Cost Analysis
Analyze spending patterns and identify cost drivers.
Key Views
- Accumulated costs: Total spending over time
- Daily costs: Day-by-day breakdown
- Cost by service: Which services cost most
- Cost by resource: Individual resource costs
- Cost by tag: Group by cost center, project, etc.
Grouping Options
Filter and group by subscription, resource group, resource type, location, or tags.
Budgets & Alerts
Set spending limits and get notified when approaching thresholds.
Budget Configuration
- Set monthly, quarterly, or annual budgets
- Scope to subscriptions, resource groups, or resources
- Filter by tags, meters, or resource types
- Configure multiple alert thresholds (e.g., 50%, 75%, 90%, 100%)
Alert Actions
- Email notifications to stakeholders
- Trigger Action Groups for automation
- Call webhooks or Logic Apps
- Auto-shutdown VMs when budget exceeded
Cost Optimization
Quick Wins
- Right-size VMs: Use Advisor recommendations
- Delete unused resources: Orphaned disks, IPs, NICs
- Auto-shutdown dev VMs: Schedule off-hours shutdowns
- Use spot instances: For interruptible workloads
Long-term Savings
- Reserved Instances: 1-3 year commitments for 30-72% savings
- Savings Plans: Flexible compute commitments
- Hybrid Benefit: Use existing Windows/SQL licenses
- Dev/Test pricing: Reduced rates for non-production
Tip
Review Azure Advisor cost recommendations weekly - they often identify 10-30% potential savings.
Tagging for Cost Allocation
Implement consistent tagging for cost reporting and chargebacks.
Recommended Tags
| Tag | Purpose |
|---|---|
| CostCenter | Department billing code |
| Environment | prod, dev, test, staging |
| Project | Project or application name |
| Owner | Responsible team or person |