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: Traefik Labs
providerId: traefik
publisherName: Traefik Labs
serviceCategory: API Gateway / API Management Software
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: '2026-05-15'
reconciled: false
tags:
  - AI Gateway
  - API Gateway
  - API Management
  - FOCUS
  - FinOps
  - Kubernetes
  - MCP Gateway
  - Open Source
  - Reverse Proxy
description: >-
  FOCUS 1.3 / FinOps Framework 1.0 alignment for Traefik Labs. Traefik Proxy
  is open-source software with $0 license cost - the only customer spend is
  the Kubernetes / VM infrastructure that runs it. The four commercial tiers
  (Hub API Gateway, Hub API Management, AI Gateway add-on, MCP Gateway
  add-on) are sold via annual contract; pricing is gated and not published.
  Customer FinOps therefore tracks two cost streams - the Hub subscription
  invoice (charge_category Purchase, pricing_category Subscription) and the
  self-hosted infrastructure footprint exported from the cloud provider's
  own FOCUS data. `reconciled` is false because the commercial subscription
  unit pricing was not visible at the time of fetch.
sources:
  - https://traefik.io/pricing/
  - https://traefik.io/traefik-hub/
  - https://traefik.io/solutions/ai-gateway/
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Open Source + Contracted Subscription
  billingFrequency: Annual
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
    - Purchase
    - Adjustment
    - Refund
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Traefik Hub
  ServiceCategory: API Gateway Software
  ProviderName: Traefik
  PublisherName: Traefik Labs
  InvoiceIssuerName: Traefik Labs
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Purchase
  PricingCategory: Subscription
  PricingUnit: contract
meters:
  - name: traefik_hub_subscription
    description: >-
      Annualized Traefik Hub commercial subscription (API Gateway or API
      Management tier). Quantity and price are contract-defined.
    unit: contract
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions: [tier, environment, region]
  - name: traefik_hub_clusters
    description: >-
      Number of Kubernetes clusters connected to the Hub control plane.
      Multi-cluster management is one axis of the Hub commercial entitlement;
      operators should track cluster count to anticipate renewal sizing.
    unit: cluster
    aggregation: max
    dimensions: [environment, cloud, region]
  - name: traefik_hub_seats
    description: >-
      Hub administrative seats - portal admins, GitOps operators, multi-cluster
      dashboard users. Often a contract input.
    unit: seat
    aggregation: max
    dimensions: [role]
  - name: traefik_hub_managed_apis
    description: >-
      Count of Hub-managed API CRDs deployed across all connected clusters.
      Useful for showback against the API Management tier value.
    unit: api
    aggregation: max
    dimensions: [namespace, cluster]
  - name: traefik_ai_gateway_throughput
    description: >-
      Tokens proxied through the AI Gateway add-on. Even though Traefik does
      not bill per-token, this meter is required for upstream LLM cost
      attribution and for sizing the AI Gateway entitlement.
    unit: tokens
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions: [model, upstream_provider, application]
  - name: self_hosted_infra_cost
    description: >-
      Infrastructure cost (compute, network, storage) of running Traefik
      Proxy or Hub data plane on the customer's own platform. Not billed by
      Traefik Labs; tracked here for total-cost-of-ownership.
    unit: varies
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions: [cloud, region, environment, cluster]
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: >-
      Pull subscription invoices from Traefik Labs for the Hub tier and
      cross-reference against the cloud-provider FOCUS export covering the
      Kubernetes nodes running Traefik. The combined view is your total cost
      of operating Traefik.
  - name: Allocation
    description: >-
      Tag the Kubernetes namespace, node pool, or VM running Traefik with the
      consuming product / team identifier so the proxy's compute and egress
      cost can be allocated to the workloads it fronts. For Hub, allocate the
      subscription cost across managed APIs using the traefik_hub_managed_apis
      meter.
  - name: Optimization
    description: >-
      Use open-source Traefik Proxy when the commercial features (WAF, OIDC,
      portal, AI guardrails, MCP governance) are not required. Right-size pod
      replicas and node pools to actual ingress volume. Enable semantic
      caching on the AI Gateway - the vendor claims a 40-70% reduction in
      LLM cost.
  - name: Accountability
    description: >-
      Designate a platform-engineering owner for the Traefik deployment and
      the Hub contract. Review Hub cluster count, seats, and subscription
      tier at each renewal. Tag each ManagedSubscription and APIPlan with
      its business owner so quota usage is visible to FinOps and product
      stakeholders.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com