Unlocking the Power of AWS Cost Explorer’s 14 Days of Free Resource-Level Data

AWS’s 14 days of free historical resource-level data in Cost Explorer is a game-changer for anyone seeking granular visibility into their cloud cost drivers. This feature provides a lightweight and user-friendly alternative to the more complex Cost and Usage Report (CUR), allowing you to dive deep into your costs without the overhead of managing extensive datasets.

But beyond this well-known functionality lies a lesser-known benefit that FinOps practitioners should be leveraging: the Cost Explorer API. This API extends the capabilities of AWS’s cost management tools, offering programmatic access to the same resource-level data. By utilizing the API, organizations can conduct advanced FinOps analysis and create custom reports without needing to query the CUR through distributed query engines like Athena or Spark. This approach can save both time and effort, making cost analysis more accessible and actionable.

How We Use the Cost Explorer API at Brandorr Group
At Brandorr Group, we’ve adopted the Cost Explorer API in ways that go beyond its original intent. Here are two key use cases:

1. Inventorying Accounts Without Direct Access The Cost Explorer API enables us to gain insights into cost drivers for individual accounts, even when we only have access to the organizational billing account. This capability is invaluable for organizations managing multiple accounts under a single billing hierarchy
2. Aggregating EBS Snapshot Costs By combining resource-level data from the API with EBS snapshot inventories, we’re able to provide detailed per-volume cost breakdowns. This level of granularity helps our customers identify specific opportunities for cost optimization.

Additional Use Cases
In addition to the scenarios above, we regularly leverage the Cost Explorer API to:

• Identify high-spend accounts and regions for specific services.
• Generate detailed, customized reports for stakeholders.
• Uncover cost-saving opportunities without the complexity of querying the full CUR.

The flexibility and accessibility of the API make it an indispensable tool in our FinOps toolkit.

Why the Cost Explorer API Matters
The 14 days of free resource-level data is just the tip of the iceberg. When paired with the Cost Explorer API, this data becomes a powerful resource for simplifying cloud cost analysis. Whether you’re tracking costs across accounts, identifying inefficiencies, or creating custom visualizations, the API offers a robust foundation for actionable insights.

Join the Conversation
Are you using the Cost Explorer API? Have questions about how to get started or ideas for maximizing its potential? Let’s discuss! Join the conversation over on LinkedIn, or connect with me directly on my LinkedIn page if  you’d like to explore opportunities to work together on AWS cost optimization.