Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) simplifies running Kubernetes in the cloud but can incur hidden costs due to factors like VM usage, persistent volumes, and add-on services. Understanding AKS pricing is crucial, as costs depend on cluster configuration, VM types, and enabled add-ons, with significant expenses arising from overprovisioned resources, underutilized nodes, and mismatched VM SKUs. To optimize costs, it's essential to right-size workloads, use cluster autoscaler effectively, leverage Spot VMs, clean up unused resources, and match node types to workload needs. Automating cost control through budget alerts, labeling, and retention policies can further reduce expenses. DevZero's Kubernetes cost optimization tool enhances this process by providing real-time visibility into resource usage and costs, enabling live rightsizing, binpacking optimization, and instance type selection to achieve significant cost reductions.