AWS Transfer Family
Electronic data interchange (EDI) software
Managed file transfer (MFT) software
Data integration tools
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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Pay-as-you-go
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- Information technology and software
- Agriculture, fishing, and forestry
- Real estate and property management
What is AWS Transfer Family
AWS Transfer Family is a managed file transfer service that provides SFTP, FTPS, FTP, and AS2 endpoints for moving files into and out of AWS storage and services. It is used by IT, integration, and operations teams to support partner file exchanges, legacy protocol compatibility, and secure ingestion to Amazon S3 or Amazon EFS. The service is AWS-native and integrates with AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), AWS Key Management Service (KMS), Amazon CloudWatch, and AWS CloudTrail for access control, encryption, monitoring, and auditing. It focuses on protocol hosting and secure transfer rather than providing a full iPaaS-style transformation and orchestration layer.
Broad protocol support
It supports common managed file transfer protocols including SFTP, FTPS, FTP, and AS2, which helps organizations maintain compatibility with external partners and legacy systems. AS2 support is relevant for B2B document exchange patterns that often accompany EDI workflows. Multiple protocol options reduce the need to deploy and maintain separate gateway servers for each protocol. This is useful when standardizing inbound/outbound file exchange on AWS.
Deep AWS security integration
It integrates with IAM for authentication/authorization and can use KMS for encryption key management. Logging and audit trails can be captured through CloudWatch and CloudTrail, supporting operational monitoring and compliance evidence. Network controls can be implemented using VPC-related configurations depending on endpoint type and architecture. These capabilities align with organizations that already standardize security controls on AWS.
Direct landing to AWS storage
Transfers can land directly in Amazon S3 or Amazon EFS, simplifying ingestion pipelines and reducing intermediate infrastructure. This design supports event-driven processing patterns (for example, triggering downstream workflows when files arrive in S3). It also fits data lake and archival use cases where S3 is the system of record. The service is typically easier to operationalize than self-managed file transfer servers in cloud environments.
Limited EDI translation features
The service does not provide native EDI mapping/translation (for example, X12/EDIFACT parsing, validation, and document transformation) as a core capability. Organizations that need end-to-end EDI onboarding, partner management, and document-level compliance typically require additional software or custom development. AS2 provides transport, but not the full EDI processing lifecycle. This can increase overall solution complexity for EDI-heavy programs.
Not a full integration platform
Compared with data integration tools, it offers limited built-in workflow orchestration, transformation, and connector breadth outside AWS services. Complex multi-application integrations often require AWS-native components (such as Lambda, Step Functions, or managed ETL services) or third-party integration platforms. This shifts responsibility for mapping, retries, and business process logic to surrounding services. Teams without AWS engineering capacity may find this approach less turnkey.
AWS-centric deployment model
It is designed primarily for AWS environments, with endpoints and storage targets centered on AWS services. Organizations with significant multi-cloud or on-prem-first integration requirements may need additional networking, tooling, or parallel MFT infrastructure. Vendor and platform dependency can be a consideration for long-term architecture decisions. Some partner ecosystems may also require capabilities (e.g., specialized partner portals) that are outside the service scope.
Plan & Pricing
Pricing model: Pay-as-you-go (usage-based).
Free tier/trial: No permanent free tier or time-limited free trial is indicated on the official AWS Transfer Family pricing page (see notes below).
Key SKUs / Example prices (US East - N. Virginia examples shown on AWS pricing page):
- Server endpoints (per protocol enabled on a Server endpoint): $0.30 per hour (example shown). Charged per hour per protocol enabled (examples on the page use $0.30/hour to calculate monthly costs).
- Data uploaded/downloaded over SFTP / FTPS / FTP: $0.04 per GB (example rate shown).
- AS2 messages: $0.01 per message for messages <= 50 MB; messages > 50 MB are charged $0.01 for each 50 MB chunk.
- Managed Workflows (data processing steps): example shown $0.10 per GB for PGP Decrypt step.
- SFTP connectors:
- Connector API calls: $0.001 per connector call (example: StartFileTransfer, StartDirectoryListing, StartRemoteDelete shown at $0.001/call).
- Data sent/retrieved via SFTP connectors: $0.40 per GB (example rate shown).
- Web apps: $0.50 per hour per web app unit (one unit supports up to 250 unique sessions per 5-minute period; example uses $0.50/hour/unit).
Additional charges (explicitly noted on the official page): standard AWS charges still apply for Amazon S3/EFS storage and request rates, AWS Lambda, API Gateway, Route 53 lookups, AWS Secrets Manager (for PGP keys), CloudWatch Logs/Events, CloudTrail logging, VPC Lattice when used for connector egress, and standard data transfer charges into/out of AWS services.
Example costs: (taken directly from pricing examples on the official page)
- Single SFTP endpoint: $0.30/hour => $216/month; SFTP data at $0.04/GB => $0.04 * 1 GB * 30 days = $1.20; total example $217.20.
- Web apps example: $0.50/hour * 2 units * 24 hours * 30 days = $720/month.
- Connectors example: connector calls at $0.001/call and data at $0.40/GB produce example monthly totals (see official examples).
Discounts / special pricing: For sustained usage above certain volumes (example: >1M AS2 messages/month) AWS asks you to contact your AWS account team to discuss special pricing options. The page links AWS Pricing Calculator and offers "Get pricing assistance" to request personalized quotes.
Notes / Region variance: The pricing page lists example rates and calculations for the US East (N. Virginia) region. AWS pricing varies by region; the official page lists these example unit rates and recommends using the AWS Pricing Calculator or contacting AWS for quotes.
(Information sourced only from the official AWS Transfer Family pricing page.)
Seller details
Amazon Web Services, Inc.
Seattle, Washington, USA
2006
Subsidiary
https://aws.amazon.com/
https://x.com/awscloud
https://www.linkedin.com/company/amazon-web-services/
