Overview
OpenCost is a vendor-neutral, CNCF Sandbox project designed to provide comprehensive visibility into Kubernetes spend and resource allocation. As of 2026, it serves as the industry standard for implementing the FinOps Open Cost & Usage Specification (FOCUS) within containerized environments. The architecture functions by collecting real-time data from the Kubernetes API and integrating it with cloud provider billing APIs (AWS, GCP, Azure) to calculate precise costs down to the pod, namespace, and label level. It is built to be lightweight and scalable, leveraging Prometheus for metric storage and exposing a robust REST API for external integrations. Its 2026 market position is solidified by its unique ability to provide 'Carbon Footprint' metrics alongside financial data, allowing enterprises to meet both fiscal and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) targets. Unlike proprietary solutions, OpenCost ensures data sovereignty by running entirely within the user's infrastructure, making it the preferred choice for security-conscious organizations requiring granular cost-allocation models for multi-tenant clusters.