Amazon Elastic Container Registry
Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR) is a managed registry for storing, sharing, and deploying container software and artifacts.
What Amazon Elastic Container Registry is
Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR) is a managed registry for storing, sharing, and deploying container software and artifacts. It works with Amazon ECS and Amazon EKS, which can retrieve images referenced in task or pod definitions. ECR supports OCI standards, the Docker Registry HTTP API V2, and Docker CLI commands for operations such as pushing, pulling, listing, and tagging images. Its public gallery offers publicly shared container software, and AWS accounts are not required to search or pull public images. The service also supports pull-through caches, managed image signing, IAM access policies, and image encryption at rest, with an option to use an AWS KMS key. Amazon Inspector can automate image vulnerability assessment and remediation ticket routing. ECR can replicate images and artifacts across AWS Regions. New customers receive 500 MB per month of private repository storage for one year, while public repository storage includes 50 GB per month always free. Public repository internet transfer is free up to 500 GB per month. The pay-as-you-go plan has no listed price and charges for data stored and transferred to the internet; AWS lists pricing from $0.10 a month.
Good
- Integrates with Amazon ECS and EKS.
- Supports OCI standards and Docker CLI.
- Can replicate artifacts across AWS Regions.
- Includes free public repository storage and transfer allowances.
Watch out
- Pay-as-you-go charges for storage and internet transfer.
- Transfer above 500 TB per month requires contacting AWS.
- Private storage allowance for new customers lasts one year.
Who it suits
ECR may suit teams storing and distributing container images, including users of Amazon ECS or EKS and teams with CI/CD workflows. It supports access from cloud, on-premises, and local Docker environments.
Verdict
ECR brings container image storage, distribution, access controls, and regional replication together for AWS and Docker workflows. Review the storage and data-transfer terms, particularly for usage beyond the listed allowances.
Plans and prices
From Amazon Elastic Container Registry's own pricing page, checked 2 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Pay-as-you-go | — | 500 MB/month private repository storage for new ECR customers for one year · 50 GB/month always-free public repository storage · Public repository internet transfer free up to 500 GB/month anonymously or 5 TB/month with an AWS account · By data stored and data transferred to the internet; no upfront fees or commitments. |
The facts
Each one read from Amazon Elastic Container Registry's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Access control and encryption
- ECR uses IAM policies to control access to private images, transfers images over HTTPS, and encrypts images at rest using S3 server-side encryption, with an option to use an AWS KMS key.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Availability and replication
- ECR stores images and artifacts in Amazon S3 and can automatically replicate them to multiple AWS Regions.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Compliance
- AWS says it supports 143 security standards and compliance certifications, including PCI-DSS, HIPAA/HITECH, FedRAMP, GDPR, FIPS 140-3, and NIST 800-171.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Development environments
- AWS says ECR can be accessed from Docker environments in the cloud, on-premises, or on a local machine.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Image cache
- Pull through cache repositories retrieve, store, and sync artifacts from publicly accessible container registries.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Image security
- ECR supports managed container image signing, which can be configured in the console or through an API call to sign new images pushed to selected repositories.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- AWS describes its customers as ranging from startups and enterprises to nonprofits and governments.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Orchestrators
- ECR integrates with Amazon ECS and Amazon EKS so they can retrieve images specified in task or pod definitions.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Pricing limit
- For data transfer exceeding 500 TB per month, AWS directs customers to contact it.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Public gallery
- The ECR public gallery hosts publicly shared container software, including base images, Kubernetes add-ons, and Helm charts; AWS accounts are not required to search or pull public images.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Amazon ECR is a fully managed container registry for storing, sharing, and deploying container software and artifacts.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Standards and tools
- ECR supports OCI standards, the Docker Registry HTTP API V2, and Docker CLI commands such as push, pull, list, and tag.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Third-party integrations
- ECR integrates with third-party developer tools and can be included in continuous integration and delivery workflows.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Vulnerability scanning
- AWS describes using the integrated Amazon Inspector service to automate container image vulnerability assessment and remediation ticket routing.checked 2 Oct 2026
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