---
title: Forecasting
description: >-
  Predict future cloud costs and make informed decisions with Cloud Cost
  Management Forecasts.
breadcrumbs: Docs > Cloud Cost Management > Planning > Forecasting
---

# Forecasting

## Overview{% #overview %}

Cloud Cost Management (CCM) Forecasts help you predict future cloud costs based on historical spending patterns. Use forecasts to anticipate cost trends, plan budgets more effectively, and make data-driven decisions about resource allocation.

Forecasts are available in:

- **Reports**: Enable the forecast toggle to visualize predicted costs alongside your budget.
- **Budgets**: View forecasted costs directly on budget cards to see if you're projected to go over budget.

With Forecasts, you can:

- Anticipate **spending trends** based on your historical data to predict future costs.
- Visualize **projected costs** alongside actual spending to identify patterns and understand cost trends.
- Use forecast data to set **realistic budget targets** and avoid cost overruns.
- See if forecasted costs are projected to **exceed your budget** targets to track budget health.

## How forecasting works{% #how-forecasting-works %}

Cloud Cost Management uses forecasting algorithms to generate cost to generate cost predictions. The forecasting model analyzes your historical spending data to identify patterns and trends in your cloud costs, including:

- Recurring costs that happen on a **predictable schedule** (such as weekly or monthly cycles).
- Whether your costs are **increasing, decreasing, or staying stable** over time.
- Changes in spending that correspond to **specific periods or events**.

### Flexible forecasting options{% #flexible-forecasting-options %}

You can generate forecasts for various time horizons and rollup intervals to match your planning needs:

- **Forecast periods**: Predict costs for the next billing period, current month, current year, or a custom date range based on your historical spending data.
- **Rollup intervals**: View forecasts at daily or monthly intervals depending on your analysis requirements.

### Data requirements{% #data-requirements %}

To generate accurate forecasts, CCM requires:

- **At least 64 consecutive days of cost data**: This helps ensure the model has sufficient information to identify meaningful patterns. If fewer days are available, the model pads the remaining days with zeros to generate a forecast.
- **Recent data**: The model uses up to the last 64 days of your cost history to generate predictions.

## View forecasts in reports{% #view-forecasts-in-reports %}

Navigate to [**Cloud Cost > Analyze > Reports**](https://app.datadoghq.com/cost/analyze/reports) in Datadog to enable forecasts in your budget reports.

1. Create a report or open an existing **Budget** report.
1. In the left panel, toggle **Show forecast** to enable forecasting.
1. Select the forecast period from the **Until end of** dropdown (next period, current month, current year, or a custom range).

{% image
   source="https://docs.dd-static.net/images/cloud_cost/forecasts/budget_report_forecast-2.0e4eb7d1ab684d6c1c47678d820d8c88.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850 1x, https://docs.dd-static.net/images/cloud_cost/forecasts/budget_report_forecast-2.0e4eb7d1ab684d6c1c47678d820d8c88.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850&dpr=2 2x"
   alt="Budget report showing the forecast toggle in the left panel and forecasted costs displayed with historical data" /%}

The report displays:

- **Forecast toggle and controls**: Located in the left panel to enable forecasting and select the time period.
- **Historical costs**: Your actual spending shown in solid colors.
- **Forecasted costs**: Predicted costs shown with a hatched pattern.
- **Forecast summary card**: Shows the total forecasted cost for the selected period.

## View forecasts in budgets{% #view-forecasts-in-budgets %}

Navigate to [**Cloud Cost > Plan > Budgets**](https://app.datadoghq.com/cost/plan/budgets) in Datadog to view forecasts in your budget summaries.

Budget cards automatically display forecast information when available, showing projected costs for each budget period.

If forecasted costs are projected to exceed your budget, the budget status indicates **Projected Over** to help you take action before going over budget.

{% image
   source="https://docs.dd-static.net/images/cloud_cost/forecasts/budget-list-with-forecast.622110a86e00669b0e79df8fa2a4de8e.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850 1x, https://docs.dd-static.net/images/cloud_cost/forecasts/budget-list-with-forecast.622110a86e00669b0e79df8fa2a4de8e.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850&dpr=2 2x"
   alt="Budget list showing forecast values on budget cards" /%}

To view detailed forecast information:

1. From the Budgets page, click **View Performance** on any budget to open the detailed budget view.
1. In the budget performance view, toggle **Show Forecast** to enable forecasting.
1. The budget performance chart displays:
   - **Actual costs**: Your current spending shown in solid colors.
   - **Forecasted costs**: Predicted costs shown with a hatched pattern extending beyond your actual costs.
   - **Forecasted Past**: A vertical line indicating where the forecast begins.

{% image
   source="https://docs.dd-static.net/images/cloud_cost/forecasts/updated_budget_status_forecast-1.eef4be0921f67101e987ecd943a519e6.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850 1x, https://docs.dd-static.net/images/cloud_cost/forecasts/updated_budget_status_forecast-1.eef4be0921f67101e987ecd943a519e6.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850&dpr=2 2x"
   alt="Budget performance view showing the forecast toggle and forecasted costs displayed with a hatched pattern" /%}

## Further reading{% #further-reading %}

- [Learn about Cloud Cost Management Budgets](https://docs.datadoghq.com/cloud_cost_management/planning/budgets.md)
- [Learn about Cloud Cost Management Reports](https://docs.datadoghq.com/cloud_cost_management/reporting.md)
- [Cloud Cost Management](https://docs.datadoghq.com/cloud_cost_management.md)