The Kubecost Alternative: Why Engineering Teams Switch to CloudZero

There’s a growing gap between cloud budgets and cloud spending. According to the CIO Cloud Trends Survey and Report, 83% of CIOs say they’re spending an average of 30% more than expected on the cloud. In addition, 43% report that company CEOs have concerns about cloud spend. It makes sense; if CIOs are presenting budgets that miss the mark, other board members are less likely to keep boosting budgets.

This is made more problematic as cloud environments become more complex and CIOs lose visibility. Without total transparency into cloud costs and sources, more money won’t solve the issue. Instead, CIOs and FinOps teams need to start cloud cost management solutions that provide 100% complete and accurate cloud cost sourcing.

Two popular choices for cost management are Kubecost and CloudZero. While both offer advantages, many teams using Kubecost are now making the switch to CloudZero. Here’s why.

Top Challenges with Cloud Cost Management

On the surface, cloud cost management seems straightforward. Teams just need to collect cost data, identify cost sources, and run the numbers.

In an ideal world, this is a simple process. Consider a company spending $10,000 a year on cloud services across three cloud providers. Analysis of spending data determines that half of this $10,000 is spent with one cloud provider, with the remainder split between the other two. A quick bit of math and the numbers are in: $5,000 per year is spent on one provider, $2,500 on the second, and $2,500 on the third.

In the real world, cloud costs are not so straightforward. While the company still spends $10,000 per year on the cloud, analysis only accounts for $8,000 worth of services, resources, and applications. The remaining $2,000 seems to have vanished with no measurable benefit, but surely it went somewhere, right?

The second scenario is where many companies get stuck. They’ve created budgets, done their due diligence, and are actively tracking cloud costs, but the numbers don’t add up. Three challenges conspire to reduce cloud cost visibility.

First are tagging problems. While 87% of organizations use tagging as their main method of allocation, this only accounts for 75% of their cloud costs, leaving 25% unknown. Next are issues with shared resources, such as S3 buckets or Kubernetes clusters that can’t be tagged, in turn leading to significant blind spots.

Last but not least is a lack of engineering engagement. Without access to complete and accurate cloud data, engineers can’t take targeted action to reduce cloud costs. Instead, they’re stuck making small fixes that address symptoms but don’t solve root causes.

Research Report

FinOps In The AI Era: A Critical Recalibration

What 475 executives told us about AI and cloud efficiency.

The Rise of Kubecost (and Other Open Source Options)

Kubecost is part of a larger open source market. Along with tools like OpenCost, Komsier, and Cloud Custodian, companies now have a host of open source options that each fill unique roles.

For example, while Kubecost targets Kubernetes costs, OpenCost was designed to improve the visibility of container-based workflows. Kosimer excels at identifying unused infrastructure, while Cloud Custodian is designed to define and enforce cloud usage and deployment rules.

These open source options are popular for several reasons, including:

Open source tools are available for free from repositories such as GitHub or project web pages. They cost nothing to download and do not charge a fee for use.

Open source code is customizable. Companies can modify or improve code to suit specific business needs.

Many open source projects have active communities that both develop new versions and provide community support for questions about current versions or specific features.

CloudZero vs. Kubecost: How They Stack Up

While CloudZero and Kubecost both target cloud costs, they do so in different ways, using different data. Here’s a quick comparison.

Data sources

Kubecost:

Kubernetes data only. Companies can view cost per cluster, node, or pod. Other options include per namespace, department, team, product, project, environment, deployment, or individual application.

CloudZero:

Both Kubernetes and non-Kubernetes data. In addition to all Kubecost visibility options, businesses can access role-based dimensions and see granular, per-hour costs.

Reporting options

Kubecost:

Reporting is based on manual cost tagging.

CloudZero:

Reporting is tied to custom metrics that are real-time and telemetry-based. Data sources can be tagged on untagged.

Long-term advantages

Kubecost:

Improved Kubernetes cost optimization and visibility.

CloudZero:

Shift-left cost management across the organization by providing engineers with the data they need to deliver lasting cost optimization.

Why Engineering Teams are Making the Switch

Open source cloud cost management tools have emerged as a viable way for businesses to improve cost visibility and control.

The caveat? Viable isn’t the same as “ideal”. While open source tools offer the functionality needed to collect and analyze cloud cost data, they often come up short in operational areas that add critical context. When it comes to tools like Kubecost, there are several reasons engineering teams are making the switch to CloudZero.

While the initial costs of open source software are zero, this metric is often misleading. Deployment and implementation of Kubecost and other tools requires time, effort, and money. In addition, many Kubecost deployments offer enhanced, for-pay features that extend functionality but increase total costs.

With CloudZero, all costs are transparent and clearly communicated. You know exactly how much you’ll pay each month, and there are no user limits.

CloudZero offers hourly granularity of cloud costs, enabling automatic alerts to help solve issues ASAP. While Kubecost also offers alerts, they occur only once every 24 hours.

Along with Kubernetes cost analysis, CloudZero supports cost management for AWS, Azure, GCP, and Oracle. Platforms such as New Relic, Datadog, Snowflake, and Databricks are also supported.

Your team gets access to a dedicated CloudZero FinOps expert to help fine-tune your strategy and identify cost-saving opportunities.

CloudZero provides engineering event correlation across up to 5 years of spend data. This helps engineers optimize new cloud spend based on data-driven cost analysis.

How to Get Started with CloudZero

Running Kubecost but considering a switch to CloudZero? In just minutes, your team can get cost and anomaly data flowing to email and Slack channels.

Step 1: Head to app.cloudzero.com and create an account.

Step 2: Connect a cost source to CloudZero.

Step 3: Set up a Slack integration.

Step 4: That’s it. You’re done. Cost data will be automatically sent to your designated email and Slack.

From Kubecost to CloudZero: The Evolution of Cloud Cost Management Maturity

Kubecost is a solid starting point for cloud cost management. It offers a (mostly) no-cost entry point for companies looking to improve cost visibility and reduce cloud overspend.

CloudZero, meanwhile, represents the next step in cloud cost management maturity. With comprehensive data source collection, granular hourly reports, and engineering-led optimization, CloudZero lets companies get to the source of cloud overspend and create budgets that reflect the true cost — and opportunity — of multi-cloud frameworks.

Every engineering decision is a buying decision. Make the most of your cloud investments with complete cost management from CloudZero.

Author: Doug Bonderud

For more than a decade, Doug has worked with companies to create compelling and engaging content. His content has helped multinational enterprises, midsize businesses, and SMB startups better connect with their target audiences and highlight what makes them unique. Doug is passionate about the intersection of technology and humanity, especially the rising impact of AI on our daily lives. He is also a passionate soccer fan and a minimally skilled (but equally passionate) golfer.