Cost optimization in Snowflake, a cloud-based data warehousing platform, involves strategic adjustments to reduce expenses without compromising data flow or performance. Key components impacting Snowflake pricing include compute, storage, and cloud services, with notable costs arising from the duration of virtual warehouse operation. Effective strategies to cut costs include resizing virtual warehouses, reducing the number of concurrently running warehouses, and adjusting data ingestion sync frequencies. Additionally, setting shorter auto-suspend periods for warehouses and utilizing materialized views can significantly lower compute costs. Reevaluating the Snowflake account plan to ensure it aligns with actual usage patterns can also prevent unnecessary expenditure. Experimentation and monitoring of these strategies are encouraged to find the optimal balance between cost savings and data performance in the modern data stack.