# How to Monitor Costs on AWS

**URL:** <https://awshq.com/t/how-to-monitor-costs-on-aws/32>\
**Category:** Getting started with AWS\
**Created:** [December 28, 2025, 10:07am UTC](https://awshq.com/t/how-to-monitor-costs-on-aws/32 "2025-12-28T10:07:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Martha](https://awshq.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@Martha](https://awshq.com/u/Martha)\
**Post date:** [December 28, 2025, 10:07am UTC](https://awshq.com/t/how-to-monitor-costs-on-aws/32/1 "2025-12-28T10:07:54Z")

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AWS billing can be very confusing, especially for beginners or first time users. What kind of tools or practices can help beginners and first time users track costs and avoid surprises? Do you think CloudWatch or the billing dashboard enough for small projects?

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**Author:** ![The\_Jason](https://awshq.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/6de8d8/32.png) [@The\_Jason](https://awshq.com/u/The_Jason)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 7:54pm UTC](https://awshq.com/t/how-to-monitor-costs-on-aws/32/2 "2026-01-03T19:54:14Z")

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I’m confused. Is the billing based on what you use? That would be like a water or electric bill, but how would that even work in hosting?

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**Author:** ![Nomad](https://awshq.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@Nomad](https://awshq.com/u/Nomad)\
**Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 12:48am UTC](https://awshq.com/t/how-to-monitor-costs-on-aws/32/3 "2026-01-04T00:48:48Z")

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> [@The Jason](#):
>
> I’m confused. Is the billing based on what you use? That would be like a water or electric bill, but how would that even work in hosting?

Monitoring AWS costs means keeping track of what you spend so there are no surprises. You can use AWS Cost Explorer and budgets to see usage. Setting alerts, deleting unused resources can help you track your cost. If you start with the free tier, you can control your expenses.

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**Author:** ![The\_Jason](https://awshq.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/6de8d8/32.png) [@The\_Jason](https://awshq.com/u/The_Jason)\
**Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 2:32am UTC](https://awshq.com/t/how-to-monitor-costs-on-aws/32/4 "2026-01-04T02:32:22Z")

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> [@Nomad](#):
>
> Monitoring AWS costs means keeping track of what you spend so there are no surprises. You can use AWS Cost Explorer and budgets to see usage. Setting alerts, deleting unused resources can help you track your cost. If you start with the free tier, you can control your expenses.

This is obviously for big players, not hobbyists.