Kubecost Pricing 2026
Complete pricing guide with plans, and cost analysis
Kubecost uses custom pricing — contact their sales team for a quote.
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All Kubecost Plans & Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundations | Free | Free | Individual teams or small organizations needing basic Kubernetes cost visibility on a single or small cluster footprint |
| What's included at Foundations Best for: Individual teams or small organizations needing basic Kubernetes cost visibility on a single or small cluster footprint
| |||
| Enterprise Self-Hosted | Contact Sales | Contact Sales | Large engineering organizations running Kubernetes at scale who need full data control and enterprise support |
| What's included at Enterprise Self-Hosted Best for: Large engineering organizations running Kubernetes at scale who need full data control and enterprise support
| |||
| Enterprise Cloud | Contact Sales | Contact Sales | Organizations that want enterprise-grade Kubernetes cost management without the overhead of self-hosting |
| What's included at Enterprise Cloud Best for: Organizations that want enterprise-grade Kubernetes cost management without the overhead of self-hosting
| |||
View all features by plan (compare side-by-side)
Foundations
- Unlimited clusters (up to 250 cores combined)
- 15-day metric retention
- Unlimited users
- Multi-cloud support (EKS, AKS, GKE, on-prem)
- CSP bill reconciliation
- Cost optimization insights
- Community support
- OpenCost integration
Enterprise Self-Hosted
- All Foundations features
- Unified multi-cluster view at any scale
- Unlimited clusters and unlimited metric retention
- Custom pricing support
- Role-based access control
- Enterprise integrations
- Enhanced GPU optimization
- Resource quota automations
- Dedicated support
Enterprise Cloud
- All Enterprise Self-Hosted features
- Managed updates and configuration
- Dedicated domain
- Kubecost-managed HA/DR
- Bring-your-own identity provider
- Automated scaling
- Reduced maintenance overhead
Kubecost uses custom pricing as of June 2026 with 3 plans available. Contact Kubecost directly for a personalized quote. Plan: Foundations (free). Enterprise pricing is available on request. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: Yes
Kubecost offers 3 pricing tiers: Foundations, Enterprise Self-Hosted, Enterprise Cloud. The Enterprise Self-Hosted plan is large engineering organizations running kubernetes at scale who need full data control and enterprise support.
Compared to other cloud cost management software, Kubecost is positioned at the budget-friendly price point.
How much does Kubecost cost?
Kubecost Pricing Overview
Kubecost uses custom pricing — contact their sales team for a quote. The Foundations plan is free and is best for individual teams or small organizations needing basic kubernetes cost visibility on a single or small cluster footprint. The Enterprise Self-Hosted plan requires contacting sales for a custom quote and is designed for large engineering organizations running kubernetes at scale who need full data control and enterprise support. The Enterprise Cloud plan requires contacting sales for a custom quote and is designed for organizations that want enterprise-grade kubernetes cost management without the overhead of self-hosting.
This pricing was last verified in June 9, 2026 from 1 independent source.
The Foundations tier includes unlimited clusters within the 250-core cap, 15-day metric retention, unlimited users, multi-cloud support (EKS, AKS, GKE, on-prem), CSP bill reconciliation, and OpenCost integration — making it a genuine no-cost starting point for smaller Kubernetes environments.
For organizations that grow beyond 250 cores, Kubecost requires a sales conversation. Vendr buyer transaction data (as of 2025–2026) shows real enterprise deals ranging from approximately $40,000 to $144,000 per year, with a reported median around $144,000 annually. AWS Marketplace also lists Kubecost at $3.42 per container-hour (consumption) or $30,000 for a 365-day contract, offering a transparent entry point for AWS customers.
The legacy "Business" tier at $449/month that appeared in older documentation is no longer listed on the current Apptio pricing page following IBM's acquisition of Kubecost in 2023–2024.
]]>How Kubecost Pricing Compares
Compare Kubecost pricing against top alternatives in Cloud Cost Management.
Compare Kubecost vs Alternatives
Before committing to Kubecost, compare pricing with these 3 alternatives in the same category.
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Full comparisonHow Kubecost Pricing Compares
| Software | Starting Price | Top Price |
|---|---|---|
| Kubecost | Custom | Custom |
| Cast AI | Free | $1000/per month |
| CloudZero | Custom | Custom |
| Vantage | Free | $250/per month |
| Zesty | Free | $99/per month |
| Finout | Custom | Custom |
Detailed pricing comparisons:
Kubecost Pricing FAQ
01 Is Kubecost really free?
Yes — the Foundations tier is permanently free for Kubernetes clusters totalling up to 250 cores. It includes unlimited clusters within that core cap, 15-day metric retention, unlimited users, and multi-cloud support. No credit card is required.
02 What does Kubecost Enterprise cost?
Kubecost does not publish prices for its Enterprise Self-Hosted or Enterprise Cloud tiers — both require a quote from sales. Vendr buyer data suggests enterprise deals typically range from roughly $40,000 to $144,000 per year. AWS Marketplace offers a consumption-based rate of $3.42 per container-hour or a $30,000 annual contract for AWS customers who prefer transparent upfront pricing.
03 What happened to the Kubecost Business plan at $449/month?
The $449/month Business tier was part of Kubecost's legacy pricing structure before IBM acquired Kubecost (via Apptio). The current official pricing page only lists three tiers: Foundations (free), Enterprise Self-Hosted (quote), and Enterprise Cloud (quote). The Business plan is no longer offered.
04 How does Kubecost pricing scale with cluster size?
Enterprise pricing is based on usage metrics such as vCPU count and node count, though Kubecost does not publish per-vCPU or per-node rates publicly. Organizations with large multi-cluster environments should expect significant enterprise costs — real buyer data shows contracts starting around $40,000/year.
05 Can I buy Kubecost through AWS Marketplace?
Yes. Kubecost is available on AWS Marketplace with transparent pricing: a consumption-based model at $3.42 per container-hour, or an annual contract at $30,000 for 365 days. This provides cost certainty that is not available through direct enterprise quotes.
06 What is the difference between Kubecost Enterprise Self-Hosted and Enterprise Cloud?
Enterprise Self-Hosted is deployed and managed within your own infrastructure, giving you full data control and customization. Enterprise Cloud is a fully managed SaaS version where Kubecost (IBM/Apptio) handles updates, configuration, HA/DR, and scaling. Both tiers include the same core enterprise features, with Cloud adding reduced operational overhead at the cost of less infrastructure control.
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