⚙️ Monitor Azure subscription resources with cost and usage tracking and reports

⚡ 37 views · ⚙️ DevOps & CI/CD

Description

Monitor Azure subscription resources with cost and usage tracking

Template Name

Monitor Azure subscription resources with cost and usage tracking

Description

Automatically connect to your Azure subscription to retrieve all resources and track costs. Generates formatted reports with total spending, top expensive resources, and cost breakdown by type.

Who’s it for

DevOps Engineers, Cloud Architects, Finance Teams, IT Managers, and organizations implementing FinOps practices.

How it works

  1. Authentication: OAuth2 Service Principal with Azure
  2. Resource Discovery: Queries Azure Resource Graph API
  3. Cost Retrieval: Fetches data from Cost Management API
  4. Data Processing: Merges resources with costs
  5. Report Generation: Creates text/HTML reports
  6. Output: Excel export, Power BI streaming, or API/Webhook response

Set up steps

Prerequisites

Setup

1. Create Azure Service Principal

Azure CLI:

az ad sp create-for-rbac --name "n8n-cost-monitor" --role "Reader" --scopes /subscriptions/{sub-id}
az role assignment create --assignee {client-id} --role "Cost Management Reader" --scope /subscriptions/{sub-id}

Or use Azure Portal: Azure AD → App registrations → New registration → Assign roles

2. Configure n8n OAuth2 Credential

3. Update Workflow Configuration

Time Range Options:

4. Enable Output Options (Optional)

5. Schedule (Optional)

Replace Manual Trigger with Schedule Trigger (daily: 0 9 * * *)

Requirements

Azure Requirements

n8n Requirements

Optional Requirements

How to customize the workflow

Enable Output Options

The workflow includes three disabled output nodes. To enable them:

  1. Click on the node (Excel Export, Power BI, or Webhook Response)
  2. Click the three dots menu → Enable
  3. Configure the node settings as needed

Excel Export Configuration

The Excel export node is pre-configured but disabled. To use it:

// Already configured to export:
- All resources with their costs
- Formatted as Excel (.xlsx)
- Filename includes current date
- Headers included automatically

To customize:

Power BI Integration

Step 1: Create Power BI Streaming Dataset

  1. Go to Power BI workspace
  2. Create New → Streaming dataset → API
  3. Define schema:
{
  "summary": {
    "totalCost": "string",
    "resourceCount": "number",
    "period": "string"
  },
  "resources": [
    {
      "resourceName": "string",
      "resourceType": "string",
      "cost": "string"
    }
  ],
  "timestamp": "datetime",
  "reportType": "string"
}
  1. Copy the Push URL

Step 2: Configure n8n Workflow

  1. Enable “Prepare Power BI Data” node
  2. Enable “Send to Power BI” node
  3. Update the URL in “Send to Power BI” node with your Push URL
  4. Test the workflow

Step 3: Create Power BI Dashboard

API Response / Webhook Mode

To use the workflow as an API endpoint:

Step 1: Change Trigger

  1. Delete “Manual Trigger” node
  2. Add “Webhook” trigger node
  3. Choose GET or POST method
  4. Copy the webhook URL

Step 2: Enable Response Node


**Response Format:**

```json
{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {

### Enable Output Options

Right-click disabled nodes → Enable → Configure settings

### Filter Resources

Modify query in "Query Azure Resources" node:

```kusto
Resources
| where resourceGroup contains 'production'
| project name, type, location, resourceGroup, tags, id

Change Time Range

Set timeRange in “Set Configuration” node:

timeRange: "last30Days"     // Last 30 days
timeRange: "last90Days"     // Last quarter
timeRange: "last6Months"    // Last 6 months
timeRange: "yearToDate"     // YTD from Jan 1
timeRange: "lastYear"       // Previous 365 days
timeRange: "custom"         // Use custom dates

For custom periods, set timeRange to “custom” and manually update:

startDate: "2026-01-01"
endDate: "2026-01-31"

Add Cost Alerts

{{ parseFloat($json.summary.totalCost) > 1000 }}

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

“Authentication failed”

“No resources returned”

“No cost data available”

In “Set Configuration” node:

// Last 7 days
startDate: {{ $now.minus({days: 7}).format('yyyy-MM-dd') }}
endDate: {{ $now.format('yyyy-MM-dd') }}

Add Cost Alerts

Add IF node after “Format Report”:

{{ parseFloat($json.summary.totalCost) > 1000 }2. **Microsoft.Sql/servers/databases** - 3 resources - $345.67
...

