Which EC2 instance option provides discounted pricing for long-term commitments?

The option that provides discounted pricing for long-term commitments is Reserved Instances. This pricing model is specifically designed for customers who can commit to using a specific instance type in a particular region over a set period, typically one or three years. By making this commitment, users can benefit from significant savings compared to On-Demand pricing, making it an attractive option for predictable workloads.

Reserved Instances offer flexibility in terms of payment options, including all upfront, partial upfront, and no upfront payment configurations. This makes it a highly efficient choice for organizations that can forecast their computing needs over an extended duration.

On-Demand Instances are charged at a fixed rate for each second of use, which is ideal for situations where computing needs are unpredictable. Spot Instances allow users to bid for unused EC2 capacity at a reduced cost, but they can be interrupted by AWS with little notice, making them less suitable for long-term commitment. Dedicated Hosts provide physical servers dedicated to a single customer, but they do not inherently offer the pricing advantages of long-term commitments like Reserved Instances do.