specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Papercups
providerId: papercups
created: '2026-06-20'
modified: '2026-06-20'
reconciled: false
tags:
- Customer Messaging
- Live Chat
- Open Source
- Support
- Intercom Alternative
- FinOps
- Cost Management
- FOCUS
description: >-
  FinOps view of Papercups spend. As open-source (MIT) self-hostable software,
  Papercups has no per-call API charges from the project; the dominant cost is
  the infrastructure required to operate it (compute, database, storage,
  bandwidth) plus engineering time to deploy and maintain it. There is no
  vendor invoice in the self-hosted model, so FinOps focus shifts to internal
  cloud-resource cost allocation rather than provider metering. Any hosted SaaS
  spend is unconfirmed given the project's maintenance-mode status.
notes: >-
  Papercups is in maintenance mode and self-hosted by default; cost meters
  below describe self-hosting infrastructure, not provider-billed usage.
  Verify any hosted-tier billing against papercups.io during reconciliation.
sources:
- https://papercups.io
- https://github.com/papercups-io/papercups
- 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: Papercups
serviceCategory: Customer Engagement and Support
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Open Source (Self-Hosted)
  billingFrequency: Monthly
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
  - Usage
  - Purchase
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Papercups
  ServiceCategory: Customer Engagement and Support
  ProviderName: Papercups
  PublisherName: Papercups
  InvoiceIssuerName: Self-Hosted Infrastructure Provider
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Usage
  PricingCategory: Open Source (Self-Hosted)
meters:
- name: compute_hours
  description: Hours of compute running the Elixir/Phoenix application server and BEAM VM.
  unit: hours
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - environment
- name: database_storage
  description: PostgreSQL storage for conversations, messages, and customers.
  unit: gigabytes
  aggregation: max
  dimensions:
  - account
  - environment
- name: bandwidth
  description: Egress bandwidth for the chat widget, REST API, and WebSocket traffic.
  unit: gigabytes
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - environment
- name: websocket_connections
  description: Concurrent Phoenix Channels WebSocket connections, a driver of memory and compute sizing.
  unit: connections
  aggregation: max
  dimensions:
  - account
  - environment
principles:
- name: Visibility
  description: Tag the cloud resources (compute, DB, storage) that run Papercups so self-hosting cost is attributable.
- name: Allocation
  description: Map infrastructure spend to the support/CX team or cost center that owns the deployment.
- name: Optimization
  description: Right-size compute and database for concurrent WebSocket load; scale BEAM nodes horizontally only as needed.
- name: Accountability
  description: Review monthly cloud spend for the deployment against expected conversation/message volume.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com