---
_Generated by n8n on 1/19/2026, 10:30:00 AM_

HTML Report Format

Includes styled HTML with:

Excel Export Columns

ColumnTypeDescription
resourceNameStringName of the Azure resource
resourceTypeStringFull resource type (e.g., Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines)
resourceGroupStringResource group name
locationStringAzure region (e.g., eastus, westus2)
skuObjectSKU information (name, tier)
tagsObjectAll resource tags
costNumberTotal cost for the period
costDetailsArrayDetailed daily cost breakdown

Power BI Data Schema

Recommended Power BI measures:

Total Cost = SUM('CostData'[cost])
Avg Cost Per Resource = DIVIDE([Total Cost], COUNT('CostData'[resourceName]))
Cost Variance = [Total Cost] - CALCULATE([Total Cost], DATEADD('CostData'[timestamp], -1, MONTH))
Top 5 Expensive Resources = TOPN(5, 'CostData', 'CostData'[cost], DESC)

Integration Examples

Python Integration

import requests
import pandas as pd

# Call the n8n webhook
url = "https://your-n8n-instance.com/webhook/azure-cost-report"
response = requests.get(url)
data = response.json()

# Convert to DataFrame
resources_df = pd.DataFrame(data['data']['summary']['allResources'])

# Analyze costs
print(f"Total Cost: ${data['data']['totalCost']}")
print(f"Most expensive resource: {resources_df.iloc[0]['resourceName']}")

# Export to local Excel
resources_df.to_excel('azure_costs.xlsx', index=False)

PowerShell Integration

# Call the webhook
$url = "https://your-n8n-instance.com/webhook/azure-cost-report"
$response = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $url -Method Get

# Display summary
Write-Host "Total Cost: $($response.data.totalCost)" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "Resource Count: $($response.data.resourceCount)"

# Export to CSV
$response.data.summary.allResources | 
    Export-Csv -Path "azure-costs.csv" -NoTypeInformation

# Send alert if cost exceeds threshold
if ([decimal]$response.data.totalCost -gt 1000) {
    Send-MailMessage -To "admin@company.com" `
        -Subject "Azure Cost Alert" `
        -Body "Current costs: $($response.data.totalCost)" `
        -SmtpServer "smtp.company.com"
}

JavaScript/Node.js Integration

const axios = require('axios');

**"Authentication failed"**: Verify Tenant ID, Client ID, Secret, and Service Principal roles

**"No resources returned"**: Check Subscription ID and Reader role assignment

**"No cost data"**: Cost data takes 24-48 hours to appear. Verify Cost Management Reader role.

**"Rate limiting (429)"**: Add Wait node between API calls or reduce query frequency

## Resources

- [Azure Resource Graph](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/governance/resource-graph/)
- [Cost Management API](https://learn.microsoft.com/rest/api/cost-management/)
- [n8n Documentation](https://docs.n8n.io/---

**Category**: Cloud Management, DevOps, FinOps  
**Difficulty**: Intermediate  
**Setup Time**: 10-15 minutes  
**n8n Version**: 1.0+

## 🔗 Nodes Used

HTTP Request, Spreadsheet File

## 📥 Import

Download [`workflow.json`](workflow.json) and import into n8n:
**Workflow menu → Import from File**

[📖 Importing guide](../../../docs/importing-templates.md) · [🔑 Credential setup](../../../docs/credential-setup.md)