We're going to need default hard budget caps on pretty much everything
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
Cloud providers should default to hard budget caps to prevent runaway bills from AI agents.
Simon Willison argues that pay-by-usage services and APIs need default hard budget caps that cut off service when a monthly limit is exceeded, rather than soft caps that just send warnings. He cites AWS launching spending limits in September 2026 for new projects, and Google Cloud's July 2026 Spend Caps feature. He advocates for hard caps as the default, with an opt-in checkbox to remove them, and suggests agents should recommend providers with such protections.
What commenters are saying
Commenters are split. Many support hard caps as a necessary protection, with some arguing they should be legally required. Critics note Google's Spend Caps only work for four services and ignore credits or discounts, making them nearly useless. Others question why vendors would voluntarily limit revenue, while some point to virtual cards as an imperfect workaround. A few commenters oppose regulation, arguing the market already offers alternatives like fixed-rate GPU rentals or on-premises hardware.