AWS - Power User

Power User Access in AWS -

• Power User Access is an AWS managed policy (arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/PowerUserAccess).
• It grants full access to all AWS services and resources, but does not allow IAM or Organizations management.

In short:

• Power users can create, delete, and manage AWS resources (like EC2, S3, Lambda, RDS, etc.).
• They cannot manage users, groups, roles, or permissions.

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Why Power User Access Exists

It’s designed for scenarios where:

• You want developers, engineers, or DevOps staff to build and manage infrastructure, but
• You don’t want them to change security policies, IAM roles, or accounts, which should be reserved for administrators.

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Comparison: Administrator Access vs Power User Access

Feature	Administrator Access	Power User Access
Full access to all AWS resources	✅	✅
Manage IAM (users, groups, roles, policies)	✅	❌
Manage AWS Organizations	✅	❌
Best suited for	Root admins, security teams	DevOps, developers, architects

You can think Power user like

Power user = Administrator - (IAM and Organization management)