Instances›AWS EC2›c8a›c8a.48xlarge
Compute
vCPUs192
Memory384 GiB
Mem / vCPU2.00 GiB
ProcessorEPYC 9R45 Processor
Clock speedUp to 4.5 GHz
Architecturex86_64
Storage
TypeEBS only
Bandwidth60,000 Mbps
Throughput7500 MB/s
IOPS240,000
Networking
Performance75 Gigabit
Max ENIs24
IPv6Yes
GPUNone
Family sizes
c8a.medium1 vCPU · 2 GiB
c8a.large2 vCPU · 4 GiB
c8a.xlarge4 vCPU · 8 GiB
c8a.2xlarge8 vCPU · 16 GiB
c8a.4xlarge16 vCPU · 32 GiB
c8a.8xlarge32 vCPU · 64 GiB
c8a.12xlarge48 vCPU · 96 GiB
c8a.16xlarge64 vCPU · 128 GiB
c8a.24xlarge96 vCPU · 192 GiB
c8a.metal-24xl96 vCPU · 192 GiB
c8a.48xlarge192 vCPU · 384 GiB
c8a.metal-48xl192 vCPU · 384 GiB
c8a.48xlarge

The c8a.48xlarge pairs 192 vCPU with 384 GiB of RAM, the 2.00 GiB-per-vCPU ratio that marks a compute-optimized instance. In the name, "c" stands for compute, "8" is the generation, "a" marks AMD processors and "48xlarge" is the size within the c8a family. It runs on AMD EPYC 9R45 Processor at Up to 4.5 GHz, and AWS introduced it in December 2025. AWS has since shipped c9g; c9g.48xlarge is the direct replacement at this size. Spot's node ladder tops out below this size, so c8a.48xlarge becomes 12 × ch.vs1.2xlarge (192 vCPU, 384 GiB combined), about 95% below the US East (N. Virginia) on-demand rate. Spot delivers compute as managed Kubernetes, so a node pool of that size is the native shape of the answer rather than a workaround — provided the workload scales horizontally.

Match qualityScale-out match

c8a.48xlarge gives you 192 vCPU and 384 GiB in a single machine. The largest comparable Spot node, ch.vs1.2xlarge, is 16 vCPU and 32 GiB, so the equivalent here is 12 nodes rather than one.

Spot runs as managed Kubernetes, so a 12-node pool is the normal way to run things rather than a workaround. If your workload already sits behind a load balancer, a queue or a scheduler, it spreads across them without changes. If it needs all 192 cores and 384 GiB in one process, it does not.

Pricing by region
1 hr
RegionAWS on-demandAWS Spot1-yr Reserved3-yr ReservedRackspace SpotYou save
US East, N. Virginia$10.346$3.326$0.492
$9.854 savings
US Central, Chicagono AWS region$0.132
US Central, Dallasno AWS region$1.332
Hong Kong$0.492
Sydney, Australia$0.492
London, UK$1.572
US West, San Jose$0.024
US Central, Dallas 2no AWS region$1.464
US East, N. Virginia 2$10.346$3.326$1.944
$8.402 savings
When to use it
Good for
  • ●Video encoding and transcoding
  • ●High-traffic web and API serving
  • ●Scientific modelling and simulation
  • ●Workloads that fit inside 384 GiB of RAM
  • ●Parallel work that can occupy 192 vCPU
  • ●Network-heavy services — AWS rates this size at 75 Gigabit
  • ●Anything that shards cleanly across 12 nodes, which is how it maps onto Rackspace Spot
Avoid if
  • ●The working set needs more than 384 GiB of RAM
  • ●Memory-hungry applications. A memory-optimized family gives more RAM per dollar.
  • ●More than 2.00 GiB of RAM per vCPU is needed — that ratio is fixed for the whole family
  • ●The work is single-threaded. Most of these 192 vCPU would sit idle.
  • ●Local NVMe or instance-store disk is a hard requirement
  • ●GPU or FPGA acceleration is needed
c8a.48xlarge runs $7,553/mo on AWS on-demand. The 12-node equivalent on Rackspace Spot: $359/mo.
  • Spot sells spare capacity at market prices. It is the cheapest compute on the internet.
  • Prices are set by supply and demand. You pay what the market decides.
  • Compute is delivered as fully managed Kubernetes. All infrastructure is taken care of.
  • Egress costs $0.01/GB after the free allowance. AWS charges $0.09/GB.
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