The most common billing surprise on this platform, so it gets its own page.
Stopping a server does not stop the bill
A stopped server keeps its vCPU allocation, its RAM, its disk and its IP address. That capacity is held for you and nobody else can use it, so it keeps metering at the full hourly rate.
Stop a server when you want it off for an hour and back exactly as it was. Do not stop it to save money.
What actually stops the charge
| Resource | How to stop paying for it |
|---|---|
| Hourly server | Destroy it from its page. Permanent. |
| Monthly or annual server | Destroy now, or schedule deletion for its due date. |
| Floating IP | Release it under Networking → Floating IPs. Reserved means billed. |
| Managed Services | Cancel it on the server's page. |
| Bandwidth block | Turn auto-renew off under Billing. |
Destroy is permanent
The disk is destroyed with the server. Snapshots on that disk are gone. vzdump backups stay restorable on Backups and ISOs. Copy anything you need off it first. See Backups and snapshots.
Leftover credit
Credit stays on the account after you destroy everything. It does not expire. Within 7 days of signing up, a new account can refund unused credit it paid by card once, from Refund unused credit on the Billing overview, after deleting its servers. The money goes back to the original payment method; credit already used and bonus or promotional credit are not refunded. After that, all payments are final and credit is non-refundable, except where a refund is required by applicable law. Credit does not expire. See Section 6 of the Terms of Service.