specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Dacast
providerId: dacast
created: '2026-07-11'
modified: '2026-07-11'
reconciled: true
tags:
- Live Streaming
- Video
- VOD
- OTT
- FinOps
- Cost Management
- FOCUS
description: >-
  FinOps view of Dacast spend. Dacast bills a fixed monthly/annual subscription
  per plan (Starter, Event, Scale, Custom) that bundles a bandwidth and storage
  allotment, plus usage-based overage charges when bandwidth or storage exceed
  the allotment. API access is a plan entitlement (Scale and Custom), not a
  separately metered line item. Primary cost drivers are content delivery
  bandwidth and stored video volume.
notes: >-
  Subscription and overage rates are subject to change; verify against the Dacast
  pricing page during reconciliation.
sources:
- https://www.dacast.com/live-streaming-pricing-plans/
- https://calculator.dacast.com/
- 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: Dacast
serviceCategory: Media and Streaming
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Subscription-Based
  billingFrequency: Monthly
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
  - Purchase
  - Usage
  - Adjustment
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Dacast Streaming Platform
  ServiceCategory: Media and Streaming
  ProviderName: Dacast
  PublisherName: Dacast
  InvoiceIssuerName: Dacast
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Purchase
  PricingCategory: Subscription-Based
meters:
- name: subscription
  description: Fixed monthly/annual plan fee bundling a bandwidth and storage allotment.
  unit: months
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - plan
- name: overage_bandwidth
  description: Delivery bandwidth beyond the plan allotment, billed per GB (~$0.30/GB, pre-paid as low as $0.09/GB).
  unit: gigabytes
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - content
- name: overage_storage
  description: Stored video volume beyond the plan allotment, billed per GB per month (~$0.15/GB/mo).
  unit: gigabytes
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
principles:
- name: Visibility
  description: Track bandwidth and storage burn against the plan allotment via the Dacast dashboard and analytics API before overages accrue.
- name: Allocation
  description: Attribute bandwidth and storage to content items / channels using per-content analytics to map to internal cost centers.
- name: Optimization
  description: Right-size the plan to expected traffic; pre-pay bandwidth (as low as $0.09/GB) instead of paying post-billed overage; prune unused VOD and renditions to cut storage.
- name: Accountability
  description: Assign an owner per account/plan and review bandwidth/storage against allotment monthly to avoid surprise overages.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com