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How to Delete an Unused Application Load Balancer with No Targets

Overview​

This tutorial demonstrates how to identify and delete an Application Load Balancer (ALB) that has no registered targets. An ALB with no targets cannot serve any traffic and costs approximately $16.43 per month ($197 per year) in base charges alone. Deleting unused ALBs is a simple way to eliminate waste in your AWS infrastructure.

Prerequisites​

  • Access to AWS Console with permissions to view and delete Application Load Balancers
  • Access to the us-east-1 region

Cost Impact​

Monthly savings: ~$16.43/month Annual savings: ~$197/year

Since there are no registered targets, deleting this ALB will not disrupt any services.

Steps​

Step 1: Navigate to Load Balancers​

Navigate to the EC2 Load Balancers console in the us-east-1 region.

Step 2: Locate the ALB​

Locate the load balancer remediation-alb-no-targets-alb in the list. Notice the Type is "application".

ALB List

Step 3: View Listeners and Rules​

Click the Listeners and rules tab in the lower details panel to see the listener configuration and target group associations.

Target Groups Tab

Step 4: Verify No Targets​

Click on the target group link (remediation-alb-no-targets-tg) to verify it has zero registered targets. This confirms the ALB cannot serve any traffic and is pure waste.

Zero Targets

The target group details page shows:

  • 0 Total targets
  • 0 Healthy targets
  • 0 Unhealthy targets
  • Message: "No registered targets"

Step 5: Initiate Delete​

Return to the Load Balancers page. With the load balancer selected, click the Actions dropdown menu and select Delete.

Delete Action

Step 6: Confirm Deletion​

In the confirmation dialog, type confirm to agree to the deletion.

Warning: This action cannot be undone. The load balancer and its listeners will be permanently deleted.

Confirm Delete

Click Delete to proceed.

Step 7: Verify Deletion​

Wait for the success notification confirming the load balancer has been deleted. The ALB should no longer appear in the list.

Deletion Complete

The success message indicates: "Successfully deleted load balancer"

Summary​

You have successfully deleted the unused Application Load Balancer, eliminating $16.43/month in unnecessary charges. The target groups associated with this load balancer remain available and can be deleted separately if no longer needed.

Alternative Approaches​

AWS CLI​

aws elbv2 delete-load-balancer --load-balancer-arn <arn>

CloudFormation/CDK​

Remove the ALB resource from your Infrastructure as Code templates and run a stack update.

Before Deletion​

Check for dependencies:

  • Route53 records pointing to the ALB's DNS name
  • CloudFront distributions using the ALB as an origin
  • API Gateway integrations referencing the ALB

Target Group Cleanup​

Target groups are NOT automatically deleted when the ALB is deleted. To clean up the target group:

  1. Navigate to EC2 > Target Groups
  2. Select the target group (remediation-alb-no-targets-tg)
  3. Click Actions > Delete

Additional Notes​

  • Base ALB charges apply even when no traffic is being served
  • There are no registered targets, so no EC2 instances or other resources are affected
  • The deletion is immediate and cannot be reversed
  • Listeners are automatically deleted with the load balancer