Opsima vs AWS Cost Explorer: What Native Tools Don’t Do
AWS Cost Explorer is a powerful tool for understanding cloud spend. It provides visibility through reports, charts, and trends, helping teams analyze where their costs come from. But while it excels at showing data, it does not actively optimize spend or generate savings strategies. That’s the gap Opsima was built to address.
Let’s look at what AWS’s native tools provide, and then explore how Opsima builds on that foundation with intelligent automation, predictive algorithms, and actionable recommendations.
What is AWS Cost Explorer, and what can it do?
AWS Cost Explorer is Amazon’s built-in tool for analyzing cloud spend. It provides:
- Hourly, daily, or monthly cost breakdowns
- Usage analytics by service, account, or region
- Forecasting based on historical trends
- Basic tracking of Savings Plans and Reserved Instance coverage, utilization and savings
It’s a reliable solution for reporting and visibility. For organizations with more complex optimization needs however, it often serves as the first step rather than the complete solution.
What can’t Cost Explorer do?
While AWS Cost Explorer provides robust reporting and visibility, it has some limitations:
- No support for complex commitment strategies : Complex strategies often rely on multiple savings instruments, including Reserved Instances, Savings Plans but also Enterprise Discount Programs. Cost Explorer does not model trade-offs or support those advanced combinations.
- Basic forecasting : Its forecasts rely on historical trends and do not incorporate scenario modeling or risk analysis.
- No execution : Cost Explorer can help surface and visualize spend, as well as craft a savings strategy, but it will not execute this strategy for you. Implementation still requires analyzing those insights in depth and to take repetitive manual actions through the AWS console or CLI.
How Opsima fills the gaps
At Opsima, we built a FinOps engine that goes beyond dashboards. Here’s how it stacks up:
- Sophisticated commitment strategy that balances reward and risk :
Opsima analyzes your usage data and determines an optimized mix of Reserved Instances and Savings Plans across short and long-term horizons, to maximize your savings while eliminating the risk of overcommitment.
- Results over insights :
Instead of handing you a report, Opsima automates the purchasing of Savings Plans and Reservations, directly delivering the savings to you. You have full visibility into Opsima’s actions and impact from the Opsima dashboard.
What does this mean for FinOps teams?
Without Opsima:
- You’re relying on manual analysis and execution
- You’re missing out on advanced FinOps strategies that optimize and balance risk and reward
- You’re slow to adapt to usage volatility
With Opsima:
- You get automated savings at scale
- You build intelligent, flexible commitment layers
- You save 30-40% on AWS costs, without losing control
FAQ: More on Opsima vs AWS Cost Explorer
- Does Opsima replace Cost Explorer completely?
Not exactly. Many teams use Cost Explorer for daily spend reviews and couple it with Opsima for strategic savings execution. They complement each other. - Is Opsima safe to use ?
Yes, Opsima relies on advanced optimization tools coupled with human reviews to ensure you get optimal savings without the risk. Still skeptical? We offer a contractual no money loss guarantee. If you ever end up over committed as a result of Opsima's actions, Opsima will compensate you entirely. - How quickly can Opsima reduce our AWS bill?
Most customers see measurable savings within the first month. Optimization is continuous, with models adjusting weekly based on usage changes. - What’s the biggest difference between Opsima and Cost Explorer?
Insight vs impact. Cost Explorer tells you what happened. Opsima helps you decide what to do, and does it for you.
About the Author
Fabien Punin is co-founder and Chief Data Officer at Opsima. An engineer by training (École Polytechnique) and seasoned product strategist, Fabien has helped scale cloud cost optimization for startups and enterprises alike. His work bridges the gap between data science, cloud infrastructure, and business efficiency.
