What's the Difference Between AWS Compute Optimizer and AWS Cost Explorer?
Compare AWS Compute Optimizer and AWS Cost Explorer side by side — features, pricing, and ideal use cases to help you choose the right product.
Compare side-by-side
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Comparisons
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AWS Compute Optimizer
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AWS Cost Explorer
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Category
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Management & Governance, Optimization |
Management & Governance, Cost Management |
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Description
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Recommendation engine that analyzes usage to optimize cost and performance |
Visualize, understand, and manage your AWS costs and usage over time. |
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Best for
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Key features
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Pricing model
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No additional charge for default recommendations |
No additional charge for console; API calls charged |
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Free tier
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Yes |
Yes |
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Expert take
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“Compute Optimizer analyzes utilization metrics and recommends right-sized instance types. It considers CPU, memory, network, and storage patterns over 14 days to suggest savings.” |
“Cost Explorer identifies spending patterns and forecasts future costs. The rightsizing recommendations alone typically save 20-30% on EC2 spend.” |
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Product page
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When to use AWS Compute Optimizer or AWS Cost Explorer
Use AWS Compute Optimizer when:
- Right-sizing
- Cost optimization
- Performance improvement
- Resource planning
Learn more about AWS Compute Optimizer »
Use AWS Cost Explorer when:
- Cost analysis
- Usage reporting
- Savings recommendations
- Forecasting
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