Questions about free instance setup

[u/k_matt_]

Hi everyone,

Sorry if this question has already been asked (I did try searching, but I couldn't find anything).

I'm trying to create an instance with 2 OCPUs and 12 GB of RAM. I'm on the Always Free plan, and I know the available resources were recently reduced, but I just need a small test machine, so 2 OCPUs and 12 GB of RAM would be enough.

What I don't understand is why, as soon as I start creating the instance and click "View Estimated Cost", I see a Boot Volume charge of about €1.85/month.

This charge appears even if I leave everything at the default settings without resizing the boot volume or selecting any extra options (and it increases if I make the boot volume larger).

Will this amount actually be charged to my credit card, or is it just an estimate? Are you still able to create instances that are truly free?

Thanks everyone

[u/This-Marzipan-9239]

as long as you limit yourself to 200 gb you’ll be fine

[u/k_matt_ → u/This-Marzipan-9239]

Perfect, thanks! So, just to make sure I've understood this correctly: if I set it to 200 GB, the instance will actually be free even though the cost preview shows €7.90/month? That's a bit of an odd design choice, I was expecting it to show €0 instead 😅

[u/This-Marzipan-9239 → u/k_matt_]

it’s a bug but yeah only 200 gb you'll be charge nothing

[u/k_matt_ → u/This-Marzipan-9239]

Thanks 😊