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

# Billing and Payment

> Learn how to manage billing groups, payment methods, invoices, and cost allocation in your Aiven organization.

Aiven uses a transparent, usage-based billing model managed at the organization level. Billing groups allow you to consolidate costs across projects and use the same payment details for multiple projects within your organization.

## Billing overview

All billing is managed at the **organization level**. You cannot share billing information between different Aiven organizations.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Payment Methods" icon="credit-card">
    * Credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex)
    * Bank transfers
    * AWS Marketplace
    * Google Cloud Marketplace
    * Azure Marketplace
  </Card>

  <Card title="Billing Cycle" icon="calendar">
    * **Hourly billing** - Pay only for actual usage
    * **Monthly invoices** - Consolidated at billing group level
    * **No minimum commitment** - Start and stop services anytime
    * **No hidden fees** - Backups and regional data transfer included
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Note>
  To access billing information, you must be an **Organization Admin** or have the `organization:billing:read` or `organization:billing:write` permission.
</Note>

## Billing groups

Billing groups store payment details in one place, allowing you to use the same payment method, billing address, and contacts across multiple projects.

### What's in a billing group?

<Steps>
  <Step title="Payment method">
    Credit card, bank transfer details, or marketplace subscription
  </Step>

  <Step title="Billing address">
    Company address for invoicing and tax purposes
  </Step>

  <Step title="Shipping address">
    Optional separate shipping address
  </Step>

  <Step title="Billing contacts">
    Email addresses to receive invoices and billing notifications
  </Step>

  <Step title="Credits">
    Trial credits or promotional credits applied automatically
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Billing group benefits

* **Consolidated invoices** - One invoice per billing group covering all assigned projects
* **Cost categorization** - Group projects by department, environment, or cost center
* **Simplified management** - Update payment details once for multiple projects
* **Automatic credits** - Trial and promotional credits applied to all projects in the group

### Creating billing groups

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Aiven Console">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Navigate to Billing">
        In the organization, click **Admin** → **Billing**
      </Step>

      <Step title="Create billing group">
        Click **Billing groups** → **Create billing group**
      </Step>

      <Step title="Configure settings">
        * Enter billing group name
        * Add payment method
        * Set billing address
        * Add billing contacts
      </Step>

      <Step title="Assign projects">
        Go to each project's settings and select this billing group
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Aiven CLI">
    ```bash theme={null}
    # Create a billing group
    avn billing-group create \
      --organization-id <ORG_ID> \
      --billing-group-name "Production Services"

    # List billing groups
    avn billing-group list --organization-id <ORG_ID>

    # Assign project to billing group
    avn project update \
      --project my-project \
      --billing-group-id <BILLING_GROUP_ID>
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="API">
    ```bash theme={null}
    # Create billing group
    curl -X POST \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -d '{
        "billing_group_name": "Production Services",
        "billing_currency": "USD"
      }' \
      https://api.aiven.io/v1/organization/{org_id}/billing-group

    # Assign project to billing group  
    curl -X PUT \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -d '{
        "billing_group_id": "bg123abc"
      }' \
      https://api.aiven.io/v1/project/{project}
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### Organizing with billing groups

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="By Department" icon="building">
    ```
    Engineering Billing Group
    ├── backend-dev
    ├── backend-prod  
    └── api-services

    Analytics Billing Group
    ├── data-warehouse
    └── streaming-pipeline
    ```
  </Card>

  <Card title="By Environment" icon="layer-group">
    ```
    Development Billing Group
    ├── backend-dev
    ├── frontend-dev
    └── analytics-dev

    Production Billing Group  
    ├── backend-prod
    ├── frontend-prod
    └── analytics-prod
    ```
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Warning>
  Every project with active services **must** be assigned to a billing group. Services cannot be created in projects without a billing group.
</Warning>

## Payment methods

### Credit card payments

The most common payment method for Aiven services:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Add payment card">
    Navigate to **Admin** → **Billing** → **Billing groups** → Select group → **Payment method**
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter card details">
    Provide card number, expiration, CVV, and cardholder name
  </Step>

  <Step title="Automatic charging">
    Card is charged automatically at the end of each billing period
  </Step>
</Steps>

```bash theme={null}
# Update payment card via CLI
avn billing-group card-update \
  --billing-group-id <BILLING_GROUP_ID> \
  --card-number "4111111111111111" \
  --exp-month 12 \
  --exp-year 2025 \
  --cvc 123
```

<Note>
  Aiven uses PCI DSS compliant payment processors. Card details are never stored on Aiven servers.
</Note>

### Bank transfer

Available for customers with negotiated payment terms:

* **Net 30/60 terms** - Available with approved credit
* **Wire transfer details** - Provided on invoices
* **ACH/SEPA** - Available in select regions

<Note>
  Contact your account team or [sales@aiven.io](mailto:sales@aiven.io) to set up bank transfer payments.
</Note>

