Overview

A cost monitoring solution that alerts via email when AWS spending exceeds a threshold, with a live dashboard hosted on S3.

Architecture

CloudWatch Billing Alarm → SNS → Email Alert S3 → Static Website Dashboard

AWS Services Used

• Amazon CloudWatch - monitors billing metrics
• Amazon SNS - sends email notifications
• Amazon S3 - hosts the dashboard website

How It Works

1. CloudWatch monitors EstimatedCharges every 6 hours
2. When bill exceeds $3, CloudWatch triggers SNS alarm
3. SNS sends an email alert immediately
4. S3 hosts a live dashboard showing current status

Cost

~$0.01/month (S3 storage only)

Live Dashboard

http://aws-cost-dashboard-339712921454.s3-website-ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com

How to Recreate

Step 1 — Create SNS Topic

• AWS Console → SNS → Create Topic
• Type: Standard
• Name: billing-alert
• Create Subscription → Email → your email
• Confirm subscription from your email

Step 2 — Create CloudWatch Alarm

• AWS Console → CloudWatch → Alarms → Create Alarm
• Metric: Billing → EstimatedCharges
• Threshold: Greater than $3
• Notification: billing-alert SNS topic
• Name: Projects Alarm

Step 3 — Create S3 Dashboard

• AWS Console → S3 → Create Bucket
• Uncheck Block all public access
• Upload index.html
• Enable Static Website Hosting
• Add bucket policy for public read access

Skills Demonstrated

• Amazon CloudWatch alarms
• SNS email notifications
• S3 static website hosting
• AWS cost optimization
• Cloud monitoring