Chargeback assigns data-platform costs to a team's budget or invoice. Showback reports the same costs without transferring the charge.
Both methods require a cost-allocation model. Tags, dedicated warehouses or clusters, query history, and job metadata can connect usage to a team. Shared resources need a defined rule for splitting credits and infrastructure charges.
Showback is often used first to test attribution and give teams visibility. Chargeback adds a financial consequence, so the allocation must be stable and explainable. Neither method reduces consumption by itself.
Review compute, storage, transfer, and serverless services separately. A report that includes only warehouse or DBU usage understates total platform cost.