# Launch an EC2 instance using the launch instance wizard in the console
You can launch an Amazon EC2 instance using the launch instance wizard in the Amazon EC2 console. The wizard provides default values for the launch parameters, which you can either accept or modify to suit your requirements. The only parameter that is not specified is the key pair. If you choose to accept the default values, you can quickly launch an instance by selecting only a key pair.
**Important**
You incur charges for the instance while the instance is in the `running` state, even if it remains idle. However, if you qualify for the Free Tier, you might not incur charges. For more information, see [Track your Free Tier usage for Amazon EC2](ec2-free-tier-usage.md).
For a description of each parameter in the launch instance wizard, see [Reference for Amazon EC2 instance configuration parameters](ec2-instance-launch-parameters.md).
**Topics**
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## Quickly launch an instance
](#liw-quickly-launch-instance)
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## Launch an instance using defined parameters
](#liw-launch-instance-with-defined-parameters)
## Quickly launch an instance
To set up an instance quickly for testing purposes, follow these steps. You'll select the operating system and your key pair, and accept the default values. Except for the key pair, the launch instance wizard provides default values for all of the parameters. You can accept any or all of the defaults, or configure an instance by specifying your own values for each parameter.
For a description of each parameter in the launch instance wizard, see [Reference for Amazon EC2 instance configuration parameters](ec2-instance-launch-parameters.md).
**To quickly launch an instance using the launch instance wizard**
1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/).
1. In the navigation bar at the top of the screen, the current AWS Region is displayed (for example, US East (Ohio)). If needed, select a different Region in which to launch the instance.
1. From the Amazon EC2 console dashboard, choose **Launch instance**.
1. (Optional) Under **Name and tags**, for **Name**, enter a descriptive name for your instance.
1. Under **Application and OS Images (Amazon Machine Image)**, choose **Quick Start**, and then choose the operating system (OS) for your instance.
1. Under **Key pair (login)**, for **Key pair name**, choose an existing key pair or create a new one.
1. In the **Summary** panel, choose **Launch instance**.
## Launch an instance using defined parameters
If you're launching an instance that you'll use in production, you'll need to configure the instance to suit your requirements. For a description of each parameter in the launch instance wizard, see [Reference for Amazon EC2 instance configuration parameters](ec2-instance-launch-parameters.md).
**To launch an instance by defining all the launch parameters using the launch instance wizard**
1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/).
1. In the navigation bar at the top of the screen, the current AWS Region is displayed (for example, US East (Ohio)). If needed, select a different Region in which to launch the instance.
1. From the Amazon EC2 console dashboard, choose **Launch instance**.
1. (Optional) Under **Name and tags**, for **Name**, enter a descriptive name for your instance so that you can easily keep track of it.
The instance name is a tag, where the key is **Name**, and the value is the name that you specify.
1. Under **Application and OS Images (Amazon Machine Image)**, choose the operating system (OS) for your instance, and then choose an AMI.
An AMI is a template that contains the operating system and software required to launch your instance.
1. Under **Instance type**, choose an instance type.
The instance type determines the hardware configuration (CPU, memory, storage, and networking capacity) and size of the host computer used for your instance.
If you're not sure which instance type to choose, you can do the following:
+ Choose **Compare instance types** to compare different instance types by the following attributes: number of vCPUs, architecture, amount of memory (GiB), amount of storage (GB), storage type, and network performance.
+ Choose **Get advice** to get guidance and suggestions for instance types from the EC2 instance type finder. For more information, see [Get recommendations from EC2 instance type finder](get-ec2-instance-type-recommendations.md).
**Note**
Depending on when you created your account, you might be able to use instance types for free under the Free Tier. These instance types are labeled **Free tier eligible**.
If your created your AWS account before July 15, 2025 and it's less than 12 months old, you can use Amazon EC2 under the Free Tier by selecting the **t2.micro** instance type, or the **t3.micro** instance type in Regions where **t2.micro** is unavailable. Be aware that when you launch a **t3.micro** instance, it defaults to [**Unlimited** mode](burstable-performance-instances-unlimited-mode.md), which might incur additional charges based on CPU usage.
If you created your AWS account on or after July 15, 2025, you can use **t3.micro**, **t3.small**, **t4g.micro**, **t4g.small**, **c7i-flex.large**, and **m7i-flex.large** instance types for 6 months or until your credits are used up.
For more information, see [Free Tier benefits before and after July 15, 2025](ec2-free-tier-usage.md#ec2-free-tier-comparison).
1. Under **Key pair (login)**, for **Key pair name**, choose an existing key pair or create a new one. If you do not require a key pair to connect to your instance, you can choose **Proceed without a key pair (not recommended)**.
1. Under **Network settings**, you can keep the defaults if you're launching a test instance. If you're launching a production instance, it's best practice to control traffic into and out of your instance using network settings and security groups that you define.
1. Under **Configure storage**, you can keep the defaults or specify additional storage. The AMI you selected includes one or more volumes of storage, including the root volume. You can specify additional volumes to attach to the instance.
You can use the **Simple** or **Advanced** view. With the **Simple** view, you specify the size and type of the volume. To specify all volume parameters, choose the **Advanced** view (at top right of the card).
1. For **Advanced details**, expand the section to view the fields and specify any additional parameters for your instance.
1. In the **Summary** panel, you can do the following:
1. Specify the number of instances to launch.
1. Review your instance configuration, and navigate directly to a section by choosing its link.
1. When you're ready to launch your instance, choose **Launch instance**.
If the instance fails to launch or the state immediately goes to `terminated` instead of `running`, see [Troubleshoot Amazon EC2 instance launch issues](troubleshooting-launch.md).
1. (Optional) You can create a billing alert for the instance. On the confirmation screen, under **Next Steps**, choose **Create billing alerts** and follow the directions. Billing alerts can also be created after you launch the instance. For more information, see [Creating a billing alarm to monitor your estimated AWS charges](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/monitoring/monitor_estimated_charges_with_cloudwatch.html) in the *Amazon CloudWatch User Guide*.