### Marketplace subscriptions

Pay for Aiven through your existing cloud marketplace subscription:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="AWS Marketplace">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Subscribe">
        Find Aiven in [AWS Marketplace](https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace/seller-profile?id=0efb9e84-2f26-4655-a0a0-6f19b94c6de3)
      </Step>

      <Step title="Link account">
        Follow prompts to connect your Aiven organization
      </Step>

      <Step title="Use AWS credits">
        Charges appear on your AWS bill and can use committed spend
      </Step>
    </Steps>

    ```bash theme={null}
    # List marketplace subscriptions
    avn billing-group list-marketplace-subscriptions \
      --organization-id <ORG_ID>
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="GCP Marketplace">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Subscribe">
        Find Aiven in [Google Cloud Marketplace](https://console.cloud.google.com/marketplace/product/aiven-public/aiven)
      </Step>

      <Step title="Link account">
        Connect your Aiven organization during signup
      </Step>

      <Step title="Use GCP credits">
        Charges appear on your GCP bill and can use committed use discounts
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Azure Marketplace">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Subscribe">
        Find Aiven in [Azure Marketplace](https://azuremarketplace.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/apps/aiven.aiven)
      </Step>

      <Step title="Link account">
        Connect your Aiven organization
      </Step>

      <Step title="Use Azure credits">
        Charges appear on your Azure bill and can use committed spend
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

<Note>
  Marketplace subscriptions must be set up at the time of organization creation or by contacting Aiven support.
</Note>

## Service pricing

Aiven uses transparent, predictable pricing based on service plans:

### Understanding service costs

<Steps>
  <Step title="Base hourly rate">
    Each service plan has a fixed hourly rate that includes:

    * Virtual machines and compute
    * Storage (disk space)
    * Automated backups
    * Data transfer within the same region
    * Maintenance and updates
  </Step>

  <Step title="Additional costs">
    * **Cross-region data transfer** - Charged by cloud provider rates
    * **Static IP addresses** - Small hourly fee per IP
    * **Additional storage** - Beyond plan's included storage
    * **BYOC infrastructure** - Billed separately by your cloud provider
  </Step>

  <Step title="No hidden fees">
    No charges for:

    * API calls
    * Number of databases
    * Number of connections
    * Backup storage in same region
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Service plan tiers

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Hobbyist" icon="seedling">
    * Single node, no high availability
    * Limited backups
    * Best for: Development, testing, learning
    * Starting at \$10-15/month
  </Card>

  <Card title="Startup" icon="rocket">
    * High availability with multiple nodes
    * Full backup coverage
    * Best for: Small production workloads
    * Starting at \$50-100/month
  </Card>

  <Card title="Business" icon="briefcase">
    * Enhanced performance and resources
    * High availability
    * Best for: Production workloads
    * Starting at \$200-500/month
  </Card>

  <Card title="Premium" icon="crown">
    * Maximum performance and resources
    * Dedicated infrastructure options
    * Best for: Mission-critical workloads
    * Starting at \$1,000+/month
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

### Calculating monthly costs

```bash theme={null}
# Get service pricing for a specific plan
avn service types --project my-project

# Example PostgreSQL Business-4 plan:
# Hourly rate: $0.50/hour
# Monthly cost: $0.50 × 730 hours = $365/month

# View current month costs for a project
avn project billing-summary --project my-project
```

<Note>
  Service costs are calculated per hour. If you run a service for only part of an hour, you're charged for the full hour.
</Note>

## Invoices and reporting

### Accessing invoices

<Steps>
  <Step title="View invoices">
    Navigate to **Admin** → **Billing** → **Invoices**
  </Step>

  <Step title="Download invoices">
    Click on any invoice to download PDF or view details
  </Step>

  <Step title="Email delivery">
    Invoices are automatically emailed to billing group contacts
  </Step>
</Steps>

```bash theme={null}
# List invoices via CLI
avn billing-group invoice-list \
  --billing-group-id <BILLING_GROUP_ID>

# Download specific invoice
avn billing-group invoice-get \
  --billing-group-id <BILLING_GROUP_ID> \
  --invoice-number INV-2024-001
```

### Invoice details

Each invoice includes:

* **Billing period** - Start and end dates
* **Breakdown by project** - Costs separated by project
* **Breakdown by service** - Individual service charges
* **Service type** - PostgreSQL, Kafka, Redis, etc.
* **Hours used** - Actual hours each service ran
* **Applied credits** - Any promotional or trial credits
* **Total amount** - Final amount charged

### Cost breakdown API

Export detailed cost information for business intelligence tools:

```bash theme={null}
# Get cost breakdown for a billing group
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  "https://api.aiven.io/v1/billing-group/{billing_group_id}/invoice" \
  | jq '.invoices[] | {date: .invoice_date, amount: .total_inc_vat}'

# Get project-level costs
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  "https://api.aiven.io/v1/project/{project}/costs" \
  | jq '.costs[] | {service: .service_name, cost: .cost}'
```

<Note>
  Use the [Invoice API](https://api.aiven.io/doc/#tag/BillingGroup) to integrate cost data with your accounting or BI systems.
</Note>

