A global computer glitch at Amazon Web Services (AWS) has caused erroneous monthly bills as high as $1.5 trillion to be sent to customers worldwide, sparking panic and confusion. The error affected users ranging from small charities and students to large businesses, with typical bills of less than a dollar suddenly ballooning to astronomical sums.
UK Charity Shocked by $7.8 Billion Bill
Dan Harvey, head of marketing at the Hampshire-based charity Learning Through Landscapes, said he “almost had a heart attack” when he saw a bill of $7.8 billion (£5.8 billion) for the charity’s school grounds audit app, which usually costs less than £1 per month. The previous month’s bill had been just 43 cents. “I had to have a real dig around with our tech support team, while I was in full panic mode, trying to find what was going on in our account,” he said.
Global Panic Spreads on Social Media
Users from Bangalore to Bolsover reported similarly shocking bills. Bharath, a user on X, posted a screenshot showing his usage had increased by 745,728,201,771% compared to the previous month, with a bill of $1.5 trillion. “I just saw $1.5tn on my AWS bill and my soul left my body,” he wrote. Sachin, a student in Delhi who usually pays $1.28 a month, was billed $10.9 billion. “Could you please investigate,” he pleaded to AWS support. In Bolsover, Derbyshire, historian Andrea Zuvich, who runs the website The Seventeenth Century Lady, described a “horrible half hour of extreme stress” after her bill reached $245 billion—close to Jeff Bezos’s net worth according to Forbes. “Our usual bills are around $15 a month,” she said. “You can imagine we were pretty surprised … On a more serious note, this may have alarmed some people very greatly, and even have caused health issues.”
Cause of the Glitch
The error began at 3:38 AM UK time on Friday, when the AWS billing and cost management console started displaying incorrect figures. AWS apologized “for any confusion and concern around these costs” and after 90 minutes of investigation, identified “an issue with unit pricing within the estimated billing computation subsystem.” The company shut off the bill estimation system, but warned that full resolution would take multiple hours as they recomputed the estimated billing data.
Customer Reactions
“I’m terrified,” said another customer who saw a $256 billion bill. The incident highlights the vast scale of AWS’s operations, serving millions of customers from individuals to governments. Gerred, an X user in Maine, summed up the mood: “Good morning to everyone enjoying their heart attacks.” AWS has been approached for comment.
