Getting Started
Get up and running with CostBeacon in under 10 minutes.
1. Create your account
Visit costbeacon.cloud/signup and create your free account. You can sign up with your email or use your Microsoft account.
The Free tier includes dashboard access, recommendations, and one Azure subscription — no credit card required.
2. Connect your Azure subscription
After signing in, navigate to Azure Connections in the sidebar and click + New Connection.
You'll need a service principal with Reader access to your Azure subscription. See our Connecting Azure guide for step-by-step instructions.
3. Run your first scan
Once connected, go to Scan Jobs and trigger a Full Scan. This will collect your resource inventory, cost data, and usage metrics.
Scans typically take 2-5 minutes depending on the number of resources in your subscription.
4. Review recommendations
After the scan completes, navigate to Recommendations to see cost optimization opportunities. Each recommendation includes:
- A clear description of the finding
- Estimated monthly savings
- Risk level and implementation effort
- Specific action steps
5. Set up automated scans
CostBeacon automatically creates scan schedules when you connect a subscription. You can customize the frequency from the Scan Jobs page.
We recommend daily cost imports and weekly recommendation analysis for the best results.