specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Cortex
providerId: cortex-idp
created: '2026-07-11'
modified: '2026-07-11'
reconciled: false
tags:
- Internal Developer Portal
- Software Catalog
- FinOps
- Cost Management
- FOCUS
description: >-
  FinOps view of Cortex spend. Cortex is a per-developer (seat-based) SaaS internal
  developer portal, contracted as an annual/enterprise agreement (also available as
  AWS and Microsoft Marketplace private offers). Cost is driven by the number of
  developer seats rather than by the number of catalogued entities or API calls -
  the REST API is included and carries no metered usage fee beyond the documented
  rate limits. Because pricing is contact-sales, per-unit rates are not reconciled
  here.
notes: >-
  reconciled=false. Cortex does not publish per-seat rates; model spend from your
  negotiated per-developer price times seat count. The dominant cost lever is seat
  count and enterprise feature tier, not API consumption.
sources:
- https://www.cortex.io/pricing
- https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace/pp/prodview-x56oxtx647o3c
- https://docs.cortex.io/api
- 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: Cortex
serviceCategory: Developer Tools and Platform Engineering
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Seat-Based
  billingFrequency: Annual
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
  - Purchase
  - Usage
  - Adjustment
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Cortex Internal Developer Portal
  ServiceCategory: Developer Tools and Platform Engineering
  ProviderName: Cortex
  PublisherName: Cortex
  InvoiceIssuerName: Cortex
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Purchase
  PricingCategory: Seat-Based
meters:
- name: developer_seats
  description: Number of licensed developer seats on the Cortex platform - the primary billing metric.
  unit: seats
  aggregation: max
  dimensions:
  - account
  - team
- name: api_requests
  description: REST API requests. Included with the subscription (governed by rate limits), not separately metered.
  unit: requests
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - apiKey
principles:
- name: Visibility
  description: Track licensed developer seats against active users; monitor which teams actually use the catalog and Scorecards.
- name: Allocation
  description: Map seats and catalog entities to teams so the per-developer license cost maps to internal cost centers.
- name: Optimization
  description: Reclaim inactive seats, right-size the feature tier, and use Marketplace private offers where they lower committed spend.
- name: Accountability
  description: Assign an owner for the Cortex contract; review seat count and tier against renewal terms each cycle.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com