Kubernetes Cost Calculator
Cost cluster nodes, the control plane, storage and networking.
What this calculator does
Node and control plane hours priced at the user's own rates, with storage and network added only when entered.
Inputs and what they mean
- Currency
- — Amounts are shown in the currency you pick. No exchange rate is applied..
- Price per node-hour
- — Take this from your own bill or the provider's price page. No provider price is built in..
- Nodes in the cluster
- — number value.
- Hours in the period
- — number value.
- Price per cluster-hour for the control plane (optional)
- — Optional component. Leave at 0 to exclude it from the result. Charged by some providers, not by others..
- Clusters
- — number value.
- Persistent storage cost (optional)
- — Optional component. Leave at 0 to exclude it from the result..
- Load balancer and network cost (optional)
- — Optional component. Leave at 0 to exclude it from the result..
- Price as of (optional)
- — The date you took these prices. It is shown with the result so the figure is never read as a current vendor price..
- Price source (optional)
- — Where the prices came from. Shown with the result..
How to use it
- Enter your own figures — the calculator never fills in a rate, price or benchmark for you.
- Press Calculate to see the result.
- Read the formula, variables, assumptions and source below the result before you rely on it.
Formula
Cluster cost = (Node price × Nodes × Hours) + (Control plane price × Clusters × Hours) + Storage cost + Network cost
Worked example
Six nodes for a 730-hour month
Node price from your bill, with control plane, storage and network added only if you pay them.
Reading the result
The headline figure is the main answer. Any breakdown underneath shows the parts that make it up, so you can check the working and see what changes when you adjust an input.
Limitations and assumptions
Results depend entirely on the figures you enter and are rounded for display. They are for general information and education, not professional advice.
Reference: The Linux Foundation — Workload optimisation — FinOps Framework
Last reviewed:
Common questions
Formula, source and verification
Node hours and, where charged, control plane hours, plus the storage and network amounts the user enters.
The question it answers: What will this compute, storage, transfer, function, container, cluster or database cost us for the period, at our own rates?
The formula
Cluster cost = (Node price × Nodes × Hours) + (Control plane price × Clusters × Hours) + Storage cost + Network cost
- rn — Price per node-hour
- (currency). From the user's own bill.
- n — Nodes
- (count). Nodes in the cluster.
- h — Hours
- (h). Hours in the period.
- rc — Price per cluster-hour
- (currency). Optional. Charged by some providers, not by others.
- k — Clusters
- (count). Clusters covered.
- s — Storage and network cost
- (currency). Optional amounts the user enters.
Units: Currency; counts; hours.
What kind of calculation this is
Business input model. The answer depends on business figures only you can supply, such as your own costs, rates or volumes. No market or benchmark values are assumed for you.
Method
Node and control plane hours priced at the user's own rates, with storage and network added only when entered.
Assumptions built into the result
- Mathematical: Every price is the one the user entered, in the currency they chose; no exchange rate is applied.
- Mathematical: Usage and prices cover the same period.
Figures this calculator will never guess for you
- No provider price, instance rate, storage rate or transfer rate is built in.
- No typical discount, saving or industry average is suggested.
- No control plane charge is assumed.
Limitations
- The result is only as current as the prices entered; a price taken months ago is not a current vendor price.
- Arithmetic over the figures entered — it cannot tell whether the usage or the rate card behind them is right.
- Nodes are assumed to be the same size; mixed node pools must be costed separately.
Source and version
- Standard or reference
- FinOps Framework — workload optimisation — FinOps Foundation (FinOps Framework capability: workload optimisation — cloud resource cost is the metered quantity of a resource multiplied by the rate on the organisation's own rate card.)
- Published source
- The Linux Foundation — FinOps Framework
- Formula version
- Version 1
- Verification
- Reviewed against the cited source on
- How much weight the source carries
- Standards or government
- Applies to
- Currency
- Amounts stay in the currency you choose; no exchange rate is applied.
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