specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Redpanda
providerId: redpanda
created: '2026-05-08'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-08, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-08'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - Streaming
  - Kafka
  - Event Streaming
  - Open Source
  - FinOps
  - Cost Management
  - FOCUS
description: >-
  Redpanda has a hybrid billing surface. The open-source Community Edition (BSL 1.1) generates no Redpanda invoice; cost flows through the operator's own cloud bill (compute, storage, networking). Redpanda Cloud Serverless bills usage-based (no base fee, $100 trial credit). Cloud Dedicated and BYOC are committed/throughput-tier subscriptions with separate charges for tiered storage, networking, and PrivateLink. BYOC additionally produces cloud-provider charges directly to the customer's AWS/GCP/Azure account, with Redpanda only invoicing a management fee. Self-managed Enterprise carries an annual license fee.
notes: >-
  Reconciled at the model level on 2026-05-08. Per-tier hourly rates for Dedicated/BYOC are quoted by Redpanda sales; the customer-facing price-estimator on redpanda.com produces project-specific quotes. No public FOCUS-format usage feed exists; usage data is available via the Cloud Console and contractual usage reports.
sources:
  - https://www.redpanda.com/pricing
  - https://www.redpanda.com/redpanda-cloud
  - 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: Redpanda Data
serviceCategory: Streaming
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Hybrid Subscription, Usage-Based, and Open-Source
  billingFrequency: Monthly
  billingTerm: Hourly metering with monthly invoice; annual term available
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
    - Subscription
    - Usage
    - Adjustment
    - Tax
  commitmentDiscount: Reserved-capacity / annual prepay discount on Cloud Dedicated and Enterprise.
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Redpanda Cloud
  ServiceCategory: Streaming
  ProviderName: Redpanda Data
  PublisherName: Redpanda Data
  InvoiceIssuerName: Redpanda Data
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Subscription
  PricingCategory: Standard Pricing
meters:
  - name: cluster_hours
    description: Per-cluster active-hours billed by tier (Serverless, Dedicated tiers).
    unit: cluster-hour
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - organization
      - cluster
      - tier
      - region
  - name: ingress_bytes
    description: Bytes produced into Redpanda Cloud (Serverless usage-based component).
    unit: byte
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - organization
      - cluster
      - tenant
  - name: egress_bytes
    description: Bytes consumed from Redpanda Cloud (cross-AZ / cross-region egress may carry cloud-provider charges).
    unit: byte
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - organization
      - cluster
      - tenant
      - direction
  - name: partition_count
    description: Total partitions held by the cluster (Serverless / Dedicated quota element).
    unit: partition-month
    aggregation: max
    dimensions:
      - organization
      - cluster
  - name: tiered_storage_gb
    description: Storage used by tiered/object-storage retention.
    unit: gb-month
    aggregation: max
    dimensions:
      - organization
      - cluster
      - storage_class
  - name: privatelink_endpoints
    description: Active AWS PrivateLink / GCP PSC endpoint hours.
    unit: endpoint-hour
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - organization
      - cluster
      - cloud
  - name: byoc_management_fee
    description: Per-cluster monthly management fee for BYOC deployments (cloud infrastructure billed separately to customer cloud account).
    unit: cluster-month
    aggregation: max
    dimensions:
      - organization
      - cluster
      - tier
  - name: enterprise_license
    description: Self-managed Enterprise annual license, custom-quoted by capacity.
    unit: license-year
    aggregation: max
    dimensions:
      - customer
      - capacity
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: >-
      Use the Redpanda Cloud Console for usage and invoice details. For BYOC, pair the Redpanda invoice with cost-allocation tags pulled from the customer's cloud bill (FOCUS-formatted exports from AWS/GCP/Azure cover the underlying infrastructure).
  - name: Allocation
    description: >-
      Tag clusters by environment and business unit; on Cloud Serverless, dedicate clusters per tenant for clean attribution. For self-hosted, tag the underlying compute, EBS volumes, and S3 buckets used for tiered storage.
  - name: Optimization
    description: >-
      Use tiered storage to cut hot-storage cost (8-9x savings claimed); enable compression and right-size partitions; consolidate idle Serverless clusters; consider BYOC for very large workloads to leverage cloud committed-use discounts.
  - name: Accountability
    description: >-
      Assign a cluster owner per environment; review monthly forecast versus invoice; alert on partition-count, ingress-throughput, and tiered-storage growth as leading cost indicators.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com