# Datadog Integration Levels

Finout connects to Datadog using [API and Application keys](https://docs.finout.io/billing-integrations/observability-platforms/connect-to-datadog/..#h_4e104f0fbc) generated in your Datadog account.

During setup, Datadog will require you to select the permission scopes granted to the Application key. These scopes determine what data Finout can access and, therefore, which Finout features can be enabled.

Because of this, the Datadog integration is structured in multiple integration levels. Each level requires a different set of scopes and unlocks different functionality inside Finout.

As broader scopes are granted, Finout gains access to additional Datadog data, enabling more advanced features.

### Integration Levels Overview

The following table summarizes the Finout functionality available at each integration level and the required Datadog scopes.

| **Datadog scopes**                                                                                | **Finout platform functionality**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | **Organization keys level**                            | **API Used**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| <p>usage\_read,<br>billing\_read</p>                                                              | [Basic Datadog cost center integration](#h_854ed40993) - View Datadog’s products in Finout’s MegaBill with breakdowns by usage type (committed / on-demand cost), products, and organization.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          | Only Parent organization                               | <p><a href="https://docs.datadoghq.com/api/latest/usage-metering/#get-hourly-usage-by-product-family">get-hourly-usage-by-product-family</a></p><p><a href="https://docs.datadoghq.com/api/latest/usage-metering/#get-estimated-cost-across-your-account">Get estimated cost</a></p>                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| <p>usage\_read,</p><p>metrics\_read, timeseries\_query<br>logs\_read\_config<br>billing\_read</p> | [Enhanced Datadog integration- Default Datadog list of tags per product](#h_165a2c438c)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                | Parent organization + all multiple child-organizations | <p><a href="https://docs.datadoghq.com/api/latest/metrics/#query-timeseries-points">query-timeseries-points</a></p><p><a href="https://docs.datadoghq.com/api/latest/metrics/#list-tags-by-metric-name">list-tags-by-metric-name</a></p>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| monitors\_read, dashboards\_read                                                                  | <p><a href="#h_8bb6bc58d2">CostGuard</a>- Out-of-the-box actionable cost optimizations for Idle Synthetics.<br><strong>Note</strong>: Currently, the default integration is Usage Attribution Tags for new Datadog cost centers created since April 2025. For cot centers created before that, the default integration remains Custom Tags, and they should contact Finout support at <support@finout.io> to transition to <a href="datadog-usage-attribution-tags-uat">UAT-based integration</a>.</p> | Parent organization + all multiple child-organizations | <p><a href="https://docs.datadoghq.com/api/latest/dashboards/#get-all-dashboards">get-all-dashboards</a></p><p><a href="https://docs.datadoghq.com/api/latest/dashboards/#get-a-dashboard">get-a-dashboard</a></p><p><a href="https://docs.datadoghq.com/api/latest/monitors/#get-all-monitor-details">get-all-monitor-details</a></p>                                                                                                                                                    |
| <p>logs\_read\_config,<br>metrics\_read,<br>hosts\_read,<br>timeseries\_query</p>                 | [Enhanced Datadog integration- Kubernetes cost and unit metrics](#h_a57d7c84b8)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        | Parent organization + all multiple child-organizations | <p><a href="https://docs.datadoghq.com/api/latest/logs-indexes/#get-all-indexes">Logs Indexes</a><br><a href="https://docs.datadoghq.com/api/latest/metrics/#list-tags-by-metric-name">Metrics</a><br><a href="https://docs.datadoghq.com/api/latest/hosts/#get-all-hosts-for-your-organization">Hosts</a><br><a href="https://docs.datadoghq.com/api/latest/metrics/#query-timeseries-points">Metrics</a></p>                                                                            |
| Not scoped                                                                                        | <ol><li><a href="#h_8bb6bc58d2">Enhanced Datadog integration- custom tags set by the customer</a></li><li>Products basic list of tags- Indexed Log</li></ol>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           | Parent organization + all multiple child-organizations | <p><a href="https://docs.datadoghq.com/api/latest/logs-indexes/#get-all-indexes">get-all-indexes</a></p><p><a href="https://docs.datadoghq.com/api/latest/metrics/#list-tags-by-metric-name">list-tags-by-metric-name</a></p><p><a href="https://docs.datadoghq.com/api/latest/hosts/#get-all-hosts-for-your-organization">get-all-hosts-for-your-organization</a></p><p><a href="https://docs.datadoghq.com/api/latest/metrics/#query-timeseries-points">query-timeseries-points</a></p> |

To learn more about each capability and the data it requires, see the detailed explanations below.

#### [Basic Datadog Integration](https://docs.finout.io/integrations/third-party/connect-to-datadog)

The Basic Datadog integration enables Datadog cost visibility in Finout.

With this integration:

* Datadog is added as a cost center in Finout
* Datadog costs appear in the MegaBill
* Costs can be analyzed by:
* Datadog product
* usage type (committed vs on-demand)
* Organization
* Usage Attribution Tags

Finout retrieves this information using Datadog billing APIs, allowing organizations to monitor their Datadog spend directly within Finout.

Required scopes: `usage_read`, `billing_read`

#### [Enhanced Datadog Integration](https://docs.finout.io/integrations/third-party/connect-to-datadog#faqs)

The Enhanced Datadog integration expands the basic integration by enabling deeper cost analysis using Datadog tags and metric metadata.

This allows Finout to:

* Break down Datadog costs using the default Datadog custom tags
* Provide richer cost attribution across Datadog services
* support analysis across parent and child Datadog organizations

These capabilities rely on additional Datadog APIs that provide access to metrics and metadata.

Required scopes: `usage_read`, `metrics_read`, `timeseries_query`, `logs_read_config`, `billing_read`

#### [Kubernetes Metrics Integration](https://docs.finout.io/kubernetes-integrations/kubernetes/datadog)

Datadog can also be used as a Kubernetes metrics source in Finout.

When enabled, Finout retrieves Kubernetes resource usage metrics from Datadog to calculate how to distribute cluster infrastructure costs across Kubernetes workloads.

This enables Finout to:

* Allocate Kubernetes cluster costs across namespaces, workloads, and pods
* Combine Kubernetes usage metrics with cloud infrastructure billing data
* Provide Kubernetes cost visibility across Finout dashboards and analysis tools

This integration relies on Datadog timeseries metrics APIs to retrieve CPU and memory usage metrics.

Required scopes: `logs_read_config`, `metrics_read`, `hosts_read`, `timeseries_query`

#### [CostGuard Integration](https://docs.finout.io/user-guide/optimize/costguard)

The CostGuard integration enables Finout’s Datadog optimization insights.

With this level enabled, Finout can analyze Datadog configuration data to generate cost-optimization recommendations.

This includes:

* Identifying Idle Synthetics
* Surfacing optimization opportunities within CostGuard
* Providing actionable insights to reduce unnecessary Datadog spend

To enable this functionality, Finout requires read access to Datadog monitors and dashboards.

Required scopes: `monitors_read`, `dashboards_read`