---
title: "Set up cost attribution | Grafana Cloud documentation"
description: "Configure cost attribution labels and enable cost allocation for your Grafana Cloud telemetry data."
---

# Set up cost attribution

Configure cost attribution to allocate your Grafana Cloud usage costs across teams, services, departments, or systems. This setup process involves selecting appropriate labels from your telemetry data and configuring them for cost allocation.

## Before you begin

You must have the permissions granted by the [Cost attribution admin](/docs/grafana-cloud/cost-management-and-billing/set-up/cost-management-billing-rbac/#manage-access-to-the-cost-management-and-billing-app-using-role-based-access-control) role.

## Configure attribution labels

Cost attribution relies on existing labels on your telemetry. Unlabeled or improperly labeled data can’t be correctly attributed. The labels you select for attributing costs depend on your specific use case and the labeling conventions.

To configure the labels you’d like to use for cost attribution, you must first create an attribution label in your Grafana Cloud stack. This is a self-service process that you can perform directly in the UI.

> Note
> 
> The **Cost Management and Billing** App will be available either in the top level navigation of your Grafana instance, or under **More apps**.

To configure cost attribution labels, complete the following steps:

1. Sign in to your Grafana Cloud instance.
2. Navigate to **Cost Management and Billing**.
3. Click the **Settings** tab in the top navigation menu.
4. In the **Set up your Attribution labels** section, click the drop-down menu for **1. Select Metrics Key**.
5. Choose your primary attribution label key from the list of suggested labels, such as `team`, `service`, or `environment`.
   
   The **Logs Key (suggested)** and **Traces Key (suggested)** fields are automatically populated with matching keys based on your metrics key selection. You can choose to override these if needed.
6. In the **Label Name** field, customize the auto-filled name based on your metrics key if desired.
7. Click **Save Primary Label**.
8. Optional: To add a secondary attribution label for more granular tracking, expand the **Add additional attribution label** section and repeat the process.

You should try to pick a label key that’s applied to the majority of your telemetry data. For example, if the label you choose is only applied to 2% of your telemetry, 98% of your usage and spend is classified as **unattributed**, which means the system doesn’t know the source of that telemetry because it was missing the specified labels.

### Label requirements

When selecting labels for cost attribution, consider the following requirements:

- **Maximum labels**: You can configure up to 2 labels for cost attribution
- **Cardinality limit**: The combined cardinality of both labels cannot exceed 1,000 unique combinations
- **Coverage**: Choose labels that are applied to the majority of your telemetry data to minimize unattributed costs

### Prohibited labels

Certain label keys can’t be used for cost attribution because they conflict with internal Grafana Cloud labels:

Expand table

| Label Key                              |
|----------------------------------------|
| `id`                                   |
| `monetary`                             |
| `org_id`                               |
| `stack_id`                             |
| `instance`                             |
| `job`                                  |
| `tenant`                               |
| `mimir_namespace`                      |
| `loki_namespace`                       |
| `loki_cluster`                         |
| `reason`                               |
| `tracker`                              |
| `retention_hours`                      |
| starting with `__` (double underscore) |

## Important considerations

### Data availability timing

- Cost attribution begins collecting data only from the moment it’s enabled
- Historical data cannot be regenerated
- If you enable cost attribution partway through a month, the reported costs only reflect data from that point forward

### Attribution accuracy

- Telemetry data without the configured attribution labels is classified as **unattributed**
- If your chosen labels are only applied to a small percentage of your telemetry, most usage appears as **unattributed**
- Review your labeling strategy to ensure consistent application of attribution labels across your telemetry

### Stack-level configuration

- Cost attribution is configured and computed on a **per-stack** basis, not per-organization
- Each stack requires separate configuration if you have multiple stacks
- Attribution data is specific to the stack where you view it

## Next steps

After configuring cost attribution:

- [View attribution reports](/docs/grafana-cloud/cost-management-and-billing/cost-attributions/overview/) to analyze your cost allocation
- [Understand attribution labels](/docs/grafana-cloud/cost-management-and-billing/cost-attributions/labels/) to optimize your labeling strategy
- Monitor unattributed costs to identify gaps in your labeling coverage