> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.sqd.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Pricing FAQ

> Frequently asked questions about SQD Cloud pricing — billing tiers, free tier limits, and how to estimate costs for your squid deployment.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What's changing with pricing in April 2026?">
    Effective **April 1, 2026**, we're updating our pricing structure:

    * **Cloud Hosting:** 20% increase on all compute resources (API, Processor, Database, Collocated Squids)
    * **Storage:** 20% increase ($0.50 → $0.60 per GB/month)
    * **RPC Add-on:** Overage pricing increases from $2.00 to $5.00 per 1M requests
    * **Free Tier:** Unchanged - 2M RPC requests per month remain free

    **Why the change?** Since launching SQD Cloud over two years ago, we've maintained stable pricing while continuously investing in infrastructure, reliability, and performance. This adjustment allows us to continue delivering high-quality service while investing in new capabilities.

    **When does this take effect?** April 1, 2026. All usage from that date forward will be billed at the new rates.

    For complete details, including pricing tables and FAQs, see the [full pricing announcement](/en/other/pricing-update-april-2026).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How does billing work? When am I charged?">
    SQD Cloud uses hourly billing for compute resources and monthly billing for storage. You're only charged for the actual time your squids are running.

    **Billing cycle:** Charges are calculated and billed on the first day of each month for the previous month's usage.

    **Prorated charges:** If you deploy a squid mid-month, you only pay for the hours it actually runs. For example, a squid running for 360 hours (half a month) costs exactly half of the monthly rate.

    <Note>
      You can monitor your current usage and estimated costs in the SQD Cloud
      dashboard at any time.
    </Note>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is the difference between collocated and dedicated squids?">
    **Collocated squids** share compute resources with other squids on the same infrastructure. This makes them much cheaper (`$0.02/hr` until March 31, 2026, then `$0.024/hr` from April 1, vs separate service costs) but means performance is not guaranteed. If a neighboring squid experiences high load, your squid may become slow or unresponsive.

    **Dedicated squids** have guaranteed compute resources that are never shared. Each service (API, processor, database) runs on its own allocated resources with predictable performance.

    <Warning>
      We strongly recommend dedicated squids for production use. Collocated squids
      are perfect for development, testing, and staging environments.
    </Warning>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I estimate my costs before deploying?">
    Use our [interactive cost calculator](/en/cloud/pricing/overview#estimate-your-costs) to estimate costs based on your configuration. You can also review [real-world examples](/en/cloud/pricing/pricing-details#real-world-cost-examples) for common deployment scenarios.

    <Tip>
      Start with smaller profiles and monitor your actual resource usage. You can
      easily scale up if needed. It's better to start small and grow than to
      overprovision from the start.
    </Tip>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I change my squid's compute profiles after deployment?">
    Yes! You can modify your squid's compute profiles at any time using [manifest-based deployments](/en/cloud/reference/manifest/).

    Simply update your manifest file with the new profiles and redeploy. The new pricing takes effect immediately. See the [profile reference](/en/cloud/reference/scale/) for all available options and their specifications.

    <Info>
      Profile changes require a brief redeployment. Plan accordingly for production
      squids to minimize downtime.
    </Info>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How is database storage billed? Can I reduce storage costs?">
    Database storage is billed at `$0.50 per GB per month` (until March 31, 2026) or `$0.60 per GB per month` (from April 1, 2026) based on actual usage. This applies to both dedicated and collocated squids.

    **Cost optimization strategies:**

    * Implement data retention policies to remove old data you no longer need
    * Optimize your database schema to reduce redundancy
    * Use appropriate data types (e.g., integers instead of strings where possible)
    * Archive historical data to external storage (S3, BigQuery) if you don't need it for queries
    * Monitor your storage usage in the Cloud dashboard

    <Tip>
      For data-heavy applications, consider a processor-only squid that exports to
      external storage instead of maintaining a large database.
    </Tip>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What are the 2M free RPC requests? How do I use them?">
    Professional organizations include 2 million RPC requests per month at no additional cost through the [RPC addon](/en/cloud/resources/rpc-proxy). This allows your squids to make blockchain RPC calls without managing your own RPC infrastructure.

    **Overage pricing:** If you exceed 2M requests, additional requests cost `$2.00 per million` (until March 31, 2026) or `$5.00 per million` (from April 1, 2026).

    **How to use:** Configure the RPC proxy in your squid to route requests through SQD's infrastructure. See the [RPC addon documentation](/en/cloud/resources/rpc-proxy/) for setup instructions and rate limiting configuration.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens when I hibernate a squid?">
    When you hibernate a squid, all compute services (API, processor, database) are paused. You only pay for storage costs (`$0.50/GB/month` until March 31, 2026, then `$0.60/GB/month` from April 1) while the squid is hibernated.

    **Benefits:**

    * Preserve your squid's data and configuration
    * Eliminate compute costs when not needed
    * Resume quickly when you need the squid again

    **Perfect for:**

    * Seasonal applications that aren't needed year-round
    * Development squids used only during working hours
    * Backup squids kept ready but not actively running

    <Info>
      Hibernation and resumption are instant operations. You can hibernate and wake
      squids as often as needed.
    </Info>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I decide between collocated and dedicated for my use case?">
    Choose based on your performance requirements and budget:

    **Use collocated when:**

    * Developing or testing new features
    * Running staging environments
    * Building proof-of-concepts or MVPs
    * Budget is the primary concern
    * Occasional slowness is acceptable

    **Use dedicated when:**

    * Running production applications
    * Serving end users who expect consistent performance
    * Processing time-sensitive data
    * You need guaranteed response times
    * Reliability is critical to your application

    <Check>
      Most teams use collocated for development and dedicated for production. This
      gives you cost-effective testing while ensuring production reliability.
    </Check>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Are there any hidden fees or charges I should know about?">
    No hidden fees! SQD Cloud pricing is transparent and predictable.

    **What you pay for:**

    * Compute (hourly rates for API, processor, database)
    * Storage (monthly rate per GB)
    * RPC requests (only above 2M/month)

    **What's free:**

    * Data egress (outbound traffic)
    * GraphQL API requests (unlimited)
    * SQD Network data access
    * Deployments and redeployments
    * Monitoring and logs

    <Note>
      The only variable costs are compute time and storage. Everything else is
      included with no additional charges.
    </Note>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do you offer discounts for high-volume usage or long-term commitments?">
    Yes! We offer enterprise plans with volume discounts, custom SLAs, and dedicated infrastructure for high-volume use cases.

    **Enterprise benefits may include:**

    * Volume-based pricing discounts
    * Custom SLA terms
    * Dedicated support channels
    * Architecture consultation
    * Priority feature requests

    [Book a demo](https://calendly.com/t-tyrie-subsquid/30min) to discuss your requirements and get a personalized quote.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>