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cost-estimation — Claude Code skill: forecast Azure spend

Works out what Azure will cost next month and prices resources you have not deployed yet. Useful when a forecast has to line up with a planning target.

Install into Claude Code · Plugin marketplace All methods and platforms ↓ 
/plugin marketplace add microsoft/skills
/plugin install azure-cost@skills
Open on GitHub

What cost-estimation does

Two jobs live here, and the skill keeps them apart. One is a forecast of spend you already have, handled by forecast_costs. The other is pricing for planned workloads, which goes through the pricing tools. Either way it pins down scope, assumptions, period, region, OS and currency first.

Public rates come from get_retail_prices. Enterprise Agreement and Microsoft Customer Agreement pricing is pulled with start_pricesheet_download and get_pricesheet_status. MCP results stay untouched by any shell or interpreter — filtering is requested on the tool side instead.

Currencies never get combined, so a mixed-currency scope will not produce a number. An unclear meter turns into a question about OS, term, tier or usage. On a server error the skill retries once and then hands back the trace ID. Budget alerts, bill analysis, rightsizing and commitments sit outside its scope.

What it helps with

  • forecast Azure spend for the coming month
  • price a virtual machine before deploying it
  • compare storage tier rates
  • check how region choice changes the bill
  • match a forecast against a planning target

Example prompts for the agent

  • Forecast our Azure spend for next month on this subscription
  • What would this VM cost in West Europe
  • Compare storage tiers for our data volume

How to install cost-estimation

1Plugin marketplace

/plugin marketplace add microsoft/skills
/plugin install azure-cost@skills

This installs the whole azure-cost plugin with all its skills

2Skills CLI (Vercel)

npx skills add microsoft/skills --skill cost-estimation -a claude-code

3Manually: put the files in place

~/.claude/skills/cost-estimation/SKILL.md

Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/cost-estimation/

Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to install skills in Claude Code: five ways

Questions about cost-estimation

How do I install cost-estimation in Claude Code?

Add the marketplace with /plugin marketplace add microsoft/skills, then install the plugin: /plugin install azure-cost@skills.

What does cost-estimation do?

It forecasts Azure spend and prices planned resources or workloads. It can pull public rates as well as EA or MCA pricing.

What is it not meant for?

Bill analysis, cost spikes, rightsizing, budget alerts and commitments are all outside what this skill handles.

Source text

SKILL.md · MIT 
---
name: cost-estimation
description: "Forecast Azure spend and price planned resources or workloads. WHEN: \"forecast Azure spending\", \"project next month cost\", \"compare forecast to my planning target\", \"how much will Azure cost\", \"estimate VM cost\", \"compare storage tiers\", \"compare Azure regions\", \"retail price\", \"EA rate card\", \"negotiated pricesheet\". DO NOT USE FOR: configured budget health or alerts, bill analysis, cost spikes, rightsizing, or commitments."
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: Microsoft
  version: "1.1.1"
---

# Azure Cost Estimation

## Quick Reference

| Intent | Workflow | Primary tools |
|--------|----------|---------------|
| Forecast existing spend | [Cost forecast](references/cost-forecast/workflow.md) | `forecast_costs` |
| Price planned resources | [Pricing estimate](references/pricing-estimate.md) | Pricing tools |

## When to Use This Skill

Use for forecasts, pricing, and planning targets.

## MCP Tools

| Tool | Use |
|------|-----|
| `forecast_costs` | Forecast a scope. |
| `get_retail_prices` | Get public prices. |
| `start_pricesheet_download`, `get_pricesheet_status` | Get Enterprise Agreement (EA) or Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) prices. |

Fallback: [API mappings](references/tool-fallback.md).

## Workflow

1. Distinguish forecasts from hypothetical pricing.
2. Confirm scope, assumptions, period, region, OS, and currency.
3. Load the matching workflow and label every value type.
4. Never transform MCP results in a shell or interpreter; request tool-side
   filtering or bounded follow-up queries.

## Error Handling

| Error | Action |
|-------|--------|
| Ambiguous meter | Ask for OS, term, tier, or usage. |
| Forecast unavailable | Explain the history requirement. |
| Pricesheet pending | Honor the returned polling interval. |
| Multiple currencies | Never combine currencies. |
| Server error | Retry once; then report the trace ID. |

© Microsoft · MIT · microsoft/skills

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