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AWS Lightsail is a set of services within Amazon Web Services that provides virtual-servers with popular pre-configured software options - such as a Wordpress server. It is notable for more-or-less instant setup speed and low cost operation.[1]
The Lightsail service also includes external IP addresses, to make servers publicly accessible over the internet, as well as snapshots and backups.
Charging for deleted servers
Lightsail offers a clear "Remove" button. Upon pressing it, the system asks multiple times if the user wishes to delete the server, noting that the server and its contents will be lost. Although the server disappears from the Lightsail page, the client continues to be charged for it.[2][3]
This is explained by AWS Customer Service, revealing that deleting servers does not automatically delete screenshots and backups within that server.[4]
In AWS, if a backup, snapshot, or resource (such as an IP address) associated with a server still exists, it remains billable even after the server or service has been terminated.[4]
References
- ↑ "Billing and account management". AWS. Archived from the original on 2026-01-04. Retrieved 9 Aug 2025.
- ↑ @AkivaM. "Why is AWS billing me for Lightsail when I cancelled the service 2 months ago?". AWS. Archived from the original on 2026-01-04. Retrieved 9 Aug 2025.
- ↑ "Stopped lightsail instances still incur charges?". Archived from the original on 6 Feb 2026. Retrieved 9 Aug 2025 – via Reddit.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Delete Lightsail instances". AWS. Archived from the original on 2025-10-02. Retrieved 9 Aug 2025.