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Kubernetes (OpenCost)

  • Cluster cost by namespace and workload, with pod labels

Method: OpenCost CSV Export URL

  1. Install OpenCost in your cluster, if it isn’t already. OpenCost is a free CNCF project — it’s what Azure’s own AKS cost analysis is built on. Plutus runs no code inside your cluster and needs no inbound access to it.
  2. Enable OpenCost’s daily CSV export to your own object storage (S3, GCS or Azure Blob). OpenCost writes the previous day’s data there at 00:10 UTC. See OpenCost’s CSV export docs for the exporter configuration.
  3. Set EXPORT_CSV_LABELS_ALL=true on the exporter so your pod labels are included in the export. They arrive in Plutus as ordinary tags under your own key names — the same place AWS cost-allocation tags and GCP labels land — so Kubernetes spend joins whatever tag vocabulary you already use.
  4. In Plutus, paste the HTTPS URL of that export. Gzip-compressed exports are handled automatically.
  5. If your storage requires it, provide an Authorization header value (e.g. Bearer <token>) — Plutus sends it as-is when downloading the export.
  6. Select the currency OpenCost is configured to report in. Plutus never assumes USD, and this can’t be changed after the first sync, because the spend already stored was converted to the USD base at this currency’s rate on each charge’s own date. To change it later, remove and re-add the source.
  7. Optionally set a cluster name. This is only used as a fallback — the export already names its own clusters in a Cluster column, and one export can span several clusters.

Kubernetes costs are an allocation of spend you are already paying your cloud provider, so they are shown as a breakdown by namespace and workload and deliberately do not add to your account total — that money is already counted under AWS, GCP or Azure. Figures come from OpenCost’s own pricing, which does not account for negotiated discounts, committed-use discounts or savings plans, so they read high against a discounted bill. Unallocated and idle cluster capacity is shown rather than hidden.