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Customer Support · head to head

Amazon Connect vs Amazon Lex

Amazon Connect logo

Amazon Connect

Customer Support

Cloud contact center from AWS

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Amazon Lex logo

Amazon Lex

Live Chat

AWS conversational AI service

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Amazon Connect telephony is charged separately from the platform, so the $0.038 per minute voice rate is not the whole cost of a call; Amazon Lex pay-as-you-go model with no standard free tier, only AWS free credits for new customers (6 months, $200 limit)
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon Connect covers Voice, Amazon Lex covers Speech recognition.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon Connect and Amazon Lex actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon Connect and Amazon Lex differ
AttributeAmazon ConnectAmazon Lex
PlatformsWebWeb, AWS Cloud
CategoryCustomer SupportLive Chat

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), founded (2006).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Amazon Connect

  • Voice
  • Chat
  • Tasks
  • ML-powered analytics
  • Contact Lens
  • Outbound campaigns
  • Forecasting
  • Salesforce

Only in Amazon Lex

  • Speech recognition
  • Natural language understanding
  • Voice and text
  • Lambda integration
  • AWS services
  • Lambda
  • DynamoDB
  • SNS

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Amazon Connect

  • Cloud contact centre with no per-seat licencenot Amazon Lex
  • Voice, chat, email and SMS in one queuenot Amazon Lex
  • Conversational analytics and agent assistnot Amazon Lex
  • Outbound campaigns and automated contactnot Amazon Lex
  • Workforce scheduling for contact centre agentsnot Amazon Lex

Amazon Lex

  • Chatbot developmentnot Amazon Connect
  • Voice-based conversational AInot Amazon Connect
  • Natural language understandingnot Amazon Connect

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Amazon Connect

  • Telephony is charged separately from the platform, so the $0.038 per minute voice rate is not the whole cost of a call
  • Every channel is metered individually: $0.010 per chat message, $0.080 per email and $0.014 per SMS
  • Rates vary by region and by third-party provider, so a published figure is indicative rather than final
  • Cost tracks contact volume, which makes forecasting hard for a queue with seasonal peaks

Amazon Lex

  • Pay-as-you-go model with no standard free tier, only AWS free credits for new customers (6 months, $200 limit)
  • Speech requests cost $0.004 each, text requests $0.00075 each, training costs $0.50 per minute
  • Variable costs can accumulate quickly for high-volume applications

Pricing, plan by plan

Amazon Connect

Free
  • Pay-as-you-go$undefined/mo
    • Chat: $0.010 per message sent or received
    • Voice: $0.038 per minute
    • Email: $0.080 per message sent or received

Amazon Lex

Free
  • Standard Usage$0.004/per speech request
    • Speech requests at $0.004 each
  • Text Requests$0.00075/per text request
    • Text requests at $0.00075 each

Which should you pick?

Choose Amazon Connect if

  • You need voice.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want chat.
Amazon Connect review

Choose Amazon Lex if

  • You need speech recognition.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, AWS Cloud.
  • You also want natural language understanding.
Amazon Lex review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon Connect or Amazon Lex better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon Connect starts at Free and Amazon Lex at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Connect or Amazon Lex?
Amazon Connect starts at Free and Amazon Lex at Free.
Does Amazon Connect or Amazon Lex run on more platforms?
Amazon Connect runs on Web. Amazon Lex runs on Web, AWS Cloud.
Can I use Amazon Connect for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Amazon Connect best used for?
Amazon Connect is most often used for cloud contact centre with no per-seat licence, voice, chat, email and sms in one queue, conversational analytics and agent assist, outbound campaigns and automated contact. Of those, cloud contact centre with no per-seat licence and voice, chat, email and sms in one queue are not what Amazon Lex is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon Connect do that Amazon Lex cannot?
Amazon Connect covers Voice, Chat, Tasks, ML-powered analytics. Amazon Lex covers Speech recognition, Natural language understanding, Voice and text, Lambda integration. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amazon Connect: How much does Amazon Connect cost?

Amazon Connect uses pay-as-you-go pricing with no minimums or long-term contracts. Costs are $0.010 per chat message, $0.038 per voice minute, $0.080 per email message, and $0.014 per SMS or third-party messaging message.

Source
Amazon Lex: How much does Amazon Lex cost?

Amazon Lex charges $0.004 per speech request and $0.00075 per text request with no upfront commitments or minimum fees required.

Source
Amazon Connect: Is Amazon Connect free to try?

Amazon Connect offers a free trial option for new customers to get started at no cost. Ongoing usage is charged based on consumption with no minimum commitment required.

Source
Amazon Lex: Is there a free tier for Amazon Lex?

Yes, new AWS customers receive 10,000 text requests and 5,000 speech requests per month free for the first year. Additional $200 in AWS Free Tier credits are available for new customers as of July 15, 2025, with all credits expiring within 12 months.

Source
Amazon Connect: What are Amazon Connect's per-channel pricing differences?

Communication channel costs vary: voice at $0.038 per minute is the most expensive, email at $0.080 per message, SMS at $0.014 per message, and chat at the lowest rate of $0.010 per message. All pricing is per message or per minute consumed with no unused portions charged.

Source
Amazon Lex: What is the example monthly cost for Amazon Lex?

For 8,000 speech requests ($32) and 2,000 text requests ($1.50), the approximate monthly total is $33.50, though actual costs vary based on usage volume.

Source
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