Guided scenario
Kubernetes cost optimization
Kubernetes hides spend behind shared nodes, oversized resource requests, and idle capacity. This shortlist ranks Kubernetes cost tools by what they do with that data: concrete optimization recommendations and anomaly detection first, then open-source and free-tier options to start cheaply. Also weigh whether a tool only recommends changes or applies them automatically, and how it splits shared costs.
CAST AI
cast.ai
CAST AI is a Kubernetes automation platform that optimizes cost, performance, and security across clusters, with automated rightsizing, bin-packing, spot-instance management, and autoscaling.
Kubecost
www.apptio.com/products/kubecost
Kubecost, an IBM company, is a Kubernetes cost monitoring and optimization tool that allocates spend by cluster, namespace, and workload.
OpenCost
www.opencost.io
OpenCost is an open-source, CNCF-hosted specification and tool for measuring and allocating Kubernetes and cloud costs, originating from Kubecost's core.
PerfectScale
www.perfectscale.io
PerfectScale is a Kubernetes resource optimization platform that continuously rightsizes workloads to reduce cost while protecting reliability.
ScaleOps
scaleops.com
ScaleOps is a Kubernetes resource optimization platform that automatically and continuously rightsizes pods in real time, reacting to live demand to reduce cost while preventing throttling and out-of-memory failures.
StormForge by CloudBolt
www.cloudbolt.io/stormforge-by-cloudbolt
StormForge, part of CloudBolt since March 2025, is a Kubernetes resource optimization platform that uses machine learning to rightsize workloads, tuning CPU and memory requests and limits to cut cost while meeting performance targets.