Tencent Cloud provides the following billing methods for Cloud Virtual Machine (CVM) instances:
Pay as you go： is a flexible billing method for CVM instances. You can activate or terminate a CVM at any time, and you will be billed by the actual usage of the CVM. The billing granularity is accurate to second, and no up-front payment is required. A bill is generated every hour on the dot. This billing method is suitable for use cases such as an e-commerce flash sale where the demand for devices can fluctuate greatly.
Spot Instance ：A novel operational mode for CVM services, similar to the pay-as-you-go mode, falls under the post-payment category, where charges are calculated by the second and settlements are made on the hour. Spot instances utilize a market-based floating billing system, where prices fluctuate in response to shifts in supply and demand dynamics. Compared to the pay-as-you-go mode, significant discounts are offered, with the price typically ranging from 3% to 20% of the pay-as-you-go price. However, spot instances may be subject to system-initiated reclamation due to dwindling resource inventories or competitive bidding by other users.
Both the pay-as-you-go and spot-instances billing methods can satisfy user requirements in different scenarios. For more information, see Pricing Modes.