specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Stellar
providerId: stellar
created: '2026-06-14'
modified: '2026-06-14'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - Blockchain
  - Cryptocurrency
  - DEX
  - FinOps
  - FOCUS
  - Ledger
  - Payments
  - Stellar
description: >-
  FOCUS-aligned FinOps for Stellar: the Horizon API itself is free with no per-call charges. Cost
  is realized at the Stellar network layer — 100 stroops (0.00001 XLM) minimum per operation at
  transaction submission. Self-hosted Horizon infrastructure (compute, storage, bandwidth) is the
  dominant cost for high-volume operators. Surge pricing via fee bumps is an optional cost lever
  during network congestion.
sources:
  - https://developers.stellar.org/docs/learn/fundamentals/fees-resource-limits-metering
  - https://developers.stellar.org/docs/data/apis/horizon
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: Stellar Development Foundation
serviceCategory: Blockchain Infrastructure
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Usage-Based
  billingFrequency: Per Transaction
  billingCurrency: XLM
  chargeCategories:
    - Usage
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Stellar Horizon API
  ServiceCategory: Blockchain Infrastructure
  ProviderName: Stellar Development Foundation
  PublisherName: Stellar Development Foundation
  InvoiceIssuerName: Stellar Development Foundation
  BillingCurrency: XLM
meters:
  - name: operations_submitted
    unit: operation
    aggregation: count
    dimensions:
      - transaction_id
      - operation_type
      - source_account
  - name: xlm_fees_paid
    unit: XLM (stroops)
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - transaction_id
      - source_account
      - fee_bump_flag
  - name: horizon_api_calls
    unit: request
    aggregation: count
    dimensions:
      - endpoint
      - http_method
      - response_status
  - name: self_hosted_compute
    unit: vCPU-hour
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - environment
      - region
  - name: self_hosted_storage
    unit: GB-month
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - environment
      - storage_type
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: Track XLM fees paid per transaction by querying /accounts/:id/transactions and
      parsing fee_charged fields. Monitor horizon_api_calls per endpoint to understand traffic patterns.
  - name: Allocation
    description: Tag transactions with memo fields to attribute network fees to application, user
      segment, or business unit. For self-hosted Horizon, tag cloud infrastructure by environment
      (mainnet/testnet) and team.
  - name: Optimization
    description: Batch multiple operations into a single transaction to amortize the base fee (max
      100 operations per transaction). Use fee bump transactions only when necessary for congestion
      priority. Run self-hosted Horizon with captive core on right-sized compute to minimize idle cost.
      Use the public SDF instance for dev/test to avoid infrastructure spend.
  - name: Accountability
    description: Engineering owns per-transaction fee budgets; DevOps owns self-hosted Horizon
      infrastructure costs. Finance reconciles XLM network fees against application-level revenue.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com