# AWS IoT Core

> The cheapest AWS front door for device data, when the devices speak MQTT.

- Verdict: Use when it fits (Proposed: research-backed, not yet confirmed by Nic)
- Vendor: AWS
- Layer: [APIs, queues and events](https://cloudlesslabs.com/stack/layers/api-events.md). Job: Device ingestion
- Last reviewed: 18 October 2026, by Nicolas Dao (Cloudless Labs, Sydney)
- Web page: https://cloudlesslabs.com/stack/aws-iot-core/. The whole stack in one file: https://cloudlesslabs.com/stack/brief.md

Not something I use today, but the numbers make it the cheapest AWS ingestion path for MQTT devices.

## Use it when

- Devices can use MQTT and X.509 identities.

## Don't use it when

- Devices only speak HTTP. Use an HTTP API → SQS → batched Lambda.

## Pricing

In my IoT example (5,000 devices, one message a minute), IoT Core → SQS → batched Lambda → Postgres ≈ $215–230 a month vs about $1,014–1,109 for API Gateway REST → SNS → Lambda.

## Provisioning

Official Pulumi package · Official Terraform provider

## Instead, consider

- [API Gateway](https://cloudlesslabs.com/stack/aws-api-gateway/index.md): HTTP-only devices (HTTP API, not REST).

## Worked examples

- [IoT ingestion into Postgres](https://cloudlesslabs.com/stack/guides/iot-ingestion/index.md): 5,000 devices send a reading every minute. Where does the money go?

## Where it fits

- [Device and IoT data](https://cloudlesslabs.com/stack/use-cases/iot.md): pick 1. Cheapest AWS front door if devices speak MQTT.

## Related

- [APIs, queues and events](https://cloudlesslabs.com/stack/layers/api-events.md): every tool in this layer, with its verdict
- [The whole stack in one file](https://cloudlesslabs.com/stack/brief.md): every use case and tool, for questions that span many
- [Map of every Markdown file on cloudlesslabs.com, with what each one answers](https://ask.cloudlesslabs.com)