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Version: 4.0.0-preview

Pricing Data Management

ExpressoTS CLI provides cloud cost estimation with dynamic pricing data that can be updated independently from the CLI. This ensures pricing information is always current without requiring CLI updates.

Overview​

The pricing system features:

  • Dynamic Pricing Data: Fetched from remote sources
  • Multiple Sources: API, Remote JSON, and Local overrides
  • Cascading Fallback: Ensures pricing is always available
  • Community Updates: Anyone can submit pricing corrections
  • Automatic Caching: 6-hour cache for performance
  • Offline Support: Works without internet connection

Pricing Sources​

Pricing data is fetched with cascading fallback:

  1. API Source - ExpressoTS Pricing API (planned)
  2. Remote JSON - GitHub-hosted pricing file
  3. Local Override - User's custom pricing (~/.expressots/pricing.json)
  4. Embedded Fallback - Built into CLI

This ensures you always get the most up-to-date pricing while maintaining offline functionality.

Cost Estimation Commands​

Estimate Costs for a Provider​

# Estimate for specific provider
expressots costs estimate aws

# With custom resources
expressots costs estimate aws \
  --instances 2 \
  --cpu 2 \
  --memory 4 \
  --storage 50 \
  --bandwidth 500

Options:

  • --instances - Number of instances/replicas
  • --cpu - CPU cores per instance
  • --memory - Memory in GB per instance
  • --storage - Storage in GB
  • --bandwidth - Monthly bandwidth in GB
  • --hours - Running hours per month (default: 720)

Compare Costs Across Providers​

# Compare all providers
expressots costs compare

# With specific configuration
expressots costs compare \
  --cpu 2 \
  --memory 4 \
  --storage 50

# Export as JSON
expressots costs compare --format json

# Save to file
expressots costs compare --output costs.json

Output shows providers sorted by cost (cheapest first):

Provider         Service         Monthly Cost    Rank
--------------------------------------------------------
Fly             Machines        $15.23          Best
Railway         Web Service     $18.50          +$3.27
Render          Web Service     $21.00          +$5.77
GCP             Cloud Run       $24.80          +$9.57
...

Get Cost Optimization Recommendations​

expressots costs optimize

Provides recommendations for:

  • Right-sizing instances
  • Using auto-scaling
  • Reserved instances
  • Spot/preemptible instances
  • Storage optimization
  • Provider migration savings

Show Pricing Details​

# Show all provider pricing
expressots costs pricing

# Show specific provider
expressots costs pricing aws

Displays:

  • Service name
  • Pricing model (per-hour, per-month, usage)
  • CPU, memory, storage, bandwidth costs
  • Free tier information
  • Data source and last verification date

Managing Pricing Data​

Update Pricing Data​

Fetch the latest pricing from remote sources:

expressots costs update

This command:

  1. Clears the local cache
  2. Fetches from API (if available)
  3. Falls back to Remote JSON
  4. Caches for 6 hours
  5. Shows update status and source

Show Pricing Information​

expressots costs info

Displays:

  • Pricing data version
  • Last update timestamp
  • Data source (api/remote/local)
  • Cache age
  • Available providers

Custom Pricing File​

Create a local pricing override:

# Create custom pricing file
mkdir -p ~/.expressots
nano ~/.expressots/pricing.json

File format:

{
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "updated": "2026-01-15T00:00:00Z",
  "providers": {
    "aws": {
      "serviceName": "ECS Fargate",
      "model": "per-hour",
      "basePrice": 0,
      "cpuPerHour": 0.04048,
      "memoryPerGbHour": 0.004445,
      "storagePerGb": 0.10,
      "bandwidthPerGb": 0.09,
      "freeBandwidth": 100,
      "notes": "Custom pricing for us-west-2"
    }
  }
}

The CLI will automatically use your custom file when available.

Supported Cloud Providers​

AWS (Amazon Web Services)​

Service: ECS Fargate
Model: Per-hour
Best for: Enterprise, high-scale applications

expressots costs estimate aws

GCP (Google Cloud Platform)​

Service: Cloud Run
Model: Per-hour (scales to zero)
Best for: Serverless, variable workloads

expressots costs estimate gcp

Azure​

Service: Container Apps
Model: Per-hour
Best for: Enterprise, Microsoft ecosystem

expressots costs estimate azure

Railway​

Service: Web Service
Model: Usage-based
Best for: Developers, simple deployments

expressots costs estimate railway

Render​

Service: Web Service
Model: Per-month
Best for: Startups, predictable pricing

expressots costs estimate render

Fly.io​

Service: Machines
Model: Per-hour (scales to zero)
Best for: Edge computing, global distribution

expressots costs estimate fly

DigitalOcean​

Service: App Platform
Model: Per-month
Best for: Small to medium projects

expressots costs estimate digitalocean

Heroku​

Service: Eco Dyno
Model: Per-month
Best for: Rapid prototyping (expensive for production)

expressots costs estimate heroku

Contributing Pricing Updates​

Process Overview​

Pricing data is stored in the expressots/templates repository under cli-templates/pricing.json.

