Multi Cloud Cost Comparison

Use when performing multi cloud cost comparison — provides a structured framework for comparing costs across multiple cloud providers for equivalent workloads. Covers service-level price comparison, TCO analysis, hidden cost identification, discount program evaluation, and recommendation generation for optimal cloud placement.

cloudthinker-ai Updated Sep 8, 2026 7 repo stars

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Multi-Cloud Cost Comparison

Phase 1: Workload Definition

Define workload requirements
- Compute (vCPUs, memory, GPU)
- Storage (block, object, file, volume)
- Database (type, size, IOPS, replicas)
- Networking (egress, load balancing, CDN)
- Managed services (containers, serverless, ML)
Document performance requirements (latency, throughput)
Specify availability requirements (SLA, multi-region)
Identify compliance and data residency constraints

Phase 2: Service Mapping

Equivalent Service Comparison

Capability	AWS	GCP	Azure	Notes
Compute	EC2	Compute Engine	VMs
Kubernetes	EKS	GKE	AKS
Serverless	Lambda	Cloud Functions	Functions
Object Storage	S3	Cloud Storage	Blob Storage
Relational DB	RDS	Cloud SQL	SQL Database
NoSQL DB	DynamoDB	Firestore	Cosmos DB
Cache	ElastiCache	Memorystore	Cache for Redis
CDN	CloudFront	Cloud CDN	Front Door
Load Balancer	ALB/NLB	Cloud LB	App Gateway

Phase 3: Cost Calculation

Per-Service Cost Comparison

Service	Spec	AWS ($/mo)	GCP ($/mo)	Azure ($/mo)	Cheapest
Compute
Storage
Database
Networking
Other managed
Total		$	$	$

Calculate on-demand pricing for each provider
Apply available discounts (RI, CUD, Savings Plans)
Include data transfer and egress costs
Account for support plan costs
Factor in free tier benefits where applicable

Phase 4: Hidden Cost Analysis

Identify costs often missed in comparisons
- Data egress between regions and to internet
- API call charges
- Logging and monitoring costs
- Cross-AZ data transfer
- IP address charges
- License surcharges (Windows, enterprise DB)
Calculate operational costs (staffing, training, tooling)
Factor in migration costs if switching providers

Phase 5: TCO Analysis

Total Cost of Ownership (3-Year)

Category	AWS	GCP	Azure
Infrastructure	$	$	$
Discounts (RI/CUD)	-$	-$	-$
Data transfer	$	$	$
Support	$	$	$
Operational (staff/tools)	$	$	$
Migration cost	$	$	$
3-Year TCO	$	$	$

Phase 6: Recommendation

Rank providers by total cost for the workload
Identify optimal provider per service category
Evaluate multi-cloud strategy if beneficial
Consider non-cost factors (features, ecosystem, expertise)
Generate final recommendation with justification

Counter-Rationalizations

Shortcut	Counter	Why
"We can skip some steps for this case"	Adapt the workflow steps, don't skip them	Skipped steps are where incidents and oversights originate
"The user seems to already know what to do"	Complete all workflow phases with the user	The workflow catches blind spots that experience alone misses
"This is a minor case, full process is overkill"	Scale the process down, don't turn it off	Minor cases become major when unstructured; the process scales, not disappears
"I'll fill in the details later"	Complete each section before moving on	Deferred details are forgotten; real-time capture is more accurate
"The template output isn't necessary"	Always produce the structured output format	Structured output enables comparison, audit trails, and handoff to other teams

Output Format

Service Mapping Table: Equivalent services across providers
Cost Comparison Spreadsheet: Detailed line-item pricing
TCO Analysis: 3-year total cost including hidden costs
Recommendation Report: Provider ranking with justification
Sensitivity Analysis: How costs change with scaling

Action Items

Define workload requirements and specifications
Collect current pricing for all service equivalents
Calculate costs with applicable discount programs
Identify and quantify hidden costs
Complete TCO analysis
Present recommendation to stakeholders

