Scope: standard Amazon Lightsail instances and the Lightsail resources around them. Checked October 6, 2026 (12:07 KST) against the AWS Lightsail FAQ, the Lightsail user guide page "Delete Lightsail instances" and the Lightsail pricing page (links at the end). This is a reading guide to AWS’s public pages, not an account review. We have not accessed, stopped, deleted or backed up anyone’s AWS resources for this article, and we did not test this workflow.
Short answer: Stopping a standard Lightsail instance does not end its instance charge. The AWS FAQ (checked October 6, 2026) says Lightsail instances "are charged only when they’re in the running or stopped state." Deleting the instance ends the instance charge, but it is not the same as closing out everything that instance used. Static IPs, snapshots you created or kept, block storage disks and load balancers can stay behind and keep billing.
Before you delete anything: back up first. AWS warns that a deleted instance "can’t be recovered" and that "Any automatic snapshots of the instance will also be deleted as part of this operation." If you might need the data later, AWS says you must first create a snapshot of the instance or choose to keep an existing automatic snapshot. Do this before you follow any deletion link, including the one at the end of this guide.
This guide covers standard Lightsail only. Lightsail for Research has its own pricing and is not covered here.
Stop vs. delete: what happens to the instance charge
