AWS Cost Explorer Pricing Calculator & Complete Cost Guide
Interactive AWS Cost Explorer pricing calculator. Compare free UI features vs paid API requests and understand cost optimization strategies.
Pricing TLDR
- • Web UI: Free
- • API: $0.01/request • Hourly Granularity: $0.01/1,000 records
AWS Cost Explorer Pricing Calculator
Quick Examples:
API requests per day
0
1,000
Enable hourly granularity
Estimated pagination factor
Each page of results costs $0.01 - complex queries may return multiple pages
Estimated Monthly Cost
$30.00
About AWS Cost Explorer
What is AWS Cost Explorer?
AWS Cost Explorer is a cost visualization and analysis tool that helps you view and analyze your AWS costs and usage over time. It provides an intuitive interface to explore your spending patterns, identify cost drivers, and optimize your AWS resources.
- Free Web Interface: Comprehensive cost analysis features available at no cost, including 13 months of historical data, daily granularity, and forecasting capabilities
- API Access: Programmatic access for automation and integration with third-party tools at $0.01 per request
- Hourly Granularity: Optional detailed tracking for optimization projects, providing hour-by-hour cost data for the past 14 days
When to Use AWS Cost Explorer
Most users can leverage Cost Explorer completely free through the web interface. You only pay when you need programmatic access via the API ($0.01 per request) or require hourly-level cost data for optimization projects.
Ideal for
- Analyzing actual AWS spending and identifying cost anomalies
- Tracking budget vs actual with 13 months of historical data
- Optimizing existing resources and creating chargeback reports
- Monitoring RI/Savings Plans coverage and utilization
- Automated cost analysis and alerts via API integration
- Hour-by-hour cost tracking for deployments and resource scheduling
Not ideal for
- Planning new deployments (use AWS Pricing Calculator instead)
- Estimating costs for proposed architectures
- Comparing service alternatives before deployment
- Creating budget proposals for resources not yet deployed
AWS Cost Explorer Pricing Breakdown
Free Features
The web interface is completely free, making it accessible for organizations of all sizes to monitor and analyze their AWS spending without additional costs.
- Web UI access with intuitive cost visualization
- 13 months of historical data for trend analysis
- Daily granularity for standard cost tracking
- Basic filtering and grouping by service, region, tags
- Cost and usage reports with CSV export
- Forecasting capabilities based on historical patterns
- Savings Plans recommendations for cost optimization
- Reserved Instance utilization and coverage tracking
API Request Pricing
API pricing at $0.01 per request enables programmatic access for automation and integration. This pay-per-use model ensures you only pay for the exact number of API calls you make, with no minimum commitments or upfront fees.
API Access
$0.01/request
Per API call regardless of complexity
- All GetCostAndUsage API operations
- GetDimensionValues queries
- GetReservationUtilization calls
- Programmatic access to all cost data
- Integration with third-party tools
- Custom application development
- CI/CD pipeline cost tracking
Hourly Granularity Pricing
Hourly granularity provides valuable insights for cost optimization projects and anomaly detection. It makes sense when you need to identify specific time-based patterns, track costs during deployments, or optimize resource scheduling.
Pricing Structure
$0.01 per 1,000 usage records monthly ($0.00000033 per record daily). Each resource generates 336 records (24 hours × 14 days retention). Example: 100 EC2 instances = 33,600 records = $0.34/month.
What's Included
Hour-by-hour cost data for the past 14 days across Cost Explorer, Savings Plans Utilization, and Coverage reports. Once enabled, applies to all compatible resources automatically.
Best For
Cost optimization projects requiring detailed time-based analysis, anomaly detection during specific hours, tracking costs during deployments, and optimizing resource scheduling patterns.
Important Note
Once enabled, hourly granularity cannot be disabled. Plan carefully before activation and ensure the detailed insights justify the additional cost.
Hidden Costs & Considerations
Important factors to consider when using AWS Cost Explorer to avoid unexpected charges.
- Pagination Trap: Large result sets are paginated, with each page counting as a separate $0.01 request. A query returning 100 pages costs $1.00. Design queries to minimize pagination.
- Cannot Be Disabled: Once Cost Explorer is enabled, it stays on permanently. Hourly granularity also cannot be disabled once activated.