---name: multi-cloud-cost-comparisondescription: Use when performing multi cloud cost comparison — provides a structured framework for comparing costs across multiple cloud providers for equivalent workloads. Covers service-level price comparison, TCO analysis, hidden cost identification, discount program evaluation, and recommendation generation for optimal cloud placement.---# Multi-Cloud Cost Comparison## Phase 1: Workload Definition1. Define workload requirements - [ ] Compute (vCPUs, memory, GPU) - [ ] Storage (block, object, file, volume) - [ ] Database (type, size, IOPS, replicas) - [ ] Networking (egress, load balancing, CDN) - [ ] Managed services (containers, serverless, ML)2. Document performance requirements (latency, throughput)3. Specify availability requirements (SLA, multi-region)4. Identify compliance and data residency constraints## Phase 2: Service Mapping### Equivalent Service Comparison| Capability | AWS | GCP | Azure | Notes ||-----------|-----|-----|-------|-------|| Compute | EC2 | Compute Engine | VMs | || Kubernetes | EKS | GKE | AKS | || Serverless | Lambda | Cloud Functions | Functions | || Object Storage | S3 | Cloud Storage | Blob Storage | || Relational DB | RDS | Cloud SQL | SQL Database | || NoSQL DB | DynamoDB | Firestore | Cosmos DB | || Cache | ElastiCache | Memorystore | Cache for Redis | || CDN | CloudFront | Cloud CDN | Front Door | || Load Balancer | ALB/NLB | Cloud LB | App Gateway | |## Phase 3: Cost Calculation### Per-Service Cost Comparison| Service | Spec | AWS ($/mo) | GCP ($/mo) | Azure ($/mo) | Cheapest ||---------|------|-----------|-----------|-------------|----------|| Compute | | | | | || Storage | | | | | || Database | | | | | || Networking | | | | | || Other managed | | | | | || **Total** | | **$** | **$** | **$** | |1. Calculate on-demand pricing for each provider2. Apply available discounts (RI, CUD, Savings Plans)3. Include data transfer and egress costs4. Account for support plan costs5. Factor in free tier benefits where applicable## Phase 4: Hidden Cost Analysis1. Identify costs often missed in comparisons - [ ] Data egress between regions and to internet - [ ] API call charges - [ ] Logging and monitoring costs - [ ] Cross-AZ data transfer - [ ] IP address charges - [ ] License surcharges (Windows, enterprise DB)2. Calculate operational costs (staffing, training, tooling)3. Factor in migration costs if switching providers## Phase 5: TCO Analysis### Total Cost of Ownership (3-Year)| Category | AWS | GCP | Azure ||----------|-----|-----|-------|| Infrastructure | $ | $ | $ || Discounts (RI/CUD) | -$ | -$ | -$ || Data transfer | $ | $ | $ || Support | $ | $ | $ || Operational (staff/tools) | $ | $ | $ || Migration cost | $ | $ | $ || **3-Year TCO** | **$** | **$** | **$** |## Phase 6: Recommendation1. Rank providers by total cost for the workload2. Identify optimal provider per service category3. Evaluate multi-cloud strategy if beneficial4. Consider non-cost factors (features, ecosystem, expertise)5. Generate final recommendation with justification## Counter-Rationalizations| Shortcut | Counter | Why ||----------|---------|-----|| "We can skip some steps for this case" | Adapt the workflow steps, don't skip them | Skipped steps are where incidents and oversights originate || "The user seems to already know what to do" | Complete all workflow phases with the user | The workflow catches blind spots that experience alone misses || "This is a minor case, full process is overkill" | Scale the process down, don't turn it off | Minor cases become major when unstructured; the process scales, not disappears || "I'll fill in the details later" | Complete each section before moving on | Deferred details are forgotten; real-time capture is more accurate || "The template output isn't necessary" | Always produce the structured output format | Structured output enables comparison, audit trails, and handoff to other teams |## Output Format- **Service Mapping Table**: Equivalent services across providers- **Cost Comparison Spreadsheet**: Detailed line-item pricing- **TCO Analysis**: 3-year total cost including hidden costs- **Recommendation Report**: Provider ranking with justification- **Sensitivity Analysis**: How costs change with scaling## Action Items- [ ] Define workload requirements and specifications- [ ] Collect current pricing for all service equivalents- [ ] Calculate costs with applicable discount programs- [ ] Identify and quantify hidden costs- [ ] Complete TCO analysis- [ ] Present recommendation to stakeholders

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