Read-only access
I use a cross-account IAM role you create and can delete anytime. I never get write access, and I don't use access keys.
AWS cost reviews for SaaS teams of 2-30 people
Your AWS bill, read line by line. Fixed price.
A fixed-price AWS cost review for SaaS teams of 2-30 people. You get read-only access, a prioritized fix list with dollar estimates, and optional hands-on fixes. No retainer required, and no percentage-of-savings fees.
- Read-only IAM role, no access keys
- Price agreed before work starts
- No percentage-of-savings fees
The problem
Nobody's job is the AWS bill
Small SaaS teams rarely have anyone whose job is the AWS bill. Engineers ship features, the bill grows with usage, and the line items nobody reads keep adding up.
Startup credits hide all of this until they run out. Then AWS jumps into your top expenses, right when you're watching burn and gross margin most closely.
Sorting it out takes someone who has read a lot of AWS bills and knows which changes are safe. That usually isn't the job of whoever is shipping the next feature.
The line items nobody reads
- Instances sized for a launch-day spike
- NAT gateway and data-transfer charges
- Old snapshots and log groups set to keep forever
- Dev environments that run all weekend
- Commitments that were never bought, or no longer fit
What you get
Fixed-price AWS bill review
3-6 months of cost analysis
Spend broken down by service, account, environment and usage type, with the trends and anomalies called out.
A prioritized fix list
Every item has:
- Estimated monthly $ savings
- Effort (hours)
- Risk (low / med / high)
- Exactly what to change
A 45-minute walkthrough
We go through the findings with your team, and you keep the written report.
Optional
Implementation
I make the fixes for a separate fixed quote, through your normal process: pull requests to your Terraform, CDK, Pulumi or CloudFormation, or changes made together over a screen share. Nothing changes without your sign-off.
Optional
Monthly watch
A monthly check of your bill: anomaly review, a commitment and Savings Plan coverage check, and a short email summary of what changed and why. It catches new leaks before they become habits.
How it works
Three steps, no surprises
-
Free 30-minute call
You share your screen in AWS Cost Explorer, with no access granted. I point out where I'd look first, and you decide whether a full review is worth it.
-
Review
You create a read-only role from a short template I send. I analyze 3-6 months of cost and usage data and deliver the fix list on a date we agree up front.
-
Walkthrough, then your call
We go through the list together. Make the changes yourself, have me implement them, or both.
Security
Read-only by design
The review never needs the ability to change anything in your account. You stay in control of access the whole time.
- Access: a cross-account IAM role that uses AWS-managed view-only and billing read-only permissions. I can see resource configuration and cost data. I can't read your S3 objects or database contents, and I can't change anything.
- Revoking: delete the role and my access ends immediately.
- External ID: the role uses one, to prevent confused-deputy problems.
- Your data: reports and notes stay with you. I delete my working copies once the engagement ends.
- NDA: happy to sign yours.
Pricing
The price is agreed before any work starts
AWS bill review
Fixed-price review
Quoted after a free 30-minute call
- Read-only access
- 3-6 months of cost analysis
- Prioritized fix list with $ estimates
- 45-minute walkthrough + written report
Implementation
Fixed quote
Per fix list, optional
- PRs to your IaC or paired screen-share changes
- Nothing changes without your sign-off
Monthly watch
Monthly
Quoted separately, optional
- Anomaly review
- Commitment & Savings Plan coverage check
- Short email summary
No percentage-of-savings fees. No retainer required.
Also available
We also build software
Besides AWS bill reviews, Cloud Scientists takes on general software development work.
It can be a defined project or hourly work, quoted after a short call.
- API integrations: connecting your app to third-party APIs and services, handling webhooks, and keeping data in sync between systems.
- Custom software and existing apps: new backend services and APIs, plus maintenance and improvements to apps you already run. C#/.NET, Java, Node.js and Python.
- AI-assisted development: adding AI features and LLM integrations to your app, and using AI-assisted tooling to deliver faster.
- AWS migrations and cleanup: moving existing apps to AWS, and tidying up AWS setups with infrastructure as code and CI/CD.
FAQ
Questions teams ask
Do you need write access to our AWS account?
No. The review uses a read-only role you create and can delete anytime. If you hire me for implementation, changes go through your own pull requests or a separately scoped role you control, and only with your approval.
We're still on AWS credits. Is this worth it?
Often, yes. Credits hide the real run rate, and it's easier to set up storage lifecycles, sizing and commitments before the credits expire than after. The free 30-minute call will tell you whether a full review makes sense yet.
What if the review doesn't find much?
Then you'll know your setup is in good shape, and that's worth knowing too.
Do you work with Azure or Google Cloud?
No, just AWS. Focusing on one cloud is how a fixed price stays fixed.
Do you do work beyond AWS bills?
Yes. I also take on software development: API integrations, backend work in C#/.NET, Java, Node.js or Python, AI features, and moving apps to AWS. It's quoted per project or hourly after a short call. See We also build software.
Who does the work?
I do. Daniel — senior .NET & AWS engineer, 10+ years building and migrating production systems on AWS. Nothing is subcontracted.
See where your AWS money is going, in 30 minutes, for free.
Questions? danield@cloudscientistsllc.com