Spot Instances for Cheap Batch Work
Spot instances let you use a cloud provider's spare capacity at a steep discount — often a fraction of the standard price. The catch is that the provider can reclaim them at short notice, so they suit some workloads and not others.
This article explains where they save real money.
How the Discount Works
Providers always have some unused capacity. They sell it cheaply as spot instances, on the understanding that they may take it back when a paying customer needs it. In exchange you might pay a fraction of the on-demand price.
Good Fits for Spot
- Batch processing that can pause and resume.
- Data analysis and reporting jobs.
- Rendering, encoding and other heavy background tasks.
- Testing and development environments.
What to Avoid
Spot instances are a poor choice for anything that must stay up continuously, such as your main website or a critical database, because they can vanish mid-task. We match them only to interruption-tolerant work.
| Pricing | Cost | Reliability | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-demand | Standard | Always available | Critical, steady systems |
| Spot | Much lower | Can be reclaimed | Batch and interruptible work |
If you need a hand with any of this, your Progressive Robot delivery team is ready to help. Raise a ticket from the Support area of your client portal or speak to your account manager and we will guide you through the next steps.