Cost Forecasting
Overview
unusd.cloud provides intelligent cost forecasting that helps you understand where your AWS spend is heading, both for the current month and through the end of the year. Rather than relying on AWS's built-in forecast (which has significant limitations), unusd.cloud uses its own proprietary forecasting engine built specifically for cloud cost management.
What You Get
End-of-Month (EOM) Forecast
Every scan includes a projected end-of-month spend for each AWS account. This tells you what your bill is likely to be when the month closes, based on your actual spending patterns.
- Works from day 1: No need to wait for several days of data before seeing a forecast
- Confidence range: See low, mid, and high estimates so you can plan for different scenarios
- Trend indicator: Understand whether your costs are trending up or down compared to recent history
End-of-Year (EOY) Forecast
Plan ahead with a projected annual spend that accounts for your organization's growth trajectory.
- Trend-aware: Uses your actual month-over-month patterns, not a simple multiplication
- Confidence range: Low, mid, and high projections help with budget planning
- Updates every scan: Becomes more accurate as the year progresses
Cost Trend
Each account shows a month-over-month trend percentage (e.g., "+3.2% MoM") so you can quickly identify accounts with growing or shrinking costs.
How It Works
unusd.cloud analyzes your historical AWS cost data using Cost Explorer and applies a proprietary forecasting model. The system adapts its approach based on how much history is available:
- Accounts with established history: Full forecasting with pattern recognition and trend analysis
- Newer accounts: Simplified projections that improve as more data becomes available
- Brand new accounts: Best-effort estimates based on available data
The forecast method used is shown alongside each projection (e.g., "full", "simplified", or "fallback") so you always know how much confidence to place in the numbers.
Where Forecasts Appear
Account Reports
Every scan report includes the EOM forecast with confidence range, EOY projection, and cost trend in the header section alongside MTD spend.
Management Reports
The executive management report aggregates forecasts across all your AWS accounts, giving you a complete organizational view of projected spend.
Dashboard & API
Forecast data is available in the unusd.cloud dashboard and via the API for integration with your existing FinOps workflows.
Advantages Over AWS Cost Explorer Forecasting
| AWS Cost Explorer | unusd.cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | Requires 3+ days of data; unavailable on last day of month | Available from day 1 of the month |
| Annual projection | Not available | End-of-year forecast with confidence range |
| Confidence range | Single number | Low / Mid / High estimates |
| Cost trend | Not included | Month-over-month trend percentage |
| Metric support | Limited to Unblended Cost for forecasts | Respects your chosen metric (Unblended or Amortized) |
| Multi-account view | Per-account only | Aggregated across your entire organization |
| Transparency | Black box | Forecast method label included |
Best Practices
- Run regular scans: More frequent scans mean your forecasts stay up to date
- Review EOY projections quarterly: Use the annual forecast to validate budget assumptions
- Watch the trend indicator: A consistently rising trend may warrant deeper investigation
- Compare low and high estimates: The range helps you understand forecast uncertainty
- Combine with drift detection: Spending anomalies affect forecasts; address drift alerts to improve accuracy
FAQ
Q: How often are forecasts updated? A: Every scan recalculates the EOM and EOY forecasts with the latest data.
Q: Does the forecast account for my Reserved Instances and Savings Plans? A: Yes, if you've enabled Net Amortized Cost in your cost metric settings, forecasts will reflect your commitment-based pricing.
Q: Why does my EOY forecast change from month to month? A: The EOY forecast incorporates your actual spending patterns and growth trajectory. As the year progresses and more real data is available, the projection naturally becomes more precise.
Q: What happens if I have a one-time cost spike? A: The forecasting model is designed to be resilient to outliers. A single spike will have limited impact on projections, especially when you have an established spending history.
For additional help, contact support@unusd.cloud.