Billing

The IONOS Cloud Logging Service bills based on two dimensions:

• The number of pipelines in your contract.

• The volume of log data stored in IONOS Cloud Object Storage. Unlike consumption-based services, pipeline billing is time-based. A pipeline incurs a charge for every hour it exists, regardless of how many logs it ingests. In this context, a pipeline is considered active from the moment it is created until the moment it is deleted, whether or not it is ingesting logs.

Billing logic only: This page explains the billing model and counting rules. For current prices by region, see IONOS Cloud Prices.

What is billed?

The Logging Service charges for two independent dimensions:

Dimension	Billing unit	Notes
Active pipelines	Per pipeline per hour	Charged from creation until deletion.
Log storage	Per GB per 30-day period	Accumulates as long as logs are retained.

Both dimensions contribute to your bill independently. You can have low log volume and high pipeline costs, or low pipeline count and high storage costs.

How is a "pipeline" defined for billing?

A pipeline is a logging configuration that receives, processes, and routes log data to the Logging Service. Each pipeline has its own regional endpoint and can contain up to five log streams.

Billing starts the moment a pipeline is created and stops the moment it is deleted. An idle pipeline that ingests no logs is still billed for every hour it exists.

Idle pipelines incur charges. If you are not actively using a pipeline, delete it to stop billing. Stopping your log agents does not stop the pipeline charge.

How is storage counted?

Ingested log data is stored in IONOS Cloud Object Storage. Storage costs accumulate for as long as data is retained.

• Log storage accumulates as data is ingested and retained in the service.

• Your configured retention period determines how long logs are kept before they are automatically removed.

• Shorter retention periods reduce your storage footprint.

• Storage is measured in GB per 30-day period and updated as new data arrives.

• Deleting a pipeline stops further pipeline charges but does not immediately remove stored log data. Existing logs remain in IONOS Cloud Object Storage until the configured retention period expires. Storage charges continue until the data is removed.

Estimate your monthly costs

Use these formulas to project your bill before deploying:

pipeline cost per month = number of pipelines × 24 hours × 30 days × hourly rate
storage cost per month  = average GB stored × monthly storage rate
total monthly cost      = pipeline cost + storage cost

Example: 3 pipelines, 50 GB average log storage:

pipeline cost = 3 × 24 × 30 × hourly rate
storage cost  = 50 × monthly storage rate

For current hourly and storage rates, see IONOS Cloud Prices.

Pipeline limit: Each contract supports a maximum of 10 pipelines. Plan your pipeline structure to stay within this limit while grouping related log sources logically.

What counts and what doesn't?

Counts toward billing

• Each active pipeline, for every hour it exists in your contract

• Log data retained in storage, based on your configured retention period

• All log records ingested across all log streams within a pipeline, contributing to storage volume

Does not count toward billing

• Querying or searching existing logs through Grafana or the Telemetry API

• Log records that are received but rejected due to rate limiting (not persisted to storage)

• The Logging Service's own internal usage metrics

Rate limits: Each pipeline supports up to 50 HTTP requests per second and up to 10,000 log records per second over TCP. Records dropped due to rate limiting are not stored and therefore not billed for storage.

How to track your usage

Usage estimation in Grafana

The Logging Service includes a built-in Log Usage Reporter that publishes two metrics to your Grafana dashboard, updated approximately every five minutes:

Estimation only. The Log Usage Reporter is a consumption indicator, not a billing record. Use the DCD Cost and Usage view or the Billing API as the authoritative source for billed amounts.

Metric	Type	Scope	Description
ionos_usage_logs_bytes_total	Counter	Per pipeline	Total bytes sent by the pipeline
ionos_usage_logs_counts_total	Counter	Per pipeline	Total log records ingested by the pipeline

To view your pipeline usage:

1. In your Grafana dashboard, go to Explore.

2. Select Mimir as the data source.

3. Select ionos_usage_logs_bytes_total or ionos_usage_logs_counts_total from the Metric drop-down list.

4. Filter by pipeline_id label to isolate a specific pipeline.

5. Click Run query.

Use ionos_usage_logs_bytes_total to track your storage trajectory and detect unexpected ingestion spikes before they increase your storage bill.

For full details, see Log Usage Reporter.

Cost and Usage view in the DCD

The DCD Cost and Usage view shows a breakdown of all billed services, including Logging Service pipelines and storage, with current list prices.

1. In the DCD, go to Menu > Management > Cost and Usage.

2. Select a Period to generate the report.

Billing data is updated at least once every 24 hours. For more information, see Cost and Usage.

Billing API

For programmatic access to invoice data and usage breakdowns, use the IONOS Cloud Billing API. The API returns daily and monthly aggregates you can integrate into internal reporting or cost management tools.

Common billing scenarios

Scenario	Billable?	Reason
Pipeline created but no logs sent	Yes (pipeline cost)	The pipeline exists and is charged hourly
Log agents stopped, pipeline still exists	Yes (pipeline cost)	Pipeline billing is based on existence, not log volume
Pipeline deleted	No further pipeline charges; storage charges continue	Pipeline billing stops at deletion, but existing log data remains in IONOS Cloud Object Storage until the retention period expires
User queries logs in Grafana	No	Querying does not affect pipeline or storage billing
Log records dropped due to rate limit	No (storage only)	Dropped records are not persisted, so no storage cost
Retention period shortened	Reduced storage cost	Older logs are removed, reducing stored GB
10 pipelines active for a full month	Maximum pipeline cost	Contracts are capped at 10 pipelines

Pricing

Logging Service billing has two dimensions: active pipelines and log storage. Both are priced independently.

For current prices by region, see IONOS Cloud Prices.

Price group: Logging Service uses Price Group A for both pipelines and storage. Your contract may include volume discounts or special pricing not reflected in the standard price list. Contact your account manager for details.

Next steps

We recommend reviewing the following resources to help monitor and manage your Logging Service costs.

• Log Usage Reporter

• Cost and Usage

• Quick Start

• Frequently Asked Questions

Useful external links:

• IONOS Cloud Prices: current prices by region

• IONOS Cloud Billing API: programmatic access to invoice and usage data

• Cost Alert: set spending thresholds and receive notifications