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How It Works
OpenCost runs inside a Kubernetes cluster and integrates with cloud provider billing APIs to assign accurate cost values to each workload. It reads resource requests and actual usage for CPU, memory, GPU, network, and storage, then maps those against the underlying node pricing from AWS, Azure, or GCP. The result is a granular cost view at the pod or namespace level, updated continuously as workloads change. The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) hosts the project, and it follows the OpenCost Specification, a vendor-neutral standard for Kubernetes cost measurement.
Why It Matters for Cloud Cost
Without a tool like OpenCost, Kubernetes costs are invisible below the node level. A cluster might show a single line item in the cloud bill, but finance teams cannot determine which team, application, or feature is driving that spend. OpenCost solves this by providing the allocation layer that turns raw cluster costs into chargeback or showback data. Teams can enforce cost accountability across namespaces, identify idle or over-provisioned workloads, and feed accurate Kubernetes spend into broader FinOps reporting. Organizations running containerized workloads on EKS (AWS), AKS (Azure), or GKE (GCP) rely on OpenCost as a foundational visibility layer for Kubernetes cost governance.
Usage AI: Usage AI’s ClearCost provides visibility and showback reporting across cloud spend, giving finance and engineering teams the cost attribution they need across AWS, GCP, and Azure.