How to set billing alarm aws

AwsHow-ToBeginner · 4 min read

How to Set a Billing Alarm in AWS to Monitor Costs

To set a billing alarm in AWS, use AWS CloudWatch to create an alarm on the EstimatedCharges metric in the AWS/Billing namespace. Configure the alarm threshold and notification via an SNS topic to get alerts when your AWS costs exceed your set limit.

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Syntax

Creating a billing alarm involves these parts:

Namespace: Use AWS/Billing to access billing metrics.
MetricName: Use EstimatedCharges to track your AWS spending.
Threshold: The cost amount that triggers the alarm.
ComparisonOperator: Usually GreaterThanThreshold to alert when costs exceed the threshold.
EvaluationPeriods: Number of periods to evaluate before triggering.
AlarmActions: An SNS topic ARN to send notifications.

bash

aws cloudwatch put-metric-alarm \
  --alarm-name "BillingAlarm" \
  --namespace "AWS/Billing" \
  --metric-name "EstimatedCharges" \
  --dimensions Name=Currency,Value=USD \
  --statistic Maximum \
  --period 21600 \
  --evaluation-periods 1 \
  --threshold 100 \
  --comparison-operator GreaterThanThreshold \
  --alarm-actions arn:aws:sns:region:account-id:BillingAlerts \
  --unit None

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Example

This example creates a billing alarm that triggers when your AWS estimated charges exceed $50 USD. It sends a notification to an SNS topic named BillingAlerts.

bash

aws sns create-topic --name BillingAlerts

aws sns subscribe --topic-arn arn:aws:sns:us-east-1:123456789012:BillingAlerts --protocol email --notification-endpoint your-email@example.com

aws cloudwatch put-metric-alarm \
  --alarm-name "BillingAlarm50USD" \
  --namespace "AWS/Billing" \
  --metric-name "EstimatedCharges" \
  --dimensions Name=Currency,Value=USD \
  --statistic Maximum \
  --period 21600 \
  --evaluation-periods 1 \
  --threshold 50 \
  --comparison-operator GreaterThanThreshold \
  --alarm-actions arn:aws:sns:us-east-1:123456789012:BillingAlerts \
  --unit None

Output

TopicArn: arn:aws:sns:us-east-1:123456789012:BillingAlerts SubscriptionArn: pending confirmation Successfully put alarm 'BillingAlarm50USD'

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Common Pitfalls

Billing metrics are only available in the us-east-1 region. Make sure to run commands or create alarms in this region.
Billing data updates every 6 hours. The alarm period should be set accordingly (e.g., 21600 seconds).
Notifications require confirmed subscriptions. Confirm your email subscription to receive alerts.
Using wrong namespace or metric name. Always use AWS/Billing and EstimatedCharges.

bash

Wrong example:
aws cloudwatch put-metric-alarm \
  --alarm-name "WrongBillingAlarm" \
  --namespace "AWS/Usage" \
  --metric-name "Charges" \
  --threshold 50 \
  --comparison-operator GreaterThanThreshold

Right example:
aws cloudwatch put-metric-alarm \
  --alarm-name "CorrectBillingAlarm" \
  --namespace "AWS/Billing" \
  --metric-name "EstimatedCharges" \
  --threshold 50 \
  --comparison-operator GreaterThanThreshold

📊

Quick Reference

Remember these key points when setting a billing alarm:

Use AWS/Billing namespace and EstimatedCharges metric.
Set Currency dimension to your billing currency (e.g., USD).
Set period to 21600 seconds (6 hours) to match billing data update frequency.
Use an SNS topic for alarm notifications and confirm subscriptions.

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Key Takeaways

Create billing alarms only in the us-east-1 region where billing metrics are available.

Use the AWS/Billing namespace and EstimatedCharges metric to track costs.

Set the alarm period to 21600 seconds to align with billing data updates every 6 hours.

Configure an SNS topic and confirm subscriptions to receive notifications.

Double-check metric names and namespaces to avoid configuration errors.