Linode Launches a Better TCO Calculator to Help Companies Save Money on Public Cloud

Linode today launched an innovative total cost of ownership (TCO) calculator, which makes the often-complex cost calculation of moving workloads to the cloud simpler and more accessible. Linode’s TCO Calculator is designed for anyone moving a workload from on-premises to the cloud, switching from one cloud provider to another, or setting up a hybrid or multi-cloud architecture. The TCO Calculator is available via the Linode website.

True Cloud Cost Comparisons Made Easy

Linode’s TCO Calculator accounts for all of the costs that go into a company’s server infrastructure. In contrast to many other calculators that ask obtuse and archaic questions, Linode’s TCO Calculator is designed to be approachable and useful to everyone. Even those who are not fluent in server plans and CPU core counts can still receive a useful estimate, trustworthy comparisons and technical recommendations.

The TCO Calculator starts by offering eight different pre-packaged bundles of services to choose from, each corresponding with a common workload, such as websites, databases, data analysis, content delivery, code repository, backups and more. Within each package, a slider tool allows the user to adjust key variables, if desired.

“We did all the legwork and pricing reviews so that the person using our TCO Calculator doesn’t have to,” said Nathan Melehan, TCO Calculator project lead. “The components of AWS pricing are not available in one place and typically vary considerably by geography and other factors. Linode’s TCO Calculator pulls back the curtain on AWS pricing and lets you see the true cloud costs you are likely to encounter.”

No More Surprises: Customizable, Dynamic Comparison of Variable Costs

For those who want to dig deeper into the finer details of infrastructure architecture, Linode’s TCO Calculator offers a bespoke cost comparison for custom workloads, allowing the user to specify arbitrary compute, storage, and networking resources. Users may even choose to precisely map their existing infrastructure.

Linode’s TCO Calculator provides interactive estimates as well. The calculator offers a slider that dynamically illustrates how costs vary depending on network transfer usage and geographic locations.

“One of the biggest and most pervasive fears business executives have is not being able to plan for unanticipated events, especially when those events can have a significant impact on their operational expenses,” says Melehan. “You want to know how much your bills will be as your business grows. The TCO Calculator shows how your costs can explode with some providers, particularly when your workloads scale suddenly and traverse geographies.”

TCO Report: True Cost Comparisons in Black and White

Linode’s TCO Calculator automatically provides a report to the user with three key components:

1. A summary of cost breakdowns, comparing AWS and Linode as well as on-premises installations, if selected. Any assumptions are listed in an appendix.

2. A recap of all qualitative information compiled in the process, including links to helpful documentation.

3. Recommendations, based on the users specific requirements related to customer support needs, avoiding vendor lock-in, cost savings, predictability and transparency of billing, data sovereignty requirements and more.

Designed for enterprise users, small and medium-sized businesses, agencies and freelance web designers, Linode’s TCO Calculator is free and can be used an unlimited number of times by the same user. The company also has a simplified pricing tool for smaller-scale and personal use cases. Called the Linode Cloud Estimator tool, it offers instant pricing comparisons of Linode, AWS, GCP and Azure.