Spending cap on Tanzahost: control what a month can cost
Set a spending cap in the Tanzahost Wallet so a spike, a bug or a bot storm cannot push a month past what you planned. Steps, checks and fixes.
Updated 12 Nov 20265 min read
A spike in traffic, a bug that loops, or a bot storm can make a month cost more than you planned. By the end of this post you will have a spending cap set in Wallet, so the most a month may cost is a number you chose.
What you need before you start
An account with a saved card. Your card pays for what you use, so the cap is how you decide what a month may cost.
A rough idea of a normal month. The wallet shows this under Expected by the end of the month.
Access to Wallet. The spending cap lives there.
Every new wallet starts with a cap of $100, so a growing month does not take you by surprise. You can change that number, or remove it.
On Tanzahost, apps pay for the memory and processor time they really use. That is cheaper than a fixed plan for most sites, but it also means usage can move. Two things guard against that:
Limits on each app and database: the most memory and processor it may use at any moment.
The spending cap on the whole account: the most a month may cost.
Set the cap
Open Wallet and find Spending cap
Open Wallet. Find Spending cap. Everything for the cap is in this one place.
Type the most a month may cost
Under The most a month may cost, type an amount in your wallet's currency. This is a ceiling for the month's use, not a balance you load.
Asha runs a shop. Her month costs about the same every month, and the wallet shows that under Expected by the end of the month. She types about twice that number, so a busy sale week does not stop anything.
Decide what happens when it is reached
Tick Also stop my apps if your apps must stop when the cap is reached. Leave it unticked to keep them running.
Asha leaves it unticked: her shop must stay open. Her friend runs a hobby project and ticks it. For him, a site that is down for a few days is better than a surprise.
Choose Save
Choose Save. To have no cap at all, remove it. The wallet then says nothing limits what a month can cost. We do not recommend that.
Check that it worked
While a cap is set, the wallet shows how much of it this month has used, as a percentage. Open Wallet and read that percentage after a day or two. It should be moving up slowly, not sitting at the top.
Also confirm the setting you chose is the one you saved: if you ticked Also stop my apps, the tick is still there.
When the cap is reached
We tell you once, under the bell and by email. What happens next depends on the tick.
| Without "Also stop my apps" | With "Also stop my apps" | |
|---|---|---|
| We tell you | Yes, once, under the bell and by email | Yes, once, under the bell and by email |
| Add apps or databases | Not until next month | Not until next month |
| Your apps | Keep running, and their use is still charged | Stop until next month, or until you raise the cap |
| Your data | Kept | Kept: nothing is deleted |
You can raise the cap at any time, and you can add things again at once. Stopped apps start again with a higher cap, or by themselves when the next month begins.
Other warnings you get
Fast growth: when an app's or a database's memory or storage doubles in a day, we tell you, with the month's new estimate. Nothing stops for it.
Memory: when a database is close to its memory limit, we tell you, with a button to raise it. When an app runs out of memory, we tell you too.
A low balance: on a prepaid wallet, when your balance lasts 7, 3 and 1 days, and at zero.
Choose which of these come by email in Profile, under Alerts. They always appear under the bell.
Mistakes people make, and how to fix each
Setting the cap at a normal month's cost. A normal month passes it, and then you cannot add apps or databases until next month. Fix: set the cap at about twice Expected by the end of the month, the way Asha does. Raise it at any time if you were wrong.
Thinking the cap stops apps. Without Also stop my apps, your apps keep running past the cap, and their use is still charged to your card. Fix: tick Also stop my apps if it must never cost more.
Thinking the cap is a balance. It counts what this month has used. It is not a promise that a month cannot cost more. Fix: if your wallet is prepaid and runs out before the cap is reached, the low-balance rules apply.
Watching only the cap. A bug that loops can still push one app far past its usual use before the month reaches the cap. Fix: give each app and database its own Limits on memory and processor, and read the Fast growth warning when it arrives with the month's new estimate.
Waiting for an email that never comes. Some warnings only come by email if you asked for them. Fix: open Profile, then Alerts, and choose which ones come by email. Everything still appears under the bell.
Removing the cap in a hurry. The wallet then says nothing limits what a month can cost. Fix: put a cap back in Wallet. If your apps were stopped, they start again with a higher cap.
Expecting the cap to delete things to save money. It never does. With Also stop my apps, apps stop but your data is kept, and nothing is deleted.
What to do next
Give each app and database its own memory and processor ceilings: Limits.
Check how a prepaid wallet behaves when the balance runs low: low-balance rules.
Read the full page this post is based on: The spending cap.
Written with Sali, checked by our team.