Clarifications on Quick Sight Paginated Reports – Cost, Execution & Performance

Q&A
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1

Hi Team,

I have a few questions regarding QuickSight paginated (pixel-perfect) reports around pricing, execution behavior, and performance:

  1. Cost Applicability

  • Is cost applied every time a paginated report is rendered?

  • Specifically, will each of the following count as separate executions:

    • Opening/viewing a report

    • Exporting to PDF/Excel

    • Scheduled email delivery

  1. Execution Size & Time

  • For a report of ~100 pages (or ~100 MB), what is the typical execution/rendering time?

  • Are there any documented benchmarks or factors that significantly impact this (e.g., data source performance like MySQL)?

  1. Parallel Execution Behavior

  • If multiple reports (e.g., 3 reports) are triggered at the same time:

    • Are they processed in parallel or sequentially?

    • Is there any queuing mechanism?

    • Is execution asynchronous or synchronous?

  1. Execution Strategy
  • Does QuickSight follow any specific execution strategy (e.g., FIFO, shortest-job-first, or system-managed scheduling)?
  1. Caching Behavior
  • If a user opens a recently generated report, does it trigger a new execution or reuse a cached version?

Would appreciate your clarification on these points to better understand cost optimization and performance behavior.

Thanks in advance!

2

Hi @VISHNUPRIYA7403

QuickSight paginated (pixel-perfect) reports operate on a report unit consumption model, where charges are incurred based on the generation or delivery of these reports.

Report Unit Billing:

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  • 1 report unit = up to 100 pages OR 100 MB of output (whichever is exceeded first).
  • A 200-page report = 2 units, a 150-page / 150 MB file = 2 units.
  • Usage:
    • Scheduled Delivery: Standard email distributions of a single report configuration count as 1 unit. Note: Using the Snapshot API to generate personalized reports (e.g., unique parameters per user) triggers a generation request, each successfully generated file counts as a report unit based on its specific page/size characteristics.
    • Exports: Every user-triggered PDF/CSV export consumes a report unit.
    • View/Access: Viewing via the console serves the latest snapshot (cached), this does not trigger a new charge unless a new generation is requested.
    • Reader-generated on-demand reports (via prompts) do count as a report unit.

Performance & Execution

  • Speed: SPICE is the recommended engine for performance. Direct queries (MySQL/RDS) are subject to database latency and are often the primary performance bottleneck.
  • Capacity: The system is serverless and designed for parallel execution. It handles email bursts automatically without requiring manual queuing.
  • Limits: Maximum 1,000 pages per report, 120-second query timeout per visual.

Caching Strategy

  • QuickSight uses a snapshot-based model. Every time a scheduled report runs, it generates and saves a snapshot.
  • When a user opens/views the paginated report dashboard, they see the most recently generated snapshot, no new execution is triggered.
  • You can view snapshot history (past generated reports) from the dashboard under Scheduling - Recent Snapshots.