VMs are only billed in RUNNING state.
Last Updated: April 27, 2026
Introduction
This article covers how Crusoe Cloud handles billing when a VM enters a non-functional state such as ERROR or INITIALIZING. If you are seeing unexpected charges or your VM is stuck and unresponsive, this FAQ will help you understand what you are being billed for and what steps to take.
Environment
Product: Cloud Compute
Component: Billing and Usage
Question 1: Are there charges for VMs in an ERROR state?
Answer:
No. You are only billed for virtual machines (VMs) while they are in a RUNNING state. Usage charges stop automatically the moment a VM transitions into ERROR state.
Question 2: How does Crusoe Cloud determine which VM states are billable?
Answer:
Our billing system tracks the functional state of your resources. You are only charged while a VM is actively in a RUNNING state. If a VM becomes unresponsive or encounters an error during a stop or delete operation, it will not accrue costs while in those non-functional states. See the table below for a full breakdown.
Summary of Billable States
| State | Billing Status |
|---|---|
| Running | Billable |
| Error | Non-Billable |
| Initializing | Non-Billable |
| Blocked | Non-Billable |
| Starting | Non-Billable |
| Stopped | Non-Billable |
| Crashed | Non-Billable |
| Power Suspended | Non-Billable |
| Undefined | Non-Billable |
Question 3: What if my VM is stuck in INITIALIZING and never starts?
Answer:
If your VM is stuck in INITIALIZING, it has not entered a RUNNING state, so no compute charges are accruing. This typically indicates a provisioning issue. Try stopping the VM from the Cloud Console and starting it again. If it remains stuck, contact Support with your VM name, project, and the time it entered INITIALIZING so our team can investigate.
Question 4: What should I do if my VM is stuck in an ERROR state?
Answer:
If your VM is stuck in an ERROR state after an attempted action:
Verify the State: Check the status of your instance in the Cloud Console.
Usage Monitoring: Billing has already stopped for this VM.
Contact Support: If the VM remains in this state and prevents you from managing your resources, please open a support case and include the VM name, project name, organization name, approximate date and time the ERROR state occurred, and an NVIDIA bug report on the affected VM while it is still accessible and attach the output to the ticket.