How do I set up AWS cost alerts?

With CostGoat, setting up AWS cost alerts takes 30 seconds: enter your AWS credentials (stored securely in your local keychain) and choose whether to track total AWS spend and/or specific AWS services. You'll get instant push notifications on your computer when costs exceed your limit. No complex AWS Budgets configuration or SNS topics required.

How does CostGoat connect to my AWS account?

CostGoat uses the AWS Cost Explorer API with your AWS credentials. The desktop app makes direct API calls from your machine, and your credentials are encrypted and stored in your OS keyring (Keychain on macOS, Credential Manager on Windows). We never see or store your AWS credentials.

What AWS permissions does CostGoat need?

CostGoat requires read-only access to AWS Cost Explorer (ce:GetCostAndUsage, ce:GetCostForecast) and optionally Organizations for multi-account setups. You can use your existing AWS credentials or create a dedicated IAM user with minimal permissions if preferred.

Can I monitor multiple AWS accounts?

Yes. You can add credentials for as many AWS accounts as you want. Each account's credentials are stored separately and securely in your local keychain.

How often does CostGoat refresh AWS cost data?

By default, CostGoat refreshes every 6 hours to balance data freshness with API usage. You can customize this interval in settings. Note that AWS Cost Explorer data can take up to 24 hours to reflect actual usage.

AWS Cost Monitor

Stop AWS Bill Shock Before It Happens

Name: CostGoat
Brand: CostGoat

Privacy-first desktop app for real-time AWS cost monitoring. Set up alerts in 30 seconds. Track total spend or drill down by service, tag, and account.

Free 7-day trial. No sign-up, no credit card.

CostGoat tracking AWS costs and usage in real-time

Monitor All Your AWS Services

CostGoat connects directly to AWS Cost Explorer API to track spending across every AWS service. Partial matching is supported, so "EC2" or "Lambda" will match. Click to copy.

EC2

Lambda

Lightsail

App Runner

ECS

EKS

ECR

Elastic Load Balancing

Fargate

EFS

FSx

Why Monitor AWS Costs with CostGoat?

Real-Time Cost Visibility

See your AWS spending as it happens. Track costs across all services, regions, and accounts with automatic refresh (every 6 hours by default, or set your own interval).

Billing Alerts & Anomaly Detection

Set custom spending thresholds for individual services or total AWS costs. Get an instant desktop or email alert when spend exceeds limits or spikes unexpectedly.

Cost Breakdown by Tag

Track spending by AWS cost allocation tags. See costs per project, team, or environment. Filter by any tag you've configured in AWS.

Privacy-First Architecture

Your AWS credentials never leave your device. All API calls happen locally, encrypted with OS-native keyring technology.

Get Started in 2 Minutes

Download CostGoat

Free download for macOS, Windows, and Linux. No credit card required to start your 7-day trial.

Add Your AWS Credentials

Enter your AWS access key and secret. Your credentials are encrypted and stored locally, and we never see them.

How to Check Your AWS Bill and Usage

Prefer to check manually? Here is how to find your bill and usage in the AWS Billing console.

Open the Billing console

Drill into Cost Explorer

Cost Explorer breaks spend down over time and lets you group by service, tag, or account to find what is driving your bill.

Check Free Tier usage

The Free Tier page shows your usage against each free-tier limit, so you can see how close you are to being charged.

The automated alternative

Instead of logging into the console every day, CostGoat keeps your live AWS bill and usage on your desktop and alerts you before your spend spikes. You catch a runaway service the day it starts, not on next month's invoice.