Overview
CloudWatch is the monitoring layer built into AWS. EC2, RDS, Lambda, ELB, S3 and most other services publish metrics to it automatically, and you can add custom metrics, send logs from apps and agents, build dashboards, and set alarms that trigger SNS notifications or auto scaling.
Beyond the basics it includes Logs Insights queries and Live Tail, X-Ray and Application Signals for tracing and service health, Synthetics canaries for scripted checks, RUM for browser performance, Container and Database Insights, and OpenTelemetry metric ingestion queryable with PromQL.
There is no subscription: every feature has its own meter and the free tier covers light use. For apps already on AWS it is the default place to start, but log ingestion at $0.50/GB and per-metric charges for high-cardinality dimensions are common sources of bill surprises, so review what you log and which dimensions you publish.
Pricing and plans
checked 28 Sept 2026Free tier · card required
Basic AWS service metrics, 10 custom or detailed metrics, 10 alarms, 3 dashboards, 5 GB of logs (ingest, storage and queries), 100,000 X-Ray traces, 100 canary runs a month.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | $0 | 10 custom metrics, 10 alarms, 3 dashboards, 5 GB logs, 100k X-Ray traces, 100 canary runs/mo |
| Logs (Standard) | $0.50/GB ingested | Storage $0.03/GB-month; Infrequent Access class ingests at $0.25/GB (us-east-1) |
| Custom metrics | Up to $0.30/metric/mo | Tiered down to lower rates at volume; PutMetricData $0.01 per 1,000 requests |
| OpenTelemetry metrics | $0.50/GB ingested | Includes 15 months of storage; PromQL queries $0.01 per million samples |
What it does
- Automatic AWS metrics
- Most AWS services send basic metrics for free with no setup.
- CloudWatch Logs
- Log ingestion, storage, Logs Insights queries and Live Tail; Standard and cheaper Infrequent Access classes.
- Alarms and dashboards
- Alarms on metrics or queries that notify or trigger actions; 3 dashboards free.
- Tracing
- X-Ray traces and Application Signals for service golden metrics and transaction spans.
- Synthetics and RUM
- Scripted canary checks and real user monitoring for web apps.
- OpenTelemetry metrics
- OTLP ingestion at $0.50/GB including 15 months of storage, queryable with PromQL.
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- No setup for AWS service metrics and deep integration with AWS actions.
- Pay only for what you use, with a free tier.
- Data stays in the AWS Region you choose, including EU Regions.
- Covers metrics, logs, traces, synthetics and RUM in one AWS service.
Limitations
- Every feature is metered separately and rates vary by Region, making costs hard to predict.
- Each unique dimension combination counts as a separate billed custom metric.
- Infrequent Access logs lack Live Tail, subscription filters and metric filters.
- Much less useful for workloads outside AWS.
Who it suits
Good for
- Applications running on AWS
- Teams wanting alarms that trigger AWS actions such as auto scaling
- Serverless apps on Lambda
Look elsewhere if
- Multi-cloud or non-AWS workloads
- Teams that want a single predictable monthly price
Alternatives to Amazon CloudWatch
| Tool | From | Free option | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checkly Synthetic and uptime monitoring as code | $24/mo | Free tier | |
| Grafana Cloud Hosted metrics, logs, traces and dashboards | $19/mo | Free tier | |
| New Relic Full-stack observability platform | $10/mo | Free tier | |
| OpenObserve Open-source logs, metrics, traces and RUM platform | Usage-based | Free tier | |
| Rollbar Error tracking and session replay | $15.83/mo | Free tier | |
| Sentry Error tracking and application monitoring | $26/mo | Free tier |
Questions
Is CloudWatch free?
There is a free tier with basic AWS metrics, 10 custom metrics, 10 alarms, 3 dashboards and 5 GB of logs a month; usage beyond that is billed.
How much does CloudWatch Logs cost?
In US East, Standard ingestion is $0.50 per GB, Infrequent Access $0.25 per GB, and storage $0.03 per GB per month.
Does CloudWatch support OpenTelemetry?
Yes, it ingests OpenTelemetry metrics at $0.50 per GB including 15 months of storage, and supports PromQL queries.
Why is my CloudWatch bill high?
Usually log ingestion volume or many custom metrics from high-cardinality dimensions; both are billed per unit.
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