Cost Explorer

The Cost Explorer displays aggregated cost data across cloud providers, helping you understand where spending occurs and how it changes over time.

Cost Explorer automatically loads the latest preset report, a standardized view of your organization’s cloud provider cost data. From here, you can experiment with customizing the report.

Access the Cost Explorer

To open the Cost Explorer:

• Go to Cost Explorer.

Preset report overview

The preset report is a read-only, system-generated report provided as a starting point for cloud provider cost analysis. It demonstrates the available cost-reporting capabilities and provides a baseline structure for new reports.

It includes:

• Total cost over the time range
• Spend by cloud provider and service
• Cost trends

Working with the preset report

Interact with the preset report to explore the data:

• Adjust the data set, group by, metric, date range, and filter settings in the cost report criteria panel.
• Expand sections in the Cost Data Details table for detailed analysis.

Any changes made to the preset report update only the current view.

Cost Explorer chart

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Cost Data Details table

Sort the cost data by selecting any column header. Sorting applies to numerical (Billed Cost, Effective Cost) and categorical (Provider Name, Service Category) values.

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Customize cost report criteria

Adjust how insights are presented by modifying the Data Set, Group By, Date Range, Metrics, and additional Filters.

Access the cost report criteria panel

To access the cost report criteria panel:

• Select the filter icon in the upper-right corner of the Cost Explorer. This opens the Cost Report Criteria panel.

Choose a data set

The Cost Report Criteria panel opens with a Data Set section, a two-option toggle that determines which cost data the report is built from:

The chosen data set determines which group by fields, metrics, and filters are available in the rest of the panel.

When Kubernetes cost allocation is selected, the available group-by fields, filters, and metrics switch to Kubernetes dimensions: Cluster, Namespace, Workload, Container, Pod, and Node, plus Kubernetes labels (for example, Namespace Label: team). A Cost Allocation filter section also appears with a Distribute idle & overhead costs toggle. Turning it on spreads idle and overhead capacity across your workload namespaces rather than showing it as a separate line item. See Kubernetes Report for more on how these costs are calculated.

Use “group by” to summarize costs

Grouping options help summarize costs effectively in both the Cost Explorer chart and the Cost Data Details table. A report supports a maximum of two group-by options: one primary and one optional secondary.

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Primary “group by” option

• Determines the primary level of cost categorization.
• Selection results in separate stacked segments within each bar of the Cost Explorer chart.
• In the Cost Data Details table, each top row initially summarizes costs by the primary grouping.

Secondary “group by” option

• Optional. Select Add Secondary Group By to add it.
• Provides further classification when expanding a primary group.
• In the Cost Data Details table, expanding a row using the expand icon reveals cost breakdowns by the secondary “Group By” option.

“Group by” option descriptions

Use metrics to customize the cost report data

Select which cost metrics are displayed in your cost report. This determines the numerical values visualized in the Cost Explorer chart and listed in the Cost Data Details table. Choose one or more metrics to compare cost perspectives.

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Set metrics for the report

1. In the cost report criteria panel, locate the Metrics section. By default, two metrics are already selected (Billed Cost and Effective Cost).
2. To modify the selected metrics:
   • Use the first drop-down box to select the primary metric.
   • Use the second drop-down box to choose an additional metric.
3. To compare more metrics:
   • Select Add Metric.
   • Select an additional metric from the drop-down menu.

Each metric:

• Appears as a separate bar in the Cost Explorer chart, displayed per the chosen granularity (daily, weekly, or monthly).
• Adds a corresponding column to the Cost Data Details table.

Common metrics

Configure the date range for cost report data

Define the time range and data resolution for your cost report using the Date Range settings. Two controls define the reporting period: Granularity and Type.

Choose between fixed custom dates or dynamic date options. Dynamic date ranges adjust reports automatically based on the current date.

