How DigitalOcean calculates costs

DigitalOcean is not a traditional VPS, but a formal cloud host (cloud server), therefore, .....

DigitalOcean is not a traditional VPS, but a formal cloud host (cloud server), therefore, the cost calculation of DigitalOcean can be billed monthly or on-demand (hourly). The on-demand billing sets a monthly maximum limit, with the basic plan being $5.

1. Monthly and Hourly Billing#

If you use DigitalOcean's servers for the entire month, there is no difference between monthly and hourly billing. The bill shows hourly billing, with charges deducted per hour until the monthly payment limit is reached. DigitalOcean calculates the cost based on 672 hours (28 days) per month. If you use less than 672 hours, the cost is calculated based on the actual number of hours used. If you use more than 672 hours per month, no additional charges will be incurred for the hours exceeding 672, only the monthly payment limit will be charged, such as $5. Based on my testing, it costs approximately $0.01 per hour.
The following are the details of the existing packages as of May 14, 2014:
DigitalOcean-taocan01

DigitalOcean-taocan02

2. How to Distinguish Deductions#

Many DigitalOcean users don't know how DigitalOcean calculates charges. According to the official minimum configuration, it costs $5 per month. So if we recharge $5 and directly activate the minimum configuration, will $5 be deducted from our account balance? The answer is: no! DigitalOcean charges on an hourly basis, based on the usage time of the cloud server you activate. When you delete the droplet (cloud server), the billing will stop (although it will continue to incur charges if it is powered off). They have a specific pricing comparison table and also display the hourly billing amount when activating the droplet, and the deducted amount is gradually deducted from the account balance you recharged. It is a very flexible billing system.
The following are the deduction display and billing display:
Balance and Deduction Interface
DigitalOcean-koufei01
Detailed bill in .pdf format
DigitalOcean-koufei02

Why is there a charge when the server is powered off? (Aliyun also uses the same billing model)
In the powered-off state, the hard disk, CPU, memory, and IP address are all retained. If you delete the server, no payment is required. Before deleting, you can create a "snapshot" as a "backup". After you rebuild the server, you can quickly establish a new server environment using this "backup".
Do I need to pay the full monthly fee every time I create a new server?
No. The minimum fee for creating a new server is only for 1 hour. For example, if you create a server with 512MB of memory for testing for one or two minutes, you only need to pay $0.007, not $5.
Which payment methods are accepted? (PayPal is recommended)
Credit cards and PayPal are accepted. Credit cards can use Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. (Note: It is recommended not to bind credit cards, especially for multiple accounts, as DigitalOcean may accuse you of fraud.)
What will happen when I bind a credit card? (It may vary, but usually the credit card authorization fee is not more than $2, based on my experience of buying VPS)
After you bind a credit card, DigitalOcean will freeze $1.23 as an authorization fee (generally). This authorization fee will be refunded to your card by the bank within 30 days. The bound credit card will be automatically renewed within the payment cycle.
What do the positive and negative values on the billing page mean? (Actually, they represent integers and negative numbers. I can understand them, so you should be able to understand them too! But it seems that the "-" symbol is no longer mentioned, at least I didn't see it)
Negative values represent user credit (- $12.99), and positive values represent the amount owed to DigitalOcean (e.g., $1.95).
I have a credit card, how do I use it?
Before using a credit card, users should activate their credit card and then bind it to DigitalOcean (DO). Alternatively, bind the credit card to a PayPal account and make payments through PayPal.
Why doesn't the bill update after using PayPal for payment? (I haven't encountered this yet)
When using PayPal for payment, the bill may not update in real-time. In general, a few hours later, you will be able to see the balance after payment in the bill.
How to cancel an account?
You can cancel your account at any time through the "Control Panel", which is located under the "Settings" option. (Based on my personal experiment, my account has not been deleted from March 14, 2014, to May 3, 2014. It's quite annoying. I was excited at first!)
Do they provide refund services?
No refunds are provided. If there are special circumstances, you can submit a ticket to DigitalOcean for communication. (Do you think it's possible? They give you $10 as a gift and then agree to refund you? Don't daydream, my friend)
Note: The bottom part of this article is the information I found when purchasing DigitalOcean, but the data is the latest as of today. I can't find the original author's blog for now. If the author finds this article, please contact me to add your name.

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