AWS Budget Setup Guide
Overview
AWS Budgets provides cost tracking and alerts to prevent unexpected charges. Set up budgets immediately after creating an AWS account.
Creating a Monthly Cost Budget
- AWS Console → Billing → Budgets → Create Budget
- Use the simplified template: Monthly cost budget
- Set a reasonable budget amount based on expected usage
- Add email recipients for alert notifications
Recommended Alert Configuration
After creating the budget, configure two alerts:
| Alert | Threshold | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Warning | 80% of budgeted amount | Actual cost |
| Critical | 100% of budgeted amount | Actual cost |
Delete any automatically created alerts beyond these two.
Cost Monitoring Tips
- Review the budget dashboard monthly
- Use AWS Cost Explorer for detailed breakdowns by service
- Consider per-service budgets for granular tracking in production
- Set up AWS Free Tier usage alerts separately
Common Cost Drivers
For a typical Superloom serverless project:
| Service | Cost Factor |
|---|---|
| Lambda | Invocation count and duration |
| DynamoDB | Read/write capacity and storage |
| S3 | Storage volume and request count |
| CloudFront | Data transfer and requests |
| RDS | Instance hours and storage |
Most sandbox environments should cost under $30/month with moderate usage.