---
title: "Convert an instance to a committed plan"
description: "Move an hourly TIR Instance to a committed plan, choose its term and renewal policy, and know what changes while the term runs."
content_type: "how-to"
product: "tir-instance"
platform: "TIR"
url: "/tir/tir-instance/how-to/convert-an-instance-to-committed/"
topic: ["billing"]
---

# Convert an instance to a committed plan

Move an hourly instance to a committed plan, where you pay for a fixed term upfront at a lower
rate than On-Demand. You keep the same instance with its workspace and settings. The plan stays
the same; only the way it is billed changes. For how the two kinds of billing compare, see
[Billing options for TIR Instances](/tir/tir-instance/concepts/billing-options/).

## Before you begin

- An instance billed by the hour. **Convert to Committed** is offered for hourly instances,
  except Spot Instances, instances on a private cluster, and **Expired** instances. An hourly
  instance is marked **Hourly** in **Manage Instances**.
- On a prepaid account, enough credit for the full price of the commitment. The prices are on
  [E2E's pricing page](https://www.e2enetworks.com/pricing).
- A role in the project that lets you update instances.

## What changes once the instance is committed

A commitment holds for its whole term, so check these points before you convert:

- The full price of the term is charged upfront and covers the plan until the term ends.
- A committed instance stays on for its term, unless you delete it. You can restart it, but
  not stop or start it.
- The instance is billed as committed, on the same plan, for the whole term. What you can change
  is what happens when the term ends: to go back to hourly billing then, choose **Convert to Hourly
  Plan** as the renewal policy.
- Deleting the instance during the term is allowed, but the days you do not use are not refunded.

## Choose a term and a renewal policy

A running instance keeps running through the conversion, on the same plan, and is billed as
committed from then on.

Converting a **Stopped** instance starts it. The term begins, and its full price is charged, when
the instance reaches **Running**.

1. In **Manage Instances**, open the instance's actions menu and choose **Convert to Committed**.
   The same item is in the actions menu on the instance's own page.
2. Under **Committed Plan**, choose a commitment period for the instance's current plan. The
   periods on offer depend on the plan, and each one is a term in days.
3. Under **Renewal Policy**, choose what happens when the term ends:

   | Renewal policy             | What happens                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
   | -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
   | **Auto Renewal**           | Starts a new term of the same plan and charges its price. Take this one if you expect to keep the instance. On a prepaid account with too little credit for the renewal, the instance moves to hourly billing instead. |
   | **Convert to Hourly Plan** | Keeps the instance running and bills it at the plan's On-Demand rate from the end of the term.                                                                                                                         |
   | **Auto Delete**            | Deletes the instance and its workspace when the term ends. Choose it only for work with a fixed end date, and copy anything you need out of `/home/jovyan` before then.                                                |

4. Read the acknowledgement: TIR charges the full commitment upfront and does not refund it if you
   delete the instance before the term ends. To accept the charge, select **Continue**.

About a minute later, TIR emails you, with the team owner and
admins in copy.

To change the plan as well as the billing, stop the instance and use **Update Plan** instead. It
moves an hourly instance to a committed term on the plan you pick there. See
[Change the plan of an instance](/tir/tir-instance/how-to/change-the-plan-of-an-instance/).

## See the term on the instance

The instance is now marked **Committed** in **Manage Instances**. Under **Overview** > **Plan
Details** on its page, **Committed Upto** is the date the term ends, and **Renewal Preference** is
the policy you chose.

TIR emails a reminder of the end-of-term action seven days, two days, and one day before the term
ends. The reminders go to the person who created the instance and to the account owner. A term of
seven days or less gets only the last two reminders. After the renewal, the move to hourly
billing, or the deletion, TIR emails you again.

## Change what happens at the end of the term

You can change the renewal policy during the term, in any status. Open the instance's
actions menu and choose **Update Committed Plan** in **Manage Instances**, or **Update Plan** on
the instance's page. On a committed instance, that page changes only the renewal preference. See
[Change the plan of an instance](/tir/tir-instance/how-to/change-the-plan-of-an-instance/).

To see how committed billing fits with On-Demand, Spot, and workspace charges, read
[Billing options for TIR Instances](/tir/tir-instance/concepts/billing-options/). If the conversion
is refused, see [Troubleshooting TIR Instances](/tir/tir-instance/troubleshooting/tir-instance/).