- Data Delays: Cost Explorer has a 24-hour lag for current month data. Factor this into your automation schedules and real-time monitoring needs.
- Third-party Integration Costs: Tools using your Cost Explorer API generate charges. Monitor and budget for external tool usage.
- Best Practices: Batch multiple queries into single requests, cache frequently accessed data locally, use appropriate time granularities, implement smart pagination strategies, and filter data at the API level rather than client-side.
Regional Pricing
AWS Cost Explorer has identical pricing worldwide - a rare exception in AWS services.
Global Uniform Pricing
No regional price differences. The us-east-1 pricing ($0.01 per API request, $0.01 per 1,000 hourly records) applies globally to all AWS regions including US, Europe, Asia Pacific, and others.
Region Selection Strategy
Choose regions based on latency to users and compliance requirements, not cost. Whether you're accessing Cost Explorer from Virginia, London, or Singapore, the pricing remains identical.
Simplified Budgeting
No need to account for regional variations or maintain separate pricing models for different geographies. This uniform pricing simplifies cost planning for global deployments.
No Infrastructure Costs
Unlike other AWS services, Cost Explorer requires no EC2 instances, databases, or storage infrastructure, eliminating hidden regional infrastructure costs entirely.
Real-World AWS Cost Explorer Pricing Examples
Small Startup
$0/month
• Web UI only
• Manual cost analysis
• Basic reporting
Perfect for manual cost reviews and reporting
Mid-size Company
$9/month
• 30 API calls/day
• Daily automated reports
• Basic cost monitoring
Automated daily reports and basic monitoring
Large Enterprise
$35.04/month
• 100 API calls/day
• 500 EC2 instances
• Hourly granularity enabled
Full automation with detailed hourly tracking
AWS Cost Explorer vs AWS Pricing Calculator
Both tools help with AWS cost management but serve different purposes in your financial planning workflow.
Cost Explorer
Analyze actual costs
Pricing Calculator
Estimate future costs
Cost Explorer
Real usage data
Pricing Calculator
Hypothetical scenarios
Cost Explorer
Free UI / Paid API
Pricing Calculator
Completely free
Cost Explorer
Cost optimization
Pricing Calculator
Budget planning
Cost Explorer
Historical & current
Pricing Calculator
Future projections
Cost Explorer
100% accurate (actual costs)
Pricing Calculator
Estimates only
11 AWS Cost Explorer Cost Optimization Tips
Batch multiple queries into single API calls
Combine multiple data requests into fewer API calls to reduce per-request charges. Each call costs $0.01.
Implement local caching for frequently accessed data
Store frequently accessed data to avoid repeated calls. Cache daily data for 24 hours since Cost Explorer updates once per day.
Optimize queries to minimize pagination
Each page counts as a separate $0.01 request. Use filters and appropriate time ranges to reduce result pages.
Use the free web UI for manual analysis
Manual analysis costs nothing. Reserve API access only for automation and programmatic needs.
Enable hourly granularity selectively
Only activate during optimization projects when detailed insights justify the additional cost.
Set up AWS Budgets alerts for API usage
Monitor Cost Explorer API spending with budget alerts to prevent unexpected charges from runaway scripts.
Leverage Cost Categories for better organization
Organize costs with custom categories for better allocation without additional API calls or complex filtering.
Use strategic tagging for powerful filtering
Proper resource tagging enables precise filtering without complex queries or multiple API calls.
Schedule automated reports during off-peak hours
Avoid rate limits and ensure consistent data availability by running automated reports when usage is lower.
Consider free alternatives for basic needs
Use AWS Budgets (2 free), Cost Anomaly Detection (completely free), and Cost and Usage Reports for complementary insights.
Monitor Cost Explorer API Usage in Real-Time
Track Cost Explorer API call volume and pagination patterns with CostGoat. Get alerts when automated scripts generate excessive API requests or when hourly granularity costs accumulate unexpectedly.
Monitor Your AWS Costs in Real-Time
CostGoat is a privacy-first desktop app that tracks your actual AWS spending as you use it. Get instant visibility into your usage and never get surprised by your cloud bills again. 7-day free trial, then $9/month.
Start Free TrialAWS Cost Explorer Pricing FAQ
Common questions about AWS Cost Explorer costs, API pricing, and hourly granularity
