Glossary
Also: CUR
The most detailed cost report AWS offers: every resource, every hour, every pricing component as raw data instead of a chart.
The cost overview in the console shows totals per service. That is enough to be alarmed by, not enough to act on. The Cost and Usage Report provides the lines behind it: which instance, which data transfer, which storage request.
Only at this level do the usual surprises become visible: cross-zone data transfer, NAT gateways, forgotten snapshots, logs without a retention rule.
How you notice it
Frequently asked
Once enabled, the report is written hourly or daily into an S3 bucket and delivers first complete days after 24 hours. There is no retroactive data, which is why switching it on is the first step of any cost analysis, even when the analysis itself happens later.