Billing
Prepaid, by the hour, with a 1-hour minimum, and a breaker that stops machines before you owe anything.
Prepaid, by the hour
Add funds first; rentals spend the balance one hour at a time.
- The first hour is charged when the machine starts running; starting up is free. Every machine that starts is billed at least one hour.
- Each later hour is charged as it begins. A started hour counts in full.
- The rate is locked when you rent, whatever the market does later.
- Nothing is charged after a machine's removal time.
- A machine that never starts costs nothing. One that fails, or whose host stops working, is charged nothing after that.
- Spot machines can be taken back by their host at any time; you pay only for the hours they ran.
Adding funds
| Method | How | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Card, Link or Apple Pay | Stripe's payment page, from Billing | $20 or more per payment |
| Auto-recharge | A saved card or Link tops the balance up below a threshold, or with 3 hours left | No limit: as often as your balance needs |
Tick Save it for auto-recharge when you pay to turn auto-recharge on. It tops up when the balance falls under your threshold, or earlier, once the balance would last less than 3 hours of your machines and volumes, so a problem with the card leaves time to fix it. A declined auto-recharge turns itself off and says why.
Codes
Got a code? Enter it on Billing. A credit code adds free credit at once. A discount code takes a share off a card payment, and the full amount still goes on your balance.
- Free credit is spent before the money you paid, and some of it expires: Billing shows how much you have and when it ends. Money you paid never expires.
- Each code works once per account.
- Every account has its own invite code on Billing, to share with people who haven't used Arrakis yet.
When the balance runs out
Arrakis never lends. Before each hour it checks the balance:
- If a machine's next hour can't be paid (and auto-recharge can't top up), that machine stops.
- Rentals pause, and your other machines stop when the hour they already paid for ends.
- Add funds and rentals open again by themselves.
The console shows when the money runs out while it still can, so you can add funds first. Volumes are never stopped: they keep paying for the data they hold, once a day (see Volumes).
Stop everything
Stop everything (on Instances or Billing) stops every machine now and pauses rentals until you resume them. Use it for an agent that won't stop, or a bill you didn't expect.
Refunds and disputes
Refunds and disputes come back through Stripe and take the money off the balance. A disputed payment also puts the account on hold.
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