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Configure granularity

1. In the Date Range section of the cost report criteria panel, under Granularity, select between Daily, Weekly, and Monthly.

The available granularity levels are:

A read-only Time Dimension field shows which date field the report aggregates on: Charge Period Start for daily and weekly granularity, and Billing Period Start for monthly granularity.

Static and dynamic date ranges

Under Type, choose how the reporting period is defined:

• Static: A fixed reporting period defined by explicit dates.
• Dynamic: A rolling period that adjusts automatically based on the current date.

Configure a static date range

Static date ranges are ideal for fixed historical data.

1. In the Date Range section of the cost report criteria panel, under Type, select Static.
2. For Daily or Weekly granularity, use the calendar date-range picker to select the start and end dates of the reporting period.
3. For Monthly granularity, use the Start Month and End Month pickers instead.

Configure a dynamic date range

Dynamic ranges are ideal for scheduled reviews, recurring financial analyses, and ongoing cost monitoring.

1. In the Date Range section of the cost report criteria panel, under Type, select Dynamic.
2. Select a preset. The available presets depend on the selected granularity:

Use filters to refine cost report data

Narrow down and target specific subsets of cost data based on a variety of attributes. Ensures your cost report reflects only the most relevant information, helping you focus analysis on relevant dimensions such as service type, region, billing account, and more.

Access the Filters section from the cost report criteria panel.

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Key functionalities

• Filter groups: Filters are built as one or more groups of conditions. Select Add Group to add a group, and use the root AND/OR toggle to control how the groups combine. Select Clear all filters to reset.
• Conditions: Each condition consists of a field, an operator, and a value.
• Multi-type filtering:
  • Drop-down filters: For categorical fields (for example, Billing Account Name, Provider Name, Service Category), select one or more values from the drop-down menu.
  • Range filters: For numerical fields (for example, Billed Cost, Consumed Quantity, List Unit Price), set a minimum and/or maximum value using the numeric input boxes.
• Tag filters: Tags and Virtual Tags are separate filter fields, each with a tag-key picker. Tag and label conditions use the contains and not contains operators.
• Type-to-search values: High-cardinality fields use a type-to-search value picker. The search runs server-side and requires a minimum of 2 characters.

FOCUS filters

The Filters section supports an extensive range of FOCUS filtering dimensions and metrics, enabling you to refine cost report data across financial, technical, and operational parameters. Below is a categorized breakdown of the available filters:

• Cost:
  • Billed Cost, Effective Cost, List Cost, Contracted Cost
• Pricing:
  • List Unit Price, Contracted Unit Price, Pricing Category, Pricing Quantity, Pricing Unit
• Billing and account:
  • Billing Account ID, Billing Account Name, Billing Currency, Invoice Issuer Name, Provider Name, Sub Account ID, Sub Account Name
• Charge type:
  • Charge Category, Charge Class, Charge Description, Charge Frequency
• Commitment discounts:
  • Commitment Discount ID, Commitment Discount Category, Commitment Discount Name, Commitment Discount Status, Commitment Discount Type
• Usage:
  • Consumed Quantity, Consumed Unit
• Location:
  • Region ID, Region Name
• SKU:
  • Publisher Name, SKU ID, SKU Price ID
• Resource:
  • Resource ID, Resource Name, Resource Type
• Service-level:
  • Service Category, Service Name

Additional filter controls

Additional controls that enhance the usability and flexibility of filtering:

Run and save the report

Select Run at the bottom of the Cost Report Criteria panel to refresh the report with the current criteria. On desktop, the panel stays open beside the report after you run it, so you can keep adjusting the criteria.

To save the report:

• When editing a saved report you have edit rights to, a Save split button saves your changes in place. Its drop-down includes Save As for creating a copy.
• Otherwise, a single Save As button opens the Save Report As dialog to create a new saved report.

Next steps

• Review Kubernetes-specific spending in Kubernetes Report
• Create and manage reports in Saved Reports