specification: API Commons Plans
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/Plans
provider: AWS CloudWatch
providerId: cloudwatch
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - Aws
  - Monitoring
  - Observability
  - Logs
  - Metrics
  - Alarms
description: 'AWS CloudWatch is pure pay-as-you-go: each feature (custom metrics, API requests, alarms,
  logs ingestion / storage / analysis, dashboards, contributor insights, live tail) has its own per-unit
  rate. The AWS Free Tier provides perpetual monthly allowances for evaluation. Volume tiers apply to custom
  metrics and log ingestion. All prices below are us-east-1 list prices and may vary by region; see the
  pricing calculator for committed-use, savings plan, or enterprise discount terms.'
sources:
  - https://aws.amazon.com/cloudwatch/pricing/
plans:
  - id: cloudwatch-free-tier
    name: AWS Free Tier
    type: freemium
    description: Perpetual free monthly allowance bundled with every AWS account.
    entries:
      - label: Custom and detailed-monitoring metrics
        name: free_metrics
        type: quota
        metric: metric
        limit: 10
        timeFrame: month
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '0.00'
        userMultiplied: false
      - label: API requests (excluding GetMetricData, GetInsightRuleReport, GetMetricWidgetImage)
        name: free_api_requests
        type: quota
        metric: requests
        limit: 1000000
        timeFrame: month
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '0.00'
        userMultiplied: false
      - label: Logs ingestion, archive storage, and Logs Insights queries
        name: free_logs
        type: quota
        metric: gb
        limit: 5
        timeFrame: month
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '0.00'
        userMultiplied: false
      - label: Live Tail
        name: free_live_tail
        type: quota
        metric: minute
        limit: 1800
        timeFrame: month
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '0.00'
        userMultiplied: false
      - label: Custom dashboards
        name: free_dashboards
        type: quota
        metric: dashboard
        limit: 3
        timeFrame: month
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '0.00'
        userMultiplied: false
      - label: Standard-resolution alarm metrics
        name: free_alarms
        type: quota
        metric: alarm
        limit: 10
        timeFrame: month
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '0.00'
        userMultiplied: false
      - label: Contributor Insights rule
        name: free_contributor_insights_rule
        type: quota
        metric: rule
        limit: 1
        timeFrame: month
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '0.00'
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Basic monitoring metrics from AWS services (no charge)
      - name: Application Signals 3-month trial (100 GB cap)
      - name: First 100,000 X-Ray traces recorded per month
      - name: First 1,000,000 X-Ray traces retrieved per month
  - id: cloudwatch-metrics
    name: CloudWatch Metrics
    type: usage-based
    description: Custom metrics and detailed-monitoring metrics, priced per metric per month with volume
      tiers.
    entries:
      - label: Custom metrics — first 10,000
        name: metrics_tier1
        type: tiered
        metric: metric
        limit: 10000
        timeFrame: month
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '$0.30'
        userMultiplied: false
      - label: Custom metrics — next 240,000
        name: metrics_tier2
        type: tiered
        metric: metric
        limit: 240000
        timeFrame: month
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '$0.10'
        userMultiplied: false
      - label: Custom metrics — over 250,000
        name: metrics_tier3
        type: tiered
        metric: metric
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: month
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '$0.05'
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Standard-resolution metrics
      - name: High-resolution metrics
      - name: GetMetricData / PutMetricData APIs
  - id: cloudwatch-api-requests
    name: CloudWatch API Requests
    type: usage-based
    description: Per-request charge for CloudWatch API calls beyond the free tier (e.g. GetMetricData,
      GetMetricStatistics, ListMetrics).
    entries:
      - label: API requests
        name: api_requests
        type: metered
        metric: requests
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: usage
        geo: global
        unit: 1000
        price: '$0.01'
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Applies to PutMetricData, GetMetricData, GetMetricStatistics, ListMetrics, etc.
