The spending cap
Set the most a month may cost. When it's reached we tell you, nothing new can be added, and, if you choose, your apps stop until next month.
Updated 17 Oct 20263 min read
The spending cap is the most a month may cost your account. When the month's charges reach it, we tell you, and nothing new can be added until next month. If you ask us to, your apps stop too. Every new wallet starts with a cap, so paying for what you use can never run away with your card. You change it, or remove it, in Wallet.
Why have one
On Tanzahost, apps pay for the memory and processor time they really use, every hour. That's cheaper than a fixed plan for most sites, but it means a sudden spike, a bug that loops, or a bot storm could cost more than you planned. 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.
When you pay monthly by card, the cap is what keeps your card safe.
Set it
Open Wallet, and find Spending cap.
Under The most a month may cost, type an amount in your wallet's currency.
Tick Also stop my apps if you want your apps stopped when it's reached. Leave it unticked to keep them running.
Choose Save.
To have no cap, remove it: the wallet then says nothing limits what a month can cost. We don't recommend that when you pay monthly by card.
While a cap is set, the wallet shows how much of it this month has used, as a percentage.
When it's reached
| 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 keep being charged | Stop until next month, or until you raise the cap |
| Your data | Kept | Kept: nothing is deleted |
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.
Example: Asha sets her cap
Asha's shop costs about the same every month, which the wallet shows under Expected by the end of the month. She sets her cap at about twice that, so a busy sale week doesn't stop anything, and leaves Also stop my apps unticked: her shop must stay open. If a bug ever made her app use far more than usual, the cap tells her and stops her adding anything new, and her app's own memory and processor limits keep each hour's cost in check.
Her friend runs a hobby project and ticks Also stop my apps. For him, a site that's down for a few days is better than a surprise.
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: 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.
What the cap doesn't cover
The cap is about your hourly charges. It isn't a balance: if your wallet runs out before the cap is reached, the low-balance rules apply. Sali Pro's paid work stops at the cap too.