# Why Not Just Use AWS Cost Explorer? ## Why Are the Free AWS Tools Not Enough? Cost Explorer doesn't necessarily help you save in the most effective ways. The UI leads you down paths that work best for AWS; it will suggest you save money in ways that are fairly short-sighted if you think about your spend and your infrastructure holistically. It's an absolutely brilliant piece of software for AWS — they optimize in ways that save them money and pass along part of the savings to you. But is it the way to critically examine your infrastructure and make the best decisions for your organization? Not even close. Additionally, the complexity of the tool and the fact that it is very limited in the actions it can take on your behalf means that there is a steep learning curve and a lot of time investment needed to achieve meaningful savings with it. Archera offers a free platform as an alternative to AWS Cost Explorer that takes the analysis and management overhead of AWS costs off your plate, finding you the best deals and savings strategies that can be implemented in one click. ## Related Resources * [Why does AWS Cost Explorer show a cost increase after Archera commitment purchases?](/help-center/aws-faq/cost-explorer-increase.md) * [Why do I see new monthly charges from AWS Cost Explorer after installing Archera?](/help-center/aws-faq/cost-explorer-charges.md) * [What are Guaranteed Commitments?](/help-center/guaranteed-commitments/what-are-guaranteed-commitments.md) --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.archera.ai/help-center/aws-faq/why-not-cost-explorer.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.