Metered Billing

We have a new billing mode that follows the utility / metered / cloud model. Prices stay the same, but now you can pay after instead of pre-paying.

• No calculator required!
• Everything is still bundled together: compute, persistent storage, and network transfer - bundled into a flat rate
• All things have an hourly rate, but also a monthly cap - so everything is very predictable
• Add services, remove services and only get invoiced at the end of each month - no more pre-paying
• You'll get an invoice at the end of each month, for that month's un-invoiced services.

Why Bundled?
For simplicity. Many cloud providers charge separately for compute power, persistent storage, static IPs, network transfer, each keystroke, etc. We wanted to take the confusion out of it. It's the same Linode servers you know and love, except now you can pay for them hourly - and after, instead of before.

Why this monthly cap thing?
For predictability. Each month has a different number of hours. January has 744. February has 672. April has 720. Imagine if your bill was different every month! To avoid this, we employ a monthly cap on each service. So, in any one month you will never pay more than the monthly cap. And we've priced our hourly rates so even in the shortest month the monthly cap is achieved. Easy and predictable. It's the best of both worlds.

Show me the money!
- Linode 1024 - $0.03/hourly, $20/monthly
- Linode 2048 - $0.06/hourly, $40/monthly
- Linode 4096 - $0.12/hourly, $80/monthly, etc...

How do I participate in the Metered beta?
Soon we'll have an option in the Linode Manager to self-enroll. But for now, please open a ticket and let us know that you want in.

The conversion is straightforward. You will receive a credit on your account for any unused time on your current billing packages, and then be set up with equivalent metered services. This affects billing only - no Linodes or other stuff will be disrupted. Your account will then be "metered", and any new services you add will get the metered treatment.

Thanks for helping!
-Chris

Yay! I sometimes need to test some things for a few hours on a separate Linode. I get it credited back at the end of the month but it was still not ideal.

Loving this option, good job

Will this become the default for all accounts once out of beta, or will it be an option alongside monthly billing?

It will become the default for new customers. Existing customers won't be forced to change (but they'll be able to on their own).

-Chris

This is great news! Will NodeBalancer billing work the same way?

Everything is metered. Linodes, backups, NodeBalancers, Longview Pro, Managed, etc.

-Chris

Is the measurement done based on linode's uptime?

Not sure if joking. No, it's calculated based on its existence.

-Chris

Hi,
Since this is listed as a beta, I was curious if there are any particular risks for switching, such as not being billed when you're supposed to be, incorrect pricing, etc. Basically, are there any reasons in particular one might not consider switching over at the moment over the standard monthly rates?

Blake

Does this mean that if somebody wants to do a quick test, and they spin up a linode for (slightly less than) one hour, they'd only pay an extra $0.03?

Hi,
That's what I gather, and if you already had an existing 1024, you'd pay $20.03 at the end of the month instead of $20.00.

Blake

Yup.

-Chris

Will 24 months (15% discount) still be available?

It will not.

-Chris

Bummer. So for me "Metered Billing" is simply a 15% price increase in disguise.