# Specifying a default parameter tier for your Amazon Web Services account and Amazon Web Services Region
<a name="ps-default-tier"></a>

If you create or update a parameter but don't specify a parameter tier in the command, the default tier setting determines the tier. By default, Parameter Store sets the default setting to the standard parameter tier.

## Default parameter tier options
<a name="parameter-store-advanced-parameters-default-tier"></a>

Standard parameters are available at no cost, but they have size and feature restrictions, as described in [Standard and advanced parameter tiers](parameter-store-advanced-parameters.md#parameter-store-advanced-parameters-table). If your use case requires features or limits that standard parameters don't support, consider setting the advanced tier as the default. The advanced tier offers higher limits and extra features, at a cost. For more information, see [Amazon Systems Manager Pricing for Parameter Store](https://www.amazonaws.cn/systems-manager/pricing/#Parameter_Store).

You can change Parameter Store default tier settings at any time using the [UpdateServiceSetting](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/systems-manager/latest/APIReference/API_UpdateServiceSetting.html) API. Set the parameter tier default value to `Standard`, `Advanced`, or `Intelligent-Tiering`.

To maximize efficiency and reduce costs, consider setting `Intelligent-Tiering` as the default value. This setting determines whether to use the standard or advanced tier based on the request content. For example, if you create a parameter that meets the criteria for a standard parameter, intelligent tiering creates the parameter in the standard tier. If you create a parameter where one or more criteria don't meet the standard-tier requirements, intelligent tiering creates the parameter in the advanced tier.

Intelligent tiering offers the following benefits:

**Cost control**  
Intelligent tiering helps control your parameter-related costs by always creating standard parameters unless the request requires the advanced tier.

**Automatic upgrade to the advanced tier**  
When you make a change to your code that requires upgrading a standard parameter to an advanced parameter, intelligent tiering handles the conversion for you. You don't need to change your code to handle the upgrade. Sample use cases include the following:  
+ Your Amazon CloudFormation templates provision numerous parameters when they're run. When this process causes you to reach the 10,000 parameter quota in the standard-parameter tier, Intelligent-Tiering automatically upgrades you to the advanced-parameter tier, and your Amazon CloudFormation processes aren't interrupted.
+ You store a certificate value in a parameter, rotate the certificate value regularly, and the content is less than the 4 KB quota of the standard-parameter tier. If a replacement certificate value exceeds 4 KB, Intelligent-Tiering automatically upgrades the parameter to the advanced-parameter tier.
+ You want to associate numerous existing standard parameters to a parameter policy, which requires the advanced-parameter tier. Instead of including the `--tier Advanced` option in calls to update parameters, Intelligent-Tiering automatically upgrades parameters to the advanced tier.
+ You create a parameter with, or change an existing parameter to, the `url`, `json`, or `jsonc` data type. These data types require the advanced tier, so Intelligent-Tiering automatically creates or upgrades the parameter as an advanced parameter.