# Vultr Cloud Compute (Windows Server)

Official pricing: https://docs.vultr.com/support/platform/billing/is-a-windows-license-included-in-the-monthly-price  
Category: windows · Isolation: vm

## Pricing regimes (raw)

- **Cloud Compute (Regular Performance) VM with Windows Server, licence included** (sizes): vc2-1c-2gb + Windows licence: 1 vCPU, 2 GB, 55 GB SSD ($10 base + $16 licence = $26/mo) 1 vCPU/2 GiB $0.03869/h; vc2-2c-2gb + Windows licence: 2 vCPU, 2 GB, 65 GB SSD ($15 base + $32 licence = $47/mo) 2 vCPU/2 GiB $0.06994/h; vc2-2c-4gb + Windows licence: 2 vCPU, 4 GB, 80 GB SSD ($20 base + $32 licence = $52/mo) 2 vCPU/4 GiB $0.077381/h; vc2-4c-8gb + Windows licence: 4 vCPU, 8 GB, 160 GB SSD ($40 base + $64 licence = $104/mo) 4 vCPU/8 GiB $0.154762/h; vc2-6c-16gb + Windows licence: 6 vCPU, 16 GB, 320 GB SSD ($80 base + $96 licence = $176/mo) 6 vCPU/16 GiB $0.261905/h; vc2-8c-32gb + Windows licence: 8 vCPU, 32 GB, 640 GB SSD ($160 base + $128 licence = $288/mo) 8 vCPU/32 GiB $0.428571/h

## Features

Yes: snapshots, persistent disk, volumes, ≥24 h sessions, custom image (Docker or snapshot), start from your own snapshot, root, SSH, public IPv4, raw TCP inbound, open internet, static egress IP, private networking, SSO, Windows, audit logs, EU data residency, snapshots on demand, inbound access rules, firewall inside (nftables), extra volumes, shared volumes

No: memory snapshots, pause/resume, idle auto-stop, computer-use API, code interpreter, browser + desktop control, preinstalled agents, HTTPS preview URLs, egress allowlist, self-hosting, BYOC, open source, GPU, arm64, macOS, GPU desktop, credential injection, HTTP method/path egress rules, wake on request, webhooks, automatic snapshots, agent harness API, secret proxy, secret proxy for any API

Unknown: everything else. Evidence (source + quote) per feature: https://battleships.dev/data/providers/vultr-windows.json → feature_evidence

## Caveats

- Windows licence ($16 per vCPU-month on Regular Performance vc2 plans) is now INCLUDED in the size prices. Source: vultr.com/servers/windows 'Plan comparison' table, read from a 2026-06-21 Wayback capture because the live page returns a Cloudflare challenge; the live billing doc still links to that page as the source of licence rates. Whether the licence is prorated hourly with the 672-h cap is not stated (assumed yes).
- The /v2/plans API hourly_cost field (e.g. $0.055 for the $40 plan = /730) disagrees with the billing doc and the pricing page ($0.06 = /672); card follows /672.
- Bandwidth: 2 TB free per account per month plus each instance's plan quota (2-15 TB/month on these sizes) accrued hourly over 672 h; overage $0.01/GB.
- Plan availability varies by location (Windows deployable on vc2 in 18-29 of 33 locations depending on size). Sao Paulo (sao) costs 1.5x base (API location_cost), not modelled.
- Automatic backups add 20% to the base monthly/hourly fee; DDoS protection +$10/mo per instance; reserved (portable) IPv4 $3/mo. None modelled.
- Windows also deploys on High Performance (vhp), High Frequency (vhf) and Optimized (voc) plans, but Vultr publishes the licence price only for Regular Performance plans, so those families are not modelled.

## How this provider charges


Vultr runs Windows Server 2016–2025 (Standard/Datacenter, Core or GUI) on its normal Cloud Compute VMs.
- **Billing:** hourly with a monthly cap. The base plan price is official (public API `/v2/plans`).
- **Windows licence:** "not included in Vultr's base monthly price and require[s] an additional fee based on your selected Compute plan". The amount is not on any page we could read, because vultr.com pricing pages return a Cloudflare bot challenge to every fetcher we tried.

## Regime table

| # | Regime | When it applies | How billed | Numbers | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hourly with monthly cap | All Cloud Compute | "The minimum billing unit is one hour". Billed "up to 672 hours per month". Hourly = monthly / 672 | vc2 1 vCPU/2 GB/55 GB **$10/mo** · 2/2/65 $15 · 2/4/80 $20 · **4/8/160 $40** · 6/16/320 $80 · 8/32/640 $160 · 16/64/1280 $320 · 24/96/1600 $640. vhp 4/8/180 (High Performance) $48 | https://docs.vultr.com/support/platform/billing/how-am-i-billed-for-my-servers, https://api.vultr.com/v2/plans |
| 2 | Windows licence | Windows OS image | Extra fee per plan | **Not published officially (null).** Third-party: +$16/mo on the $10 plan, +$128/mo on the $160 plan (≈ $16 per vCPU-month) | https://docs.vultr.com/support/platform/billing/is-a-windows-license-included-in-the-monthly-price, https://checkthat.ai/brands/vultr/pricing |
| 3 | Stopped instances | Powered off but not destroyed | Still billed | same as running | docs (billing) |
| 4 | Bandwidth | Per plan allowance | Included allowance, e.g. 4,096 GB on vc2-4c-8gb. Overage not verified | null | API |

## Gotchas

1. **The card underprices Windows.** It carries the base price only (`windows_vcpu_h` null). Add the unverified licence of about $16/vCPU-month.
2. **Official sources disagree on the hourly rate.** The API field `hourly_cost` ($0.055 for $40, i.e. /730) does not match the billing doc (/672 → $0.0595). The card follows the billing doc.
3. **Destroy instances to stop billing.** Stopping them does not.

## Worked example

Workload: 4 vCPU / 8 GiB → vc2-4c-8gb ($40/mo, $0.0595/h). 50 concurrent × 8 h × 22 days = 8,800 h. 100 GiB egress is inside the allowance. Snapshots are not priced here.

| Regime | Maths | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Create/destroy per session (card) | 8,800 × $0.059524 | **$523.81** + licence |
| Keep 50 instances all month | 50 × $40 (cap) | $2,000 + licence |
| + Windows licence (third-party ≈ $16/vCPU-mo; proration unknown) | 50 × 4 × $16 if full-month | ≈ +$3,200 (full month) or ≈ +$838 prorated by hours |

Sources: https://docs.vultr.com/support/platform/billing/is-a-windows-license-included-in-the-monthly-price · https://docs.vultr.com/support/platform/billing/how-am-i-billed-for-my-servers · https://api.vultr.com/v2/plans · https://checkthat.ai/brands/vultr/pricing