## Credits and trials

### Trial credits

New Aiven accounts receive trial credits:

* **\$300 credit** - For new signups (amount may vary by region)
* **30-60 days** - Credits expire after promotional period
* **Automatic application** - Applied to billing group automatically
* **No credit card required** - Start using services immediately

### Promotional credits

Aiven occasionally offers promotional credits:

* **Event credits** - From conference attendance or partnerships
* **Referral credits** - For referring new customers
* **Migration credits** - When migrating from other platforms

```bash theme={null}
# View available credits
avn billing-group credits-list \
  --billing-group-id <BILLING_GROUP_ID>
```

<Note>
  Credits are automatically applied to charges for any project assigned to the billing group. Credits cannot be transferred between billing groups or organizations.
</Note>

## Tax information

### Value Added Tax (VAT)

* **EU customers** - VAT charged unless valid VAT ID provided
* **Reverse charge** - Available for EU businesses with VAT ID
* **Rate varies** - Based on billing address country

### Sales tax

* **US customers** - Sales tax charged based on state regulations
* **State-specific** - Rates vary by billing address

### Updating tax information

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to billing group">
    **Admin** → **Billing** → **Billing groups** → Select group
  </Step>

  <Step title="Edit billing address">
    Click **Billing address** → **Edit**
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add VAT ID">
    Enter your VAT ID or tax identification number
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify">
    Aiven validates VAT IDs against official databases
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Tax information must be accurate. Incorrect tax details may result in incorrect charges or compliance issues.
</Warning>

## Billing permissions

Control who can view and manage billing with granular permissions:

<ParamField path="organization:billing:read" type="Permission">
  **View billing** - Read-only access to:

  * All billing groups
  * Payment methods (masked)
  * Invoices and cost breakdowns
  * Billing addresses

  Best for: Finance team members who need visibility without management access
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="organization:billing:write" type="Permission">
  **Manage billing** - Full access to:

  * Create, edit, delete billing groups
  * Add, update, remove payment methods
  * Edit billing and shipping addresses
  * View and download invoices

  Best for: Finance managers and administrators
</ParamField>

```bash theme={null}
# Grant billing read permission to a user
avn organization user-permission-grant \
  --organization-id <ORG_ID> \
  --user-email finance@company.com \
  --permission organization:billing:read

# Grant billing write permission to a group  
avn organization group-permission-grant \
  --organization-id <ORG_ID> \
  --group-id <GROUP_ID> \
  --permission organization:billing:write
```

<Note>
  **Organization Admin** and **Super Admin** roles have full billing access by default.
</Note>

## Best practices

<Steps>
  <Step title="Use multiple billing groups">
    Separate costs by department, environment, or cost center for better tracking and chargeback
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set up billing contacts">
    Add multiple email addresses to ensure billing notifications reach the right people
  </Step>

  <Step title="Monitor usage regularly">
    Review cost breakdowns weekly or monthly to catch unexpected charges early
  </Step>

  <Step title="Use tags for allocation">
    Add tags to projects and services for more detailed cost attribution
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set up alerts">
    Enable notifications for approaching credit limits or unusual spending patterns
  </Step>

  <Step title="Automate cost reporting">
    Use the Invoice API to export cost data to your BI or accounting systems
  </Step>

  <Step title="Right-size services">
    Regularly review service plans and scale down unused or over-provisioned services
  </Step>

  <Step title="Use Hobbyist for dev/test">
    Development and testing workloads don't need high availability
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Cannot create services in project">
    **Cause:** Project not assigned to a billing group or payment method expired

    **Solution:**

    1. Verify project has a billing group: `avn project get --project my-project`
    2. Check billing group payment method is valid
    3. Update payment method if expired
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Invoice shows unexpected charges">
    **Cause:** Services running longer than expected or additional features enabled

    **Solution:**

    1. Review cost breakdown in invoice
    2. Check service uptime: `avn service list --project my-project`
    3. Verify no unwanted services are running
    4. Contact support if charges still unclear
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Credits not applying">
    **Cause:** Credits assigned to different billing group or expired

    **Solution:**

    1. Verify credits: `avn billing-group credits-list --billing-group-id <ID>`
    2. Check credit expiration dates
    3. Ensure project is in correct billing group
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Payment declined">
    **Cause:** Insufficient funds, card expired, or fraud prevention

    **Solution:**

    1. Update payment method with valid card
    2. Contact your bank if card should work
    3. Try alternative payment method
    4. Contact Aiven support for payment plan options
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Organizations & Projects" icon="sitemap" href="/platform/organizations-and-projects">
    Learn how to organize projects for cost allocation
  </Card>

  <Card title="Users & Permissions" icon="users" href="/platform/users-and-permissions">
    Grant billing permissions to finance team
  </Card>

  <Card title="Service Integrations" icon="link" href="/platform/service-integrations">
    Set up cost monitoring with metrics integrations
  </Card>

  <Card title="Aiven API" icon="code" href="https://api.aiven.io/doc">
    Automate billing and cost reporting
  </Card>
</CardGroup>