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Update pricing data with sources
  3. Verify from official provider websites
  4. Update lastVerified date
  5. Submit pull request

Example: Updating AWS Pricing​

  1. Visit official pricing page:
    https://aws.amazon.com/fargate/pricing/

  2. Update pricing.json:

{
  "providers": {
    "aws": {
      "serviceName": "ECS Fargate",
      "cpuPerHour": 0.04048,
      "memoryPerGbHour": 0.004445,
      "source": "https://aws.amazon.com/fargate/pricing/",
      "lastVerified": "2026-01-15"
    }
  }
}
  1. Test locally:
# Use your fork
expressots templates repo set YOUR_USERNAME/templates
expressots costs update
expressots costs pricing aws
  1. Submit PR to main repository

Pricing Data Fields​

Required:

  • serviceName - Name of the service
  • model - Pricing model: "per-hour", "per-month", or "usage"
  • basePrice - Base monthly price
  • cpuPerHour - Cost per vCPU-hour
  • memoryPerGbHour - Cost per GB-hour of memory
  • storagePerGb - Cost per GB of storage per month
  • bandwidthPerGb - Cost per GB of bandwidth
  • freeBandwidth - Free bandwidth in GB

Optional:

  • freeCredits - Free credits for new users
  • notes - Additional pricing notes
  • source - URL to official pricing page
  • lastVerified - Date when pricing was last verified

Versioning​

When updating pricing data:

  • Patch (1.0.1): Minor price adjustments, corrections
  • Minor (1.1.0): New providers added
  • Major (2.0.0): Breaking changes to pricing structure

Update the version field in pricing.json:

{
  "version": "1.1.0",
  "updated": "2026-01-15T00:00:00Z"
}

Cost Calculation Examples​

Basic Web Application​

expressots costs compare \
  --instances 1 \
  --cpu 1 \
  --memory 1 \
  --storage 10 \
  --bandwidth 100

Typical monthly costs:

  • Fly.io: ~$5-10
  • Railway: ~$10-15
  • Render: ~$7-14
  • GCP Cloud Run: ~$15-20

Medium Traffic Application​

expressots costs compare \
  --instances 2 \
  --cpu 2 \
  --memory 4 \
  --storage 50 \
  --bandwidth 500

Typical monthly costs:

  • Railway: ~$35-45
  • Render: ~$50-60
  • GCP Cloud Run: ~$60-70
  • AWS Fargate: ~$80-100

High-Scale Application​

expressots costs compare \
  --instances 5 \
  --cpu 4 \
  --memory 8 \
  --storage 200 \
  --bandwidth 2000

Typical monthly costs:

  • AWS Fargate: ~$400-500
  • GCP Cloud Run: ~$350-450
  • Azure Container Apps: ~$375-475

Configuration​

Pricing settings are stored in ~/.expressots/config.json:

{
  "pricing": {
    "sources": ["api", "remote", "local"],
    "cacheTTL": 21600,
    "customFile": null
  }
}

Options:

  • sources - Array of sources to try (in order)
  • cacheTTL - Cache time-to-live in seconds (default: 6 hours)
  • customFile - Path to custom pricing file (overrides default location)

API Reference​

Pricing Data Structure​

interface PricingData {
  version: string;
  updated: string;
  providers: {
    [key: string]: ProviderPricing;
  };
}

interface ProviderPricing {
  serviceName: string;
  model: "per-hour" | "per-month" | "usage";
  basePrice: number;
  cpuPerHour: number;
  memoryPerGbHour: number;
  storagePerGb: number;
  bandwidthPerGb: number;
  freeBandwidth: number;
  freeCredits?: number;
  notes?: string;
  source?: string;
  lastVerified?: string;
}

Troubleshooting​

Pricing Data Not Updating​

# Force update
expressots costs update

# Check current source
expressots costs info

Using Old Pricing​

If you're seeing outdated pricing:

  1. Clear cache:

    rm ~/.expressots/cache/pricing.json
    expressots costs update

  2. Check data version:

    expressots costs info

  3. Verify source:

    expressots templates status

Custom Pricing Not Loading​

If your custom pricing file isn't being used:

  1. Check file location: ~/.expressots/pricing.json
  2. Validate JSON: Use a JSON validator
  3. Check permissions: File must be readable
  4. Verify structure: Must match schema
# Test custom pricing
cat ~/.expressots/pricing.json
expressots costs update
expressots costs info

Best Practices​

For Cost Estimation​

  1. Use realistic resources: Match your actual usage
  2. Include bandwidth: Often forgotten but significant
  3. Consider free tiers: Factor in free credits
  4. Account for scaling: Estimate peak usage, not average
  5. Compare regularly: Prices change frequently

For Pricing Contributors​

  1. Verify from official sources: Always link to pricing page
  2. Use consistent regions: Prefer US East/West for comparisons
  3. Update regularly: Set reminders to check quarterly
  4. Document assumptions: Note what's included/excluded
  5. Test calculations: Verify estimates match provider calculators

Examples​

Find Cheapest Provider for Your App​

# Your app specs
expressots costs compare \
  --instances 2 \
  --cpu 2 \
  --memory 4 \
  --storage 50 \
  --bandwidth 500 \
  --format json > costs.json

# View in order
cat costs.json | jq 'sort_by(.monthlyCost)'

Calculate Migration Savings​

# Current Heroku cost
expressots costs estimate heroku --instances 4

# Compare alternatives
expressots costs compare --instances 4

# Get recommendations
expressots costs optimize

Budget Planning​

# Export comparison for spreadsheet
expressots costs compare --format json > budget.json

# Or markdown for documentation
expressots costs compare --format markdown > budget.md

Next Steps​