Guides
A cloud server bill in India is built from several components: processing cores, memory, storage, the operating system licence and the payment term you choose. This guide walks through how NABHCLOUD prices each part on its current rate card, and flags the hidden charges worth checking before you weigh one provider against another. Full plan details and current prices are shown on our pricing page.
Check our VPS pricing — pay by the hour, receive a GST invoice, and have a server running within minutes.
The building blocks behind a cloud server's cost
- vCPU: the count of virtual processing cores assigned to your server.
- RAM: memory measured in GB, usually the main driver of which plan size you need.
- Storage: NVMe disk capacity in GB; NVMe outperforms SATA SSD at an equivalent size.
- Operating system: Linux carries no licence fee; Windows Server adds a per-core charge.
- Public IPv4 address, data transfer and DDoS defence: bundled in by some hosts, charged separately by others.
- Payment term: pay hourly, pay monthly, or prepay for a term of up to three years.
- Tax: India applies 18% GST, which a GST-registered business can later reclaim.
How each component is priced
Every server we offer, whether a standard plan or a custom configuration, draws on the same per-unit rate card. Current per-vCPU, per-GB RAM and per-GB NVMe rates, for both hourly and monthly billing, are shown on our pricing page rather than listed here.
To price any configuration, total up the components you need, or let our server configurator calculate it and display every billing term together. Our entry-level plan's price, in both its monthly and hourly form, also appears on the pricing page, as does the per-core rate for the Windows Server licence, which comes bundled into the plan.
How your chosen billing term affects the price
Hourly billing matches the standard list rate: you're charged for each hour you use, with a one-hour minimum, and you can shut down the server whenever you choose. A monthly commitment brings the price 30% under that hourly rate, a one-year term brings it 44% lower, and a three-year term cuts it by 65%.
If your workload is short-lived or its duration is uncertain, hourly billing works out cheaper. Once a server stays running for roughly 511 hours in a month — about 21 days — switching to a monthly plan becomes the cheaper option. Our guide comparing hourly and monthly billing walks through this break-even point in more detail.
GST and how invoicing works
The rates shown on our site exclude GST. Customers in India are charged 18% on top and receive a proper GST invoice; a business that adds its GSTIN to that invoice can claim the tax back as input credit, effectively bringing the cost down to the pre-tax rate. Our guide to GST invoicing for VPS hosting covers this in full.
Customers located outside India are instead billed in US dollars, with GST not applicable, and can pay by card or PayPal.
Hidden costs worth checking before you compare
A plan that looks cheap at first glance can carry costs that only show up later. Before comparing providers, ask each one about the following:
- Data transfer: is outbound traffic included, or does it get billed per GB once you cross a quota?
- DDoS defence: is it active from the start, or an add-on that only kicks in once you're already under attack?
- IPv4 address: is it included, or charged as a recurring monthly fee?
- Windows licence: bundled into the plan price, or tacked on per core when you check out?
- Snapshots and backups: do you get one free snapshot, and what do backups cost beyond that?
- Currency: are you billed in rupees with a GST invoice, or in US dollars subject to exchange-rate swings and card charges?
What comes included with every NABHCLOUD server
Each server we provision comes with a public IPv4 address, a 1 Gbps network port, Cloudflare Magic Transit DDoS protection, one snapshot at no extra cost, browser-based console access and a GST invoice. See how these sizes stack up against AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, DigitalOcean and Linode on our provider comparison page, and check every billing meter in our detailed rate card guide.
Frequently asked questions
What does your smallest cloud server cost?
Our entry-level plan's monthly and hourly rates, before GST, are shown on the pricing page. It comes with a public IPv4 address, DDoS protection and a GST invoice included.
What's the cost per vCPU or per GB of RAM?
Current per-vCPU and per-GB-RAM rates for both hourly and monthly billing are listed on our pricing page.
Is GST already factored into your prices?
No. Our listed rates exclude GST. Customers in India pay an additional 18% and receive a tax invoice, which a registered business can reclaim. Customers outside India are not charged GST.
Does committing to a year save money?
Yes. A one-year term runs 44% below the hourly rate, and a three-year term runs 65% below it. If you cancel early, the unused portion is credited back to your wallet.
Does running Windows cost extra?
Only the Windows Server licence fee applies, which is bundled into the plan and billed per vCPU core — current rates are on the pricing page. Everything else follows the same rate card as Linux.
Can I get pricing for a custom configuration?
Yes. Our server configurator prices any mix of vCPU, RAM and NVMe storage and shows every billing term before you place an order.