specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Temporal
providerId: temporal-io
created: '2026-07-02'
modified: '2026-07-02'
reconciled: false
tags:
- Durable Execution
- Workflow Orchestration
- Temporal Cloud
- Open Source
- FinOps
- Cost Management
- FOCUS
description: >-
  FinOps view of Temporal spend. The core Temporal server is open source (MIT)
  and free to self-host - in that model the cost is your own compute, database
  (persistence/visibility store), and operations, with no vendor invoice.
  Temporal Cloud is the managed offering, billed primarily on Actions (the unit
  of consumption - starting a workflow, recording a heartbeat, sending a signal,
  timers, retries, and similar billable operations), plus active storage and
  retained storage, against a plan minimum. Actions are volume-tiered, starting
  around $50 per million and decreasing with scale. Because Actions map directly
  to workflow and activity behavior, cost is driven by application design (retry
  policies, heartbeat frequency, signal/timer volume, history size).
notes: >-
  Cloud per-unit rates (Action tiers, active/retained storage) are as of the
  review date and are subject to change; verify on the Temporal Cloud pricing
  page. For self-hosted deployments, the dominant costs are infrastructure
  (Temporal services plus the persistence and visibility datastores) rather than
  a Temporal license fee.
sources:
- https://temporal.io/pricing
- https://docs.temporal.io/cloud/pricing
- https://docs.temporal.io/cloud/actions
- 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: Temporal Technologies
serviceCategory: Compute and Workflow Orchestration
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Usage-Based
  billingFrequency: Monthly
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
  - Usage
  - Purchase
  - Adjustment
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Temporal Cloud
  ServiceCategory: Compute and Workflow Orchestration
  ProviderName: Temporal
  PublisherName: Temporal Technologies
  InvoiceIssuerName: Temporal Technologies
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Usage
  PricingCategory: Usage-Based
meters:
- name: actions
  description: Billable Temporal Cloud Actions - workflow starts, signals, queries, heartbeats, timers, retries, and similar operations. Volume-tiered per million.
  unit: actions
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - namespace
- name: active_storage
  description: Active storage of open workflow execution state, billed per GB-hour.
  unit: gigabyte-hours
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - namespace
- name: retained_storage
  description: Retained (closed workflow) storage kept per the namespace retention period, billed per GB-hour.
  unit: gigabyte-hours
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - namespace
- name: self_hosted_compute
  description: Infrastructure cost of running the self-hosted Temporal cluster and its datastores (no Temporal invoice).
  unit: hours
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - deployment
principles:
- name: Visibility
  description: Track Actions, active storage, and retained storage per namespace; on self-hosted, monitor Temporal service and datastore infrastructure costs.
- name: Allocation
  description: Map namespaces to workloads/teams so Actions and storage roll up to internal cost centers.
- name: Optimization
  description: Tune retry policies and heartbeat frequency to reduce Actions, shorten retention to cut retained storage, and self-host when volume makes owned infrastructure cheaper than Cloud Actions.
- name: Accountability
  description: Assign owners per namespace; review monthly Actions and storage against the plan minimum, or self-hosted infrastructure budget.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com