# I don't understand free-tier!??

**URL:** <https://community.fly.io/t/i-dont-understand-free-tier/5145>\
**Category:** Questions / Help\
**Tags:** postgres\
**Created:** [May 13, 2022, 12:35pm UTC](https://community.fly.io/t/i-dont-understand-free-tier/5145 "2022-05-13T12:35:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 2

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**Author:** ![greg](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/fly1/user_avatar/community.fly.io/greg/32/2119_2.png) [@greg](https://community.fly.io/u/greg)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2022, 12:59pm UTC](https://community.fly.io/t/i-dont-understand-free-tier/5145/2 "2022-05-13T12:59:36Z")

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The free tier lets you make up to 3 vms of the smallest type. So yes, the shared-cpu-256mb ones.

And it includes up to 3GB of storage.

So if you make a development database using 256mb, that would use 1/3 of your 256mb vm allowance. And when it asks how big to make the volume, choose either 1/2/3 GB. As you have a limit of 3GB of storage for free.

You then have _two_ out of your three vm allowance remaining. And so you _could_ deploy an app using _one_ shared-cpu-256mb vm. I think that is the default.

And you would not want to enable any scaling/auto-scaling (well beyond a max of two vms) for that app. Else it could exceed the total free allowance (of three vms). So resources (apart from bandwidth) are _automatically_ limited (by the fact you have not assigned them to be used).

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