CostGlass vs CloudZero: an alternative with published prices and a free tier
CloudZero is a cost-intelligence platform sold on a single custom-quoted subscription. CostGlass is the alternative for teams that want to see prices up front, start free, and have engineers carry out approved savings instead of only receiving reports.
CostGlass vs CloudZero at a glance
| Feature | CloudZero | CostGlass |
|---|---|---|
| How pricing works | One all-inclusive subscription, quoted per customer | Flat monthly price by spend band; never a percentage of your spend |
| Published prices | No prices shown on the pricing page; contact sales | Free up to £5k/month spend; Starter £99 (to £15k); Growth £499 (to £50k); Scale £1,499 (to £100k); Enterprise custom |
| Contract | Custom quote | Monthly billing; paying annually gives 2 months free |
| Free option or trial | No free tier or trial listed on the pricing page | Free tier, plus a 14-day free trial on paid plans |
| Clouds covered | AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Databricks, Snowflake, Datadog and more listed | AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, DigitalOcean, Linode and Cloudflare |
| Kubernetes costs | Kubernetes connector listed | EKS, AKS, GKE, OKE and self-managed clusters (Growth plan and above) |
| AI and SaaS spend | Anthropic, OpenAI and Cursor connectors listed; an AI Hub | OpenAI and Anthropic via their official APIs, plus Snowflake and Datadog |
| Hands-on help with fixes | No hands-on remediation described on the pricing page | Scale plan: CostGlass engineers carry out approved savings (8 engineer-hours a month) |
| Data freshness | Hourly granularity listed | Cost data refreshed every 6 hours |
Why teams choose CostGlass over CloudZero
Prices you can read before you talk to anyone
CostGlass publishes every tier: Free, Starter £99, Growth £499 and Scale £1,499 a month, with Enterprise on request. Finance can budget for it without a procurement cycle.
Start free, prove value, then upgrade
The Free tier covers up to £5k a month of cloud spend, and paid plans come with a 14-day trial. You can connect your first account and see real numbers the same day.
Savings that get done
On the Scale plan, CostGlass engineers carry out the savings you approve, so findings turn into changes in your accounts rather than a backlog.
Eight clouds in one view, with a regional choice
CostGlass covers AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, DigitalOcean, Linode and Cloudflare, and lets you choose London or N. Virginia for your data.
When CloudZero may be the better fit
- You want hourly cost data; CostGlass refreshes every 6 hours.
- You need unlimited users, sources and dashboards under one subscription, which CloudZero describes on its pricing page.
- You are a large engineering organisation where cost-per-customer allocation is the main goal and a sales-led process is acceptable.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best CloudZero alternative?
It depends on what you need. If you want published pricing, a free tier and hands-on help with savings, CostGlass is worth a look. If hourly data and a fully custom enterprise setup matter most, stay with CloudZero.
Does CloudZero publish its prices?
Its pricing page describes a single subscription and asks you to request a quote; it did not list prices when we checked on 28 October 2026.
Does CostGlass track AI costs?
Yes. It reads OpenAI and Anthropic usage through their official APIs and shows it with your cloud spend.
Sources and verification
Statements about CloudZero come from its own public pages, checked on 28 October 2026. CloudZero and other product names are trademarks of their owners; CostGlass is not affiliated with or endorsed by CloudZero. Corrections: [email protected].