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Community ▶ Questions ▶ Question about not getting charged for a linode
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Question about not getting charged for a linode

general

Yesterday I switched from monthly to metered billing. If I want to ensure that I'm not charged for a linode that I'm not using, do I now need to go to that linode's dashboard and remove all configuration profiles and disks for that particular linode when I'm done using it? My thought was to build a minimally configured linode disk, create and save a disk image from that disk, and then remove the linode. Then I can build a new linode from that saved image whenever I want and delete the linode when I'm done with it. In this way, I can minimize my server costs.

Thanks.

6 Replies

Linode Staff

Hello,

Renting a Linode is like renting a car: you pay for it whether or not the engine is running. So, it doesn't matter if it's empty or even shut down. If it exists, you'll be invoiced, since the resources are reserved for you and can't be used by anyone else. If you don't want to be invoiced for a Linode, you need to remove it from your account.

Hope that helps,

-Chris

While there is a Linode, you will be billed for it. This doesn't depend on if there are disk images, configuration profiles, or anything else. If the Linode itself exists, resources are being allocated for it and otherwise unavailable for others to use, so you pay for them. This is true of both metered and monthly billing.

Linode Images do not cost anything to retain. Your idea for using an image to reduce cost makes sense, you just need to remember that the Linode itself is what gets charged.

> Linode Images will be retained whether or not you have an active Linode on your account, which also makes them useful for long term storage of a private template that you may need in the future. There is no additional charge to store images for Linode users, with a limit of 2GB per Image, with a total of 10GB total Image storage and 100 Images per account.

From: https://www.linode.com/docs/platform/linode-images

EDIT: 2slow!

Thanks folks. In effect, I see now that I need to go up a level to the main Linode Manager profile and "Remove" the linode from there to avoid being charged.

Linode Images will be retained whether or not you have an active Linode on your account, which also makes them useful for long term storage of a private template that you may need in the future. There is no additional charge to store images for Linode users, with a limit of 2GB per Image, with a total of 10GB total Image storage and 100 Images per account.

I have a related question about it.

Normally I make payments for the whole year, then linode charges me monthly using the credit I have on my account. What if I go over my credits, it will billing automatically on my saved credit card?

Linode Staff

@tonysacanix Yes, if you run out of credit on your Linode account, the credit card you have on file will automatically be charged.

All billing is done on an hourly basis. This means that you will only be billed for the time your Linode is deployed.

Check out our guide on Billing & Payments for a more detailed explanation:

https://www.linode.com/docs/platform/billing-and-support/billing-and-payments/

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