Configure Datadog Metrics without Limits to reduce indexed metric volume without losing query fidelity
domain: docs.datadoghq.com · 6 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
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Steps
Navigate to Metrics > Summary in the Datadog UI and identify metrics with high cardinality by sorting by Distinct Metric Volumes
Click a metric and choose 'Customize Tags' to open the Metrics without Limits configuration panel
Select the tag subset that preserves your query and dashboard needs; Datadog will continue to ingest the full metric but only index the selected tag combination
Save the configuration and monitor the Estimated Custom Metrics count in the Usage page to confirm cost reduction
For programmatic control use the Datadog Metrics API PATCH /api/v2/metrics/{metric_name}/tags to set the included_tags array via YOUR_API_KEY and YOUR_APP_KEY
Validate that all existing dashboards, monitors, and SLOs that reference this metric still resolve correctly after the tag subset change
Known gotchas
Metrics without Limits only reduces the indexed volume billed as custom metrics; ingestion volume (used for percentile aggregations) is still counted separately and billed at a different rate
If a dashboard or alert queries a tag that was excluded from the indexed subset, the query will return no data — audit all downstream consumers before applying the configuration
Configuration changes take several minutes to propagate; do not assume instantaneous effect when validating cost reduction in the usage dashboard
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