specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
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/
provider: Dapr
providerId: dapr
publisherName: Cloud Native Computing Foundation
serviceCategory: Developer Tools
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: false
tags:
  - Distributed Systems
  - Microservices
  - Open Source
  - FinOps
  - FOCUS
description: 'FOCUS-aligned FinOps for Dapr: there is no vendor invoice for upstream Dapr itself.
  Cost emerges from the underlying compute (sidecar CPU/memory), state store, message broker, and
  any commercial managed Dapr distribution the operator chooses (Diagrid Catalyst, Azure Container
  Apps Dapr extension, etc.). FinOps reporting for Dapr workloads should attach to the cloud
  provider that hosts the sidecars rather than to Dapr itself.'
sources:
  - https://dapr.io
  - https://docs.dapr.io
  - https://www.cncf.io/projects/dapr/
notes: No direct vendor billing. FinOps meters track underlying infrastructure spend (sidecar
  hours, state-store IO, broker throughput) attributed to the apps that run alongside Dapr.
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Open Source / Self-Hosted
  billingFrequency: Per-Invoice
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
    - Usage
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Dapr
  ServiceCategory: Developer Tools
  ServiceSubcategory: Distributed Application Runtime
  ProviderName: Dapr (CNCF)
  PublisherName: Cloud Native Computing Foundation
  PricingCategory: Open Source
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Usage
meters:
  - name: sidecar_compute_hours
    description: CPU/memory hours consumed by Dapr sidecars (daprd) running alongside application
      workloads. Charged by the underlying compute provider, not by Dapr.
    unit: instance-hour
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - cluster
      - namespace
      - app_id
      - region
  - name: state_store_operations
    description: Reads/writes to the configured state store backend (Redis, Cosmos DB, DynamoDB,
      etc.). Billed by the state-store provider.
    unit: request
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - state_store
      - app_id
  - name: pubsub_messages
    description: Messages published or delivered through the configured pub/sub broker (Kafka,
      RabbitMQ, Service Bus, etc.). Billed by the broker provider.
    unit: message
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - broker
      - topic
      - app_id
  - name: data_egress
    description: Network egress between Dapr sidecars and external state/broker/binding endpoints.
    unit: GB
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - region
      - destination
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: Dapr emits Prometheus metrics, OpenTelemetry traces, and structured logs for every
      sidecar. Pipe these into the operator's observability stack and join with cloud-provider
      billing exports keyed on cluster/namespace/app_id.
  - name: Allocation
    description: Tag every Dapr sidecar pod with team, environment, and app_id labels; allocation
      then flows from cloud-provider billing tags rather than from a Dapr invoice.
  - name: Optimization
    description: Right-size sidecar resources (CPU/memory requests and limits), enable component
      pluggability to use cheaper state stores in non-prod, batch pub/sub messages where ordering
      allows, and use Resiliency policies to avoid runaway retry storms that amplify bill.
  - name: Accountability
    description: Cluster owners and platform teams own infrastructure spend; application teams own
      per-app sidecar density. Review sidecar utilization quarterly and consolidate co-located
      apps where the sidecar is over-provisioned.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com