CloudBurn

About CloudBurn

CloudBurn is a proactive FinOps and cost intelligence platform designed for engineering teams using Terraform or AWS CDK. It solves the critical problem of runaway cloud costs by shifting cost visibility left in the development lifecycle. Instead of discovering expensive infrastructure mistakes weeks later on a shocking AWS bill, CloudBurn provides real-time cost estimates directly within the code review process. When a developer opens a pull request with infrastructure changes, CloudBurn automatically analyzes the diff using live AWS pricing data and posts a detailed cost report as a comment. This creates an essential feedback loop, allowing teams to discuss and optimize costs before code is merged and deployed to production. It's built for DevOps engineers, platform teams, and any developer responsible for infrastructure who wants to prevent budget overruns, foster cost-aware development practices, and eliminate the painful, reactive scramble to fix costly resources already running in production.

Features of CloudBurn

Automated Pull Request Cost Analysis

CloudBurn seamlessly integrates with your GitHub workflow to provide automatic cost analysis on every infrastructure pull request. There's no manual triggering required. Once configured, the tool detects changes in Terraform or AWS CDK code, executes a cost analysis in the background, and posts a comprehensive report as a PR comment within seconds. This automation ensures that cost review becomes a mandatory and effortless part of the code review process, catching potential budget issues at the most opportune moment.

Real-Time, Resource-Level Cost Breakdown

The tool goes beyond high-level estimates by providing a detailed, line-item breakdown of cost impacts. The report clearly shows each affected resource (e.g., MyFirstInstance, firstTaskDef), its current cost, its new projected monthly cost, and the exact delta. Each resource includes a drill-down with the hourly price, AWS usage type, and service description. This granular visibility empowers developers to understand precisely which change is driving cost increases and make informed optimization decisions.

Integration with Terraform and AWS CDK

CloudBurn is purpose-built for the modern infrastructure-as-code (IaC) ecosystem. It natively supports both Terraform and AWS CDK, the two leading frameworks for defining cloud resources. Teams can use dedicated GitHub Actions (Terraform Plan PR Commenter or AWS CDK Diff PR Commenter) to capture plan/diff output, which CloudBurn then analyzes. This deep integration means teams don't have to change their existing IaC tools or workflows to gain immediate cost visibility.

Always Up-to-Date AWS Pricing Data

Cost estimates are only as good as the data behind them. CloudBurn uses real-time AWS pricing specific to your configured regions, ensuring estimates reflect the latest on-demand rates. This eliminates the problem of using outdated spreadsheets or static price lists, giving teams confidence that the projected costs in their PR are accurate and actionable, preventing surprises when the actual bill arrives.

Use Cases of CloudBurn

Preventing Costly Misconfigurations in Code Review

The primary use case is stopping expensive mistakes before they deploy. A developer might inadvertently change an instance type from t3.micro to t3.xlarge, multiplying the cost. Without CloudBurn, this would go unnoticed until the bill arrives. With CloudBurn, the $133 monthly increase is highlighted in the PR, prompting an immediate discussion and correction during review, when the fix is just a code change away.

Enabling Developer-Led FinOps and Cost Culture

CloudBurn empowers developers to own cost efficiency by providing them with immediate financial feedback on their infrastructure decisions. Instead of cost being a separate, post-deployment concern for a finance team, it becomes a tangible metric reviewed alongside code quality, security, and performance. This fosters a culture of cost-aware development and shifts FinOps left, making every engineer a stakeholder in cloud financial management.

Optimizing Infrastructure During Refactoring

When teams are refactoring or scaling their infrastructure—such as migrating to a new VPC design or adding auto-scaling groups—CloudBurn provides immediate cost impact analysis for the entire change set. Teams can compare the cost of different architectural approaches directly in their PRs, enabling data-driven decisions that balance performance, reliability, and budget from the outset.

Gating High-Cost Deployments

Teams can use CloudBurn's reports as a qualitative gate in their CI/CD pipeline. By setting informal or formal policies (e.g., "any PR with a cost increase over $500 requires architect approval"), teams can prevent unexpectedly large cost commitments from being automatically merged. The clear report serves as the audit trail and discussion point for approving necessary but expensive changes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does CloudBurn calculate the cost estimates?

CloudBurn calculates estimates by analyzing the output of your terraform plan or cdk diff command. It identifies the specific AWS resources being created, modified, or destroyed, then queries real-time AWS Pricing API data for your specified region. It calculates the monthly cost based on 730 hours of usage (24/7 operation) for on-demand resources, providing a clear and standardized projection for comparison and review.

Is my code or cloud credentials exposed to CloudBurn?

No. CloudBurn does not require or have access to your AWS credentials. The analysis is performed based solely on the infrastructure plan/diff output, which contains only resource types and configurations, not secrets. All billing, setup, and permissions are handled securely through GitHub's OAuth and marketplace installation process, ensuring your code and cloud environment remain private.

Can CloudBurn analyze costs for existing infrastructure?

CloudBurn is primarily designed for pre-deployment analysis of changes presented in a pull request. Its core value is in showing the delta between the current state and the proposed new state. For comprehensive cost management of already-deployed resources, you would use AWS Cost Explorer or a dedicated cloud cost management tool in conjunction with CloudBurn.

What happens after the 14-day Pro trial ends?

After the 14-day Pro trial, you can choose to subscribe to the Pro plan for full features or continue using the Community plan for free forever. The Community plan offers core functionality, allowing you to maintain cost visibility in PRs, while the Pro plan includes advanced features like historical trends, cost anomaly alerts, and team reporting capabilities as outlined on the product roadmap.