  - id: cloudwatch-alarms
    name: CloudWatch Alarms
    type: usage-based
    description: Standard-resolution alarm metrics billed monthly per alarm metric beyond the 10 included
      in the free tier.
    entries:
      - label: Standard-resolution alarm metric
        name: alarm_metric
        type: metered
        metric: alarm
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: month
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '$0.10'
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Standard-resolution alarms
  - id: cloudwatch-logs
    name: CloudWatch Logs
    type: usage-based
    description: Tiered pricing for log ingestion, archived storage, and Live Tail streaming.
    entries:
      - label: Log ingestion — 5 GB to 30 GB
        name: logs_ingest_tier1
        type: tiered
        metric: gb
        limit: 30
        timeFrame: month
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '$0.50'
        userMultiplied: false
      - label: Log ingestion — 30 GB to 50 GB
        name: logs_ingest_tier2
        type: tiered
        metric: gb
        limit: 50
        timeFrame: month
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '$0.10'
        userMultiplied: false
      - label: Log ingestion — high-volume tier
        name: logs_ingest_tier3
        type: tiered
        metric: gb
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: month
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '$0.05'
        userMultiplied: false
      - label: Log archive storage
        name: logs_storage
        type: metered
        metric: gb
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: month
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '$0.03'
        userMultiplied: false
      - label: Live Tail
        name: live_tail
        type: metered
        metric: minute
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: usage
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '$0.01'
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Logs Insights queries
      - name: Subscription filters
      - name: Log groups
  - id: cloudwatch-contributor-insights
    name: Contributor Insights
    type: usage-based
    description: Per-rule monthly fee plus matched-event charge for Contributor Insights.
    entries:
      - label: Rule — first is free, additional rules
        name: ci_rule
        type: metered
        metric: rule
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: month
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '$0.50'
        userMultiplied: false
      - label: Matched log events (after 1M free)
        name: ci_matched_events
        type: metered
        metric: events
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: usage
        geo: global
        unit: 1000000
        price: '$0.02'
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Contributor Insights rules
  - id: cloudwatch-platform-overview
    name: CloudWatch Platform — see pricing calculator
    type: usage-based
    description: Other CloudWatch features (Application Signals, Internet Monitor, Network Flow Monitor,
      Synthetics canaries, RUM, Database Insights) carry feature-specific rates documented on the pricing
      page. Use the AWS Pricing Calculator to model end-to-end cost.
    entries:
      - label: Feature pricing
        name: platform_features
        type: metered
        metric: varies
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: usage
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: see https://aws.amazon.com/cloudwatch/pricing/
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Application Signals
      - name: Internet Monitor
      - name: Network Flow Monitor
      - name: Synthetics canaries
      - name: RUM
      - name: Database Insights
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com
x-canonical:
  generated: '2026-10-08'
  vocabulary: all/0-working/economics/plans-canonical.yml
  models:
  - free
  - metered
  units:
  - compute
  - data
  - message
  - negotiated
  - request
  plans:
  - name: AWS Free Tier
    access: freemium
    model: free
    model_how: derived
    units:
    - compute
    - data
    - other
    - request
    periods:
    - month
  - name: CloudWatch Metrics
    access: other
    model: metered
    model_how: stated
    units:
    - other
    periods:
    - month
  - name: CloudWatch API Requests
    access: other
    model: metered
    model_how: stated
    units:
    - request
    periods:
    - per-use
  - name: CloudWatch Alarms
    access: other
    model: metered
    model_how: stated
    units:
    - other
    periods:
    - month
  - name: CloudWatch Logs
    access: other
    model: metered
    model_how: stated
    units:
    - compute
    - data
    periods:
    - month
    - per-use
  - name: Contributor Insights
    access: other
    model: metered
    model_how: stated
    units:
    - message
    - other
    periods:
    - month
    - per-use
  - name: CloudWatch Platform — see pricing calculator
    access: other
    model: metered
    model_how: stated
    units:
    - negotiated
    periods:
    - per-use