Find data transfer and egress costs hiding in your cloud bill
On this page
Use AWS and Azure transfer categories where documented, and review Google Cloud Premium or Standard Network Service Tier configuration separately as a routing and cost factor. Compare like-for-like costs before attributing a change to compute or storage.
Why this is worth a look
The provider documentation distinguishes different review dimensions. AWS identifies transfer charges through CUR lineItem/UsageType values, Azure separates inter-region pricing from internet egress by source continent and routing preference, and Google Cloud documents Premium and Standard Network Service Tiers as routing and cost options. Keep those views separate so a change is attributed to the right transfer category or configuration factor.
Run this check
CHECKLISTA manual, read-only procedure for reviewing AWS CUR transfer categories, Azure pricing categories, and Google Cloud Network Service Tier configuration with consistent comparison assumptions.
READ-ONLY REVIEW
1. Set one billing period, organizational scope, and reporting currency for all three providers. Record whether values are gross or net, and use either retail or contracted prices consistently. Record quantities in GB and costs in the selected currency.
2. AWS CUR: review lineItem/UsageType. Separate Region-DataTransfer-Out-Bytes for internet transfer, Region-DataTransfer-Regional-Bytes for same-Region Availability Zone transfer, and SourceRegion-DestinationRegion-AWS-Out-Bytes for inter-Region transfer. Preserve regional prefixes. Also review lineItem/ProductCode when similar CloudFront usage types could be present, because AmazonCloudFront can use similar UsageType values.
3. Azure: compare the detailed cost records available for the same period with the documented pricing categories. Review inter-region transfer by the applicable continental or inter-continental category. Review Internet Egress separately by source continent and routing preference. Use the Azure pricing page to map regions to billing Zones for data transfers where that model applies. Map these categories using the service, meter, region, and other dimensions actually available in your detailed cost export. Do not assume a universal meter name.
4. Google Cloud: inventory the applicable external IPs, VMs, and load balancers and record whether each uses Premium or Standard Network Service Tier. Keep this configuration review separate from billing-export fields. Do not assume the tier is exposed as a dedicated export field or that Premium or Standard appears in every SKU description.
5. Compare only matching periods, scopes, currencies, price bases, and treatment of credits and taxes. Report AWS and Azure transfer categories separately where the provider distinguishes them. Report Google Cloud Network Service Tier configuration as a separate routing and cost factor. If a total changes, investigate traffic volume, routes, regions, configured tiers, CDN behavior, pricing, credits, and export scope before assigning a cause.How to confirm it
- 01
Set comparable reporting assumptions
Choose the same billing period and organizational scope for the three views. Normalize currency, and consistently use gross or net cost and retail or contracted prices. Record units in GB and the treatment of credits and taxes.
- 02
Review AWS CUR categories
Use the CUR lineItem/UsageType column to separate internet, same-Region Availability Zone, and inter-Region transfer. Preserve regional prefixes. If CloudFront is present, also use lineItem/ProductCode to distinguish AmazonCloudFront from similar transfer usage types.
- 03
Review Azure categories carefully
Use the Azure bandwidth pricing page to separate inter-region transfer from Internet Egress. Internet Egress is shown by source continent and routing preference, while billing Zones are geographic groupings for applicable data-transfer pricing. Compare these categories with the detailed cost records available for the same period using the service, meter, region, and other dimensions actually available in your detailed cost export. Do not assume a universal meter name.
- 04
Record Google Cloud tier configuration
For applicable external IPs, VMs, and load balancers, record whether the configured Network Service Tier is Premium or Standard. Treat this as a separate routing and cost review, not as a substitute for transfer-category billing analysis. Do not assume the tier is exposed as a dedicated export field or that Premium or Standard appears in every SKU description.
- 05
Investigate changes without guessing
Compare the separated quantities and costs over matching periods. If a total changes, check traffic volume, routes, regions, configured tiers, CDN behavior, pricing, credits, and export scope before treating application behavior as the cause.
Before making changes
This is a read-only manual review, not a provider query. It assumes you can access AWS CUR data, Azure detailed cost records, and Google Cloud resource configuration, and that all comparisons use one billing period, organizational scope, currency, unit (GB), price basis, and consistent treatment of credits and taxes. AWS usage types vary by service and Region. Azure pricing varies by agreement, purchase date, and currency exchange rate. Map the pricing categories to the dimensions available in your own detailed cost records rather than assuming one universal field.