How credits work
Learn how our prepaid credit system works for on-demand billing
Our on-demand billing needs to handle flexible usage and many small charges. To support that, we use a credit system.
How credits work
- You buy credits in advance.
- Usage charges are deducted from your credit balance.
- You can top up credits any time.
Prepaid by design
To offset risk, billing is prepaid instead of postpaid:
- You do not need to settle a monthly invoice for past usage.
- You do not build up debt with us while using the service normally.
Do credits reset each month?
No. Credits do not reset at the end of a calendar month.
Unused credits can remain on your account for multiple months, depending on usage.
Credit expiry and account inactivity
Unused credits may expire after 2 years of account inactivity.
This policy allows us to eventually clean up inactive accounts and better protect user privacy.
Can my balance go negative?
Due to how usage processing works, your balance can become slightly negative.
This can happen because storage and backup charges are billed at the end of the day, while instances are only shut down once your balance reaches zero.
If you want to continue using the service, this is normally when you would top up and purchase more credits.
If you do not want to continue using the service, your balance may remain slightly negative. You are not obligated to pay that negative amount.
Why this model
Credits are the most practical way to support on-demand billing with small, flexible charges while keeping the system predictable for both users and the platform.