En strategi, som virksomheder anvender for at skabe lave omkostninger i deres niche. Formålet er at reducere driftsomkostningerne og derved skabe en konkurrencemæssig fordel overfor konkurrenterne. Omkostningsleder er en del af Porters generiske strategier.

Porter: “Cost leadership is perhaps the clearest of the three generic strategies. In it, a firm sets out to become the low-cost producer in its industry. The firm has a broad scope and serves many industry segments, and may even operate in related industries - the firm´s breadth is often important to its cost advantage.”