# Compare costs

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**Compare** is designed for side-by-side analysis of two datasets. Whether you want to see the same filter across different time ranges (e.g. month-over-month, year-over-year), or compare entirely different environments, projects, or tags, Compare makes it easy.&#x20;

Its dedicated views highlight increases, decreases, and trends between datasets, so you can pinpoint where costs are rising, falling, or changing the most—enabling better budgeting and faster root cause analysis.

#### To compare cost data

1. Navigate to the Visibility tab in app.north.cloud
2. Click Compare in the top-left navigation

<figure><img src="/files/ys0655xmh0nFQvRIAswh" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### Set your base and compared states

1. Start with the Base State on the left and select the time period you want to examine
2. Preset options include week-to-date, month-to-date, year-to-date, and custom ranges. For example, you might select the last three months as your base state
3. In the Compared State, select the period you want to compare against. For example, choose the previous period to see how costs changed

#### Apply shared filters

1. Click Shared Filters in the top-right corner
2. Select the filters you want to apply across both states. For example, keep Service and add Region
3. You can further narrow the view by selecting specific regions such as us-east-1 and us-west-1
4. Choose the granularity for your analysis, whether the timeline be monthly, daily, or hourly

<figure><img src="/files/8fLYl72vzND8UEpkBGi8" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Shared filters ensure both datasets are evaluated using the same criteria. You can also unsync filters if you want each state to use different configurations.

#### View comparison results

1. Click the Filter button to generate the comparison
2. Review the comparison charts, including top increasing costs, top decreasing costs, and top cost centers

<figure><img src="/files/AiOSUcVjHrE04WopzwOp" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### Switch comparison views

On the right side of the screen, under the Compared State total, you’ll see options to switch between comparison views.

* Side by side shows each period independently
* Overlay displays both periods on the same chart for visual comparison

<figure><img src="/files/12VbUreGT695YBdB2ErG" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

* Variance highlights percentage increases and decreases between periods

<figure><img src="/files/Br6WcU1gt30r02nM6gqN" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Note: The Variance view requires matching date range durations between the base and compared states.


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