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# Backup pricing

> How automated backup storage is billed, sized, and retained on IBEE Solutions.

Automated backup storage is billed separately from the VM. This page explains how backup size is measured, what you'll see on your bill, and how to keep cost predictable.

## What's billed

| Item                                         | Billed?                           |
| -------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| Compute time of the VM the backup belongs to | Yes — billed as the VM's own plan |
| Data transfer during backup                  | No — internal traffic             |
| Storage occupied by backup recovery points   | **Yes — see below**               |
| Restore operations                           | No — restores themselves are free |
| Network egress from a restored new VM        | Yes — billed as VM bandwidth      |

## How backup size is measured

Each recovery point shows a **Recovery Storage** number on the **Backup Recovery Points** list and the Details drawer (for example `60 GB` for a Root + 1 data disk capture). This is the storage footprint of that recovery point.

Sizing notes:

* The footprint includes the root disk plus every captured data volume.
* Subsequent recovery points capture the full set again — they do not deduplicate against earlier points unless your retention policy explicitly enables it.
* Empty filesystem space inside disks may be excluded depending on disk format; expect the recovery storage to be roughly the size of used data.

## Retention

Backups enabled from the portal keep recovery points for **7 days**. Older recovery points roll off automatically; the retention period can't be changed from the portal.

Backups live in the same location as the VM.

## Cost levers you control

You can change the storage you're billed for by adjusting:

| Lever                                    | Effect                                                          |
| ---------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Schedule frequency** (Daily vs Weekly) | Daily produces 7× the recovery points per week vs Weekly.       |
| **Time of day**                          | No direct cost effect, but off-peak runs reduce I/O contention. |
| **Volume layout**                        | Detaching unused volumes before a run reduces the captured set. |
| **Manual cleanup**                       | Delete recovery points you no longer need from the list.        |

A rough estimate of the storage you're billed for at any time, with the 7-day retention:

```
recovery points kept  ≈  7  (Daily)  or  1–2  (Weekly)
backup storage        ≈  recovery points kept  ×  per-point size
```

For example, a VM with a 60 GB recovery point on a Daily schedule keeps about 7 points — roughly 420 GB of backup storage. On a Weekly schedule it keeps 1–2 points — roughly 60–120 GB.

## Verifying current spend

Recovery storage rolls up to your account-level usage view. To see per-VM detail:

1. Go to **Cloud VMs → \<VM>** → **Backups** tab.
2. The **Backup Recovery Points** list shows each point's individual size.
3. Sum the active recovery points to estimate the VM's current backup footprint.

## Reducing backup spend

* Move from **Daily** to **Weekly** if your RPO tolerates it.
* Detach data volumes you don't need to protect — they stop being captured starting from the next run.
* Delete old recovery points you've replaced with verified snapshots or off-site copies.
* Use [Object Storage](/docs/storage/object-storage) for large, append-only data — backing up TB-scale media inside a VM is rarely the right choice.

## Related pages

* [VM backups overview](/docs/tools/backups)
* [Enable backups](/docs/tools/backups/enable-backups)
* [Restore from backup](/docs/tools/backups/restore-from-backup)
* [Object Storage pricing](/docs/infrastructure/object-storage/pricing)

> How automated backup storage is billed, sized, and retained on IBEE Solutions.