Question 1

What is the MSK Cost Visualizer?

Accepted Answer

The MSK Cost Visualizer is a free tool that helps you understand your Amazon MSK costs. It analyzes your MSK billing data and presents clear visualizations that show how your monthly costs are distributed across resources and usage types, making it easier to interpret AWS billing for MSK.

Question 2

What is Amazon MSK?

Accepted Answer

Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (MSK) is a fully managed AWS service for running Apache Kafka clusters. Developers can build applications that connect to these clusters to process streaming data.

Question 3

How is Amazon MSK different from Aiven for Apache Kafka?

Accepted Answer

Both services provide managed Kafka clusters. Amazon MSK runs on AWS, while Aiven for Apache Kafka runs on multiple cloud providers and includes additional tools, dashboards, and connectors.

Question 4

I do not have an IAM role. Can I still see my MSK costs?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can estimate your MSK costs by manually uploading billing data or cost reports. The tool visualizes this information without requiring direct AWS access.

Question 5

How accurate are the cost estimates?

Accepted Answer

The tool uses AWS billing data and standard cost formulas. Estimates are close to your actual costs but can vary based on:
• Discounts
• Reserved instances
• Usage patterns

Question 6

Is this tool free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The MSK Cost Visualizer is free to use for analyzing MSK costs.

Question 7

Is my billing CSV saved by the tool?

Accepted Answer

No. We will neither save nor use your billing CSV.

Amazon MSK Cost Visualization

Get started with Amazon MSK cost visualization

How to export your AWS Cost and Usage Report?

Amazon MSK Cost Visualization FAQ