specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: AISStream
providerId: aisstream
created: '2026-07-12'
modified: '2026-07-12'
reconciled: true
tags:
- Vessel Tracking
- AIS
- WebSocket
- Streaming
- FinOps
- Cost Management
description: >-
  FinOps view of AISStream.io. AISStream is a free service - there is no billing,
  no per-message charge, and no paid tier - so the direct provider cost is zero.
  The relevant FinOps considerations are indirect: the compute and bandwidth a
  consumer spends ingesting and processing the real-time AIS WebSocket stream,
  which scale with how broad the subscription (BoundingBoxes and filters) is.
notes: >-
  No provider invoice exists because the service is free. Meters below describe
  consumer-side resource usage to optimize, not amounts billed by AISStream.
sources:
- https://aisstream.io/
- https://aisstream.io/documentation
- https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: AISStream
serviceCategory: Location and Mapping
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Free
  billingFrequency: None
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
  - Usage
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: AISStream AIS Stream
  ServiceCategory: Location and Mapping
  ProviderName: AISStream
  PublisherName: AISStream
  InvoiceIssuerName: AISStream
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Usage
  PricingCategory: Free
meters:
- name: ingested_messages
  description: AIS messages received from the WebSocket stream (consumer-side volume, not billed by AISStream).
  unit: messages
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - subscription
  - message_type
- name: consumer_bandwidth
  description: Inbound bandwidth consumed ingesting the stream; scales with bounding-box breadth and filters.
  unit: bytes
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - subscription
- name: consumer_compute_hours
  description: Compute hours spent maintaining the WebSocket connection and processing messages.
  unit: hours
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
principles:
- name: Visibility
  description: Track ingested message volume and bandwidth per subscription; there is no provider bill to reconcile.
- name: Optimization
  description: Narrow BoundingBoxes and apply FiltersShipMMSI / FilterMessageTypes to cut ingest volume and downstream processing cost.
- name: Allocation
  description: Tag each connection/API key to the workload it serves so consumer-side infra cost can be attributed.
- name: Accountability
  description: Since the feed is free, focus accountability on the consumer infrastructure that ingests and stores the stream.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com