# Kubernetes Visibility

Kubernetes workloads can drive significant cloud costs—but they’re often the hardest to track. The Kubernetes Visibility section in OneLens brings clarity by helping you understand how your EKS clusters are spending across namespaces, workloads, and time periods.

Whether you're exploring high-level cluster metrics or deep-diving into workload-level costs, this page is your starting point.

## How OneLens Gathers Data

To give you detailed insights, OneLens brings together two key data sources:

#### 1. AWS Cost and Usage Report (CUR)

OneLens reads your billing data from CUR to identify EKS clusters, their overall cost, and associated savings opportunities. This helps you see costs even before deploying the agent.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Make sure EKS **split cost allocation** is enabled in your AWS account. Without it, workload-level breakdowns won’t be available. If you're unsure, check the [Enable Split Cost Allocation for EKS](/integrations/kubernetes/enable-split-cost-allocation-for-eks.md) page to configure it.
{% endhint %}

#### 2. OneLens Agent

Once you install the OneLens agent inside a cluster, you unlock granular, real-time breakdowns by namespace, workload, and label. This is essential for full visibility.

{% hint style="success" %}
To learn more about the agent and onboard your cluster, follow the steps on the [OneLens Agent](/integrations/kubernetes/onelens-agent.md) page.
{% endhint %}

## Calculating Kubernetes Cost and Efficiency

OneLens calculates your cost and gives you clear signals on how much of that spend is being used effectively.

#### Visual Breakdown of Kubernetes Cost

To help you visualize how OneLens categorizes your spend, refer to the flowchart below:

<figure><img src="/files/8frOaL8VBQFEuJ3tInjR" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Cost Categorization

All costs are calculated using official  [**AWS pricing**](https://aws.amazon.com/eks/pricing/) for the resources identified in your clusters. Currently there are 4 supported components that incurs cost:

* **Compute Cost** – Covers EC2 instance usage behind your nodes, including reserved or spot capacity, container resource requests (CPU & memory), and idle headroom.
* **Storage Cost** – Includes both ephemeral node storage and persistent volumes (EBS, EFS, GP3, IO1, IO2), even if unattached or over-provisioned.
* **Networking Cost** – Accounts for load balancers and data transfer charges, with attention to misconfigured or orphaned resources.
* **Management Cost** – Captures Kubernetes control plane charges and extended support costs for outdated EKS versions.

The costs are categorized as:

* **Utilized** – Actively delivering value
* **Over-provisioned Capacity** – Reserved but underutilized
* **Wastage** – Incurred without being tied to active usage

{% hint style="success" %}
All pricing references AWS billing rates to ensure accuracy with your actual invoice.
{% endhint %}

### Efficiency Calculation

To help you measure how well your resources are being used, OneLens calculates an **efficiency score** throughout the Kubernetes Visibility experience.

**`Efficiency = Total Utilized Cost / Total Payable Cost`**

* **Utilized Cost** reflects what’s actively powering workloads.
* **Payable Cost** is the total cost attributed to that container, workload, node, or cluster based on AWS billing data.

You’ll see this efficiency metric consistently across views—whether you're looking at **workload efficiency**, **node efficiency**, or **cluster efficiency**—giving you a clear signal on where optimization opportunities exist.

## What to Explore Next

Once you’ve understood how Kubernetes costs are gathered and calculated in OneLens, here’s where you can go next:

* [View Clusters & Cost Trends](/observe-visibility-and-insights/service-cost-monitoring/kubernetes-visibility/view-clusters-and-cost-trends.md) – Learn how to access and interpret the cluster list.
* [Cluster-Level Breakdown](/observe-visibility-and-insights/service-cost-monitoring/kubernetes-visibility/cluster-level-breakdown.md) – Dive into cost by namespace and workload.
* [OneLens Agent](/integrations/kubernetes/onelens-agent.md) – Enhance visibility with deeper usage insights.


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