vs M6i vs M7i vs M7g
From Haswell to Sapphire Rapids and Graviton3 in the 4:1 RAM workhorse tier
Analyze the long-term price and performance trajectory of AWS's most popular instance line. Learn why staying on M4 or M5 is one of the costliest cloud hygiene mistakes.
1. Architectural & Silicon Specs Head-to-Head
Comparing underlying processor microarchitectures, memory ratios, and Nitro generation features using representative xlarge sizing.
m4x86_64
M4 General Purpose
ProcessorIntel Xeon E5-2676 v3 (Haswell)
Clock Speed2.4 GHz
RAM / vCPU4.0 GiB/vCPU
Max Network20 Gbps
Max EBS IOPS65,000
AWS NitroLegacy Xen
Min Rate (m4.xlarge)$0.2000/hr
Monthly Est.$146.00/mo
Cost per vCPU$0.0500/hr
Cost per GiB RAM$0.0125/hr
CoreMark Benchmark58,499
CoreMark / $292,495
Price Index99% of highest
Save 1% vs most expensive
Compute / $ Value33% of leader
m5x86_64
M5 General Purpose
ProcessorIntel Xeon Platinum 8175
Clock Speed3.1 GHz
RAM / vCPU4.0 GiB/vCPU
Max Network25 Gbps
Max EBS IOPS80,000
AWS NitroSupported
Min Rate (m5.xlarge)$0.1920/hr
Monthly Est.$140.16/mo
Cost per vCPU$0.0480/hr
Cost per GiB RAM$0.0120/hr
CoreMark Benchmark59,119
CoreMark / $307,911
Price Index95% of highest
Save 5% vs most expensive
Compute / $ Value35% of leader
m6ix86_64
M6I General Purpose
ProcessorIntel Xeon 8375C (Ice Lake)
Clock Speed3.5 GHz
RAM / vCPU4.0 GiB/vCPU
Max Network50 Gbps
Max EBS IOPS160,000
AWS NitroSupported
Min Rate (m6i.xlarge)$0.1920/hr
Monthly Est.$140.16/mo
Cost per vCPU$0.0480/hr
Cost per GiB RAM$0.0120/hr
CoreMark Benchmark66,742
CoreMark / $347,615
Price Index95% of highest
Save 5% vs most expensive
Compute / $ Value39% of leader
m7ix86_64
M7I General Purpose
ProcessorIntel Xeon Scalable (Sapphire Rapids)
Clock Speed3.2 GHz
RAM / vCPU4.0 GiB/vCPU
Max Network50 Gbps
Max EBS IOPS240,000
AWS NitroSupported
Min Rate (m7i.xlarge)$0.2016/hr
Monthly Est.$147.17/mo
Cost per vCPU$0.0504/hr
Cost per GiB RAM$0.0126/hr
CoreMark Benchmark89,171
CoreMark / $442,316
Price Index100% of highest
Compute / $ Value50% of leader
m7gARM64 (Graviton)
M7G General Purpose
ProcessorAWS Graviton3 Processor
Clock Speed2.5 GHz
RAM / vCPU4.0 GiB/vCPU
Max Network30 Gbps
Max EBS IOPS80,000
AWS NitroSupported
Min Rate (m7g.xlarge)$0.1166/hr
Monthly Est.$85.12/mo
Cost per vCPU$0.0291/hr
Cost per GiB RAM$0.0073/hr
CoreMark Benchmark103,066
CoreMark / $883,928
Price IndexLowest Cost
Save 42% vs most expensive
Compute / $ Value100% (Leader)
2. Side-by-Side Sizing & Pricing Matrix
Direct price and benchmark comparison across matching instance tiers in the lowest-cost region. Lowest hourly cost in each row is highlighted in green.
| Size Tier | vCPU | Memory | m4Linux Rate | m5Linux Rate | m6iLinux Rate | m7iLinux Rate | m7gLinux Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .medium | 1 | 4 GB | — | — | — | — | |
| .large | 2 | 8 GB | |||||
| .xlarge | 4 | 16 GB | |||||
| .2xlarge | 8 | 32 GB | |||||
| .4xlarge | 16 | 64 GB | |||||
| .8xlarge | 32 | 128 GB | — | ||||
| .10xlarge | 40 | 160 GB | — | — | — | — | |
| .12xlarge | 48 | 192 GB | — | ||||
| .16xlarge | 64 | 256 GB | |||||
| .24xlarge | 96 | 384 GB | — | — | |||
| .32xlarge | 128 | 512 GB | — | — | — | — | |
| .48xlarge | 192 | 768 GB | — | — | — | — |
3. Workload Decision Framework
Clear, actionable rules on when each family wins based on workload profile, runtime language, and licensing boundaries.
Recommended:Migrate to M7g (ARM64) or M7i-flex (x86)
When: Running legacy M4 or M5 application servers
Why: Immediate 20-30% cost-efficiency improvement with modern Nitro security and EBS burst limits.
5. Related Architecture Comparisons
Explore adjacent generational comparisons and silicon trade-offs.