What is the AWS Cost and Usage Report?
The AWS Cost and Usage Report (CUR) is the most detailed data source for AWS costs and usage. The report contains hourly, daily, or monthly breakdowns of costs for every AWS service used, every region, every linked account, and every resource. Data is automatically delivered to an S3 bucket where it can be analyzed with analytics tools.
Current reports are based on CUR 2.0, a table schema with a fixed, consistent column structure. CUR 2.0 also forms the basis of AWS Data Exports, which lets you selectively export specific columns and rows of cost data. Older reports with a variable number of columns (“legacy CUR”) remain usable for existing customers.
For organizations that want to systematically optimize their cloud costs, the CUR is an indispensable foundation. Unlike AWS Cost Explorer, which provides aggregated views, the CUR contains the most granular data at the individual resource and time interval level. The report can be analyzed with Amazon Athena, Redshift, Amazon Quick, or external BI tools.
Core Features
- Granular Data: Hourly, daily, or monthly cost breakdown per service, region, account, and resource
- CUR 2.0 / Data Exports: Consistent table schema and targeted export of selected columns and rows
- Resource and Tag Details: Inclusion of individual resource IDs and custom cost allocation tags
- Automatic Delivery: Regular updates and delivery to the configured S3 bucket
- Analytics Integration: Direct connection to Amazon Athena, Redshift, and Amazon Quick
Typical Use Cases
Detailed Cost Analysis: FinOps teams analyze CUR data to break down costs by services, regions, teams, and projects. The granular data enables identifying cost drivers at the resource level.
Cost Optimization: By analyzing CUR data, teams identify unused or undersized resources, untapped Reserved Instance potential, and opportunities for Savings Plans.
Automated Cost Reporting: Organizations build automated dashboards and reports on CUR data that regularly provide stakeholders with cost overviews and trend analyses.
Benefits
- Most detailed cost data available in the entire AWS ecosystem
- Free service; only storage costs apply
- Flexible analysis with AWS and third-party tools
- Consistent schema through CUR 2.0 and targeted data selection via Data Exports
Integration with innFactory
As an AWS Reseller, innFactory supports you with the AWS Cost and Usage Report: from setup and migration to CUR 2.0 to connecting analytics tools like Athena and Amazon Quick to developing automated cost dashboards and optimization recommendations.
Typical Use Cases
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the AWS Cost and Usage Report?
The AWS Cost and Usage Report (CUR) is the most comprehensive cost dataset AWS provides. It contains detailed cost and usage data, updated at least daily, for every AWS service, region, and linked account, delivered to an S3 bucket of your choice.
What is CUR 2.0 and how does it differ from the legacy version?
CUR 2.0 is the current, consistent table schema with a fixed column structure and forms the basis of AWS Data Exports. All newly created reports now use CUR 2.0; the older CUR version with a variable number of columns remains available as a legacy option for existing reports.
In what format is data provided?
Data is delivered as CSV files with a manifest file to an Amazon S3 bucket. For analytics workflows, the data can be loaded into Amazon Athena, Amazon Redshift, or Amazon Quick.
How current is the data?
The report is updated at least once, and in some cases up to three times, per day. Data during the month is an estimate; final billing is determined after the invoice is issued at month-end.
Note: All product information on this page has been compiled with care, but is provided without guarantee and may be outdated or incomplete. Cloud services evolve rapidly — features, pricing, SLAs, and availability change frequently. Authoritative and up-to-date information can only be found on the official product page of AWS (official documentation). This page does not represent an offer by AWS.