> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.iroh.computer/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Control Your Costs

> Set spend caps and monitor usage to keep your Iroh Services costs predictable

Iroh Services provides tools to help you stay in control of your spending.

## Spend caps

Spend caps let you set a maximum monthly budget for your project. When your usage reaches the cap, services that incur additional charges will be paused until the next billing cycle.

### Setting a spend cap

1. Go to your project dashboard.
2. Navigate to **Settings**
3. Under **Spend cap**, enter your maximum monthly budget.
4. Click **Save**.

<Note>
  Your spend cap applies to your total invoice, including the base plan cost, any applicable taxes, and usage-based charges that exceed what's included in your plan.
</Note>

### What happens when you hit your cap

When your usage-based charges reach your spend cap:

* **Metrics ingestion** will be paused. Endpoints will stop sending new metrics until the next billing cycle.
* **Your existing data** is preserved. Dashboards and historical metrics remain accessible.
* **Endpoint connections**: the number of active connections sending metrics to your project will be throttled.
* **Active relay connections** are not affected. Your endpoints will continue to connect through relays.

Usage resets at the start of each billing cycle.

## Tips for managing costs

* **Start with the Free plan** to understand your usage patterns before upgrading.
* **Set a spend cap** early to avoid unexpected charges.
* **Review usage regularly** from the dashboard to spot trends before they become costly.