---
title: Cancel a subscription
description: Stop an instance's subscription at the end of the period, keep it after all, and what happens when it ends.
---

Cancelling stops the subscription at the end of the period you have paid for. The instance keeps running until then, and you are not charged again.

## Cancel

1. Open the instance and click **Billing** in its sidebar.
2. In the **Subscription** card, click **Cancel subscription**.
3. The dialog **Cancel at the end of the period?** shows the date the instance runs until.
4. Click **Cancel subscription** to confirm, or **Keep it** to close the dialog.

You see "The subscription ends at the end of the period."

The **Subscription** card then shows:

- the status **Cancels at period end**;
- an **Ends on** row in place of **Next charge**;
- a **Keep subscription** button.

You cannot switch the billing period while a cancellation is pending.

## Keep the subscription after all

Before the period ends, click **Keep subscription** on the **Billing** tab. You see "Subscription kept." The subscription renews as before.

## When the period ends

1. The subscription becomes **Cancelled** or **Expired**.
2. The instance stops. Its badge shows **Suspending**, then **Suspended**.
3. The **Overview** shows **This instance is stopped** with "The subscription is not active." and the date its data is kept until.
4. 30 days after the instance stops, it is deleted together with its backups.

A cancelled or expired subscription cannot be restarted from the console. If you want to keep your data, download an export during those 30 days. See [Export your data](/cloud/your-instance/export-your-data).

## Delete the instance instead

If you want the instance gone now, delete it from its **Settings** tab. This cancels the subscription at once, without a refund for the rest of the period. See [Delete an instance](/cloud/your-instance/delete-an-instance).

## Messages

| Message                                                              | What it means                                         |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| "The subscription could not be changed. Try again in a few minutes." | The change did not go through. Try again later.       |
| "The subscription is not active."                                    | Only an active subscription can be cancelled or kept. |