BillSpike Blog

AWS cost analysis, FinOps, and practical guides for cloud billing.

FinOps · 2026-04-01
What Is the FinOps FOCUS Specification?
FOCUS is an open standard for cloud billing data that gives AWS, Azure, and GCP a common schema. Here is what it defines, where it stands today, and why it matters for cost analysis.
Azure Cost · 2026-03-29
Why Did My Azure Bill Spike This Month?
Your Azure invoice is higher than expected and you are not sure why. Here are the most common causes of Azure cost spikes and how to track down the specific driver quickly.
Azure Cost · 2026-03-27
How to Read an Azure Cost Management Billing Export
Azure's Usage Details export contains everything you need to diagnose a cost spike, but the column names and structure are not obvious. Here is what each key column means and how to use them.
GCP Cost · 2026-03-25
Why Did My Google Cloud Bill Spike?
Your Google Cloud invoice came in higher than expected and the billing console is not giving you a clear answer. Here are the most common causes and how to find the specific driver.
GCP Cost · 2026-03-23
How to Analyze Google Cloud Costs with the BigQuery Billing Export
GCP's BigQuery billing export is the most detailed view of your Google Cloud costs. Here is what the schema contains, which columns matter, and how to use it to find cost spikes.
AWS Cost · 2026-03-22
How to Set Up AWS Billing Alerts
AWS does not notify you when your bill spikes unless you set it up yourself. Here is how to configure billing alerts that actually catch problems before they get expensive.
AWS Cost · 2026-03-15
AWS Data Transfer Costs Explained
Data transfer is one of the most confusing line items in an AWS bill. Here is a breakdown of what you actually pay for and where teams get surprised.
FinOps · 2026-03-08
Volume vs Price vs Mix Variance in Cloud Billing Explained
Your cloud bill went up. Before you can fix it, you need to know if you used more, paid more per unit, or shifted toward more expensive services. These are three different problems with three different solutions.
AWS Cost · 2026-03-01
Why Did My AWS Bill Spike This Month?
You open your AWS bill and something looks off. It's higher than last month and you have no idea why. Here's how to find the cause quickly.
AWS Cost · 2026-02-22
How to Read an AWS Cost and Usage Report (CUR 2.0)
A full CUR export can have 200+ columns and millions of rows. Most of it is noise. Here's which columns actually matter and how to use them to find cost spikes.