An OCI cost optimization checklist is only useful if it runs in the right order. Cut waste and right-size before you buy any commitment, lock the savings in place, then run the loop so they do not drift back. Work the list top to bottom and each step lands on a cleaner baseline than the last, which is how Oracle Cloud bills come down by double digits and stay down.
This checklist is part of our Oracle cloud cluster. For the reasoning behind each move, read the complete guide to Oracle Cloud (OCI) cost optimization, the pillar this article links up to. The order below follows our See, Cut, Lock, Run method.
See: get the bill attributed first
You cannot cut what you cannot see. Before any change, make spend visible and owned.
1. Turn on Cost Analysis and read it by service and compartment. Know where the money actually goes before you touch anything. Our walkthrough is in how to read and use OCI Cost Analysis.
2. Fix compartments and tagging. Every resource should map to a team, an environment and a cost owner, so waste has a name. The model is in OCI compartments and tagging for cost allocation, the sibling article to this checklist.
Cut: remove waste and right-size before you commit
This is where most of the saving lives, and all of it must happen before any commitment.
3. Clear idle and orphaned resources. Stopped-but-billing instances, unattached block volumes, old boot volumes and unused public IPs. Block and boot volume cleanup alone often recovers a meaningful slice; the steps are in block volume and boot volume cleanup on OCI.
4. Right-size flexible shapes. OCI's E-series and Ampere A1 Flex shapes let you pay only for the OCPUs and memory you need, so size to real utilization rather than launch-day guesses. The method is in how to rightsize OCI compute shapes.
5. Schedule non-production compute and databases. Stop dev, test and demo workloads outside working hours. This is free money and changes nothing a user sees.
6. Cap Autonomous Database auto-scaling. Set auto-scaling per instance and right-size the base ECPU count so you do not pay 3x burst rates for steady work.
7. Tier storage. Move infrequently accessed object storage to Infrequent Access and Archive tiers, and match block volume performance to need rather than defaulting high.
8. Reduce network and egress charges. Keep traffic in-region where possible and route deliberately; the levers are in how to reduce OCI network and egress charges.
Want this checklist run for you?
Our OCI cost audit works every line on this list across your estate, ranks each opportunity by dollars, and hands you a prioritized plan. On the performance model, you pay only from realized savings. No savings, no fee.
Book an OCI cost audit →Cut the rate: commitments and licensing, last
Only now, on a clean and right-sized baseline, do you change the rate.
9. Choose the right licensing model. License Included versus bring-your-own-license can move the rate substantially depending on the Oracle licenses you hold. Decide it deliberately using License Included vs BYOL on Oracle Cloud.
10. Size and negotiate the commitment. Build the Universal Credits floor from proven steady-state usage and commit slightly under it, using our approach in how to negotiate an Oracle Cloud commitment.
11. Harvest Support Rewards. If you run on-premises Oracle, earn back roughly $0.25 to $0.33 per OCI dollar against your support bill.
Lock and Run: keep the savings
12. Set Budgets, cost alerts and a monthly review. Guardrails stop spend drifting back, and a recurring review surfaces new waste before it compounds. The setup is in OCI Budgets and cost alerts: a setup guide.
| Phase | Checklist items | Typical impact |
|---|---|---|
| See | Cost Analysis, compartments and tagging | Makes waste visible and owned |
| Cut | Idle cleanup, shape and ADB right-sizing, scheduling, storage, egress | The largest share of savings |
| Cut the rate | Licensing, commitment, Support Rewards | Rate reduction on a clean base |
| Lock & Run | Budgets, alerts, monthly review | Keeps the savings durable |
Shape families, storage tiers, the ECPU model and the Support Rewards rate reflect OCI as of May 2026. Verify current names and rates in Oracle's documentation before acting, as Oracle updates them periodically.
The OCI Cost Optimization Field Guide turns this checklist into working tables and worksheets, including the shape rightsizing tables and the Support Rewards harvest. It is the downloadable companion to this page.
The short version
See the bill and attribute it, cut waste and right-size everything, then change the rate through licensing and a carefully sized commitment, and finally lock it with budgets and a monthly review. Run the list in that order and the savings compound instead of canceling out. When you want it done across the whole estate at once, that is our OCI cost optimization service.