Cost Explorer

Cost Explorer

Monitoring Guide

Cost Explorer

Track your AWS spending across all regions and services. Set budget thresholds and configure alerts to stay on top of costs before they get out of hand.

Overview

To get started, head to the top navigation bar and follow this path: Cloud → AWS → [Your AWS Account] → Cost Explorer. Cost Explorer is selected as a discoverable service when the AWS account is added or edited; if it is not appearing, confirm it is checked under Services to be Discovered in the account's edit panel.

The Cost Explorer page is organized into four tabs: Overview, Cost and Usage Report, Alerts, and Settings.

TabWhat it shows
OverviewTotal spend for the selected month with a percentage change indicator, the count of distinct services used, the top utilised service and region, and a Cost Distribution chart covering the last 12 months. A cost breakdown table shows five cost types side by side (BlendedCost, UnblendedCost, AmortizedCost, NetAmortizedCost, NetUnblendedCost). Top Spending Regions and Top Spending Services charts and tables identify the biggest contributors to spend.
Cost and Usage ReportA detailed, line-item breakdown of usage and cost suitable for deeper analysis and export.
AlertsWhere daily and monthly budget thresholds are configured, so you are notified when spending exceeds a defined amount.
SettingsConfiguration options for the Cost Explorer module itself.

Cost Explorer allows you to:

  • Track total AWS spend across all regions, with month-over-month change called out directly
  • View spend broken down by service and region, and by cost type (blended, unblended, amortized)
  • Set daily and monthly budget thresholds from the Alerts tab
  • Configure alerts to notify you when spending exceeds defined thresholds

Benefits of Cost Explorer in Cloudmon

  • Gain visibility into AWS spending across all regions and services from a single dashboard.
  • A 12-month Cost Distribution chart and a clear percentage-change indicator make it easy to spot spending trends and unexpected cost spikes early.
  • The top contributing services and regions are highlighted, making it easy to identify cost drivers at a glance.
  • Configure budget threshold alerts to be notified before costs get out of hand.

Troubleshooting

SymptomLikely CauseFix
Cost Explorer not appearing for an accountCost Explorer was not selected as a service to discover when the account was addedEdit the AWS account, add Cost Explorer under Services to be Discovered, and save
AWS spend is unexpectedly highA specific service or region is driving unexpected costsNavigate to Cloud → AWS → [Account] → Cost Explorer → Overview and review the Top Spending Services and Top Spending Regions tables
No alert received before overspend occurredBudget threshold alerts are not configured, or thresholds are set too highConfigure or tighten threshold alerts on the Alerts tab to catch future overspend earlier
The issue was not resolved by the aboveMay require Cloudmon support assistanceClick the icon in the bottom-right corner of Cloudmon. Select Tickets to raise a support ticket or Chat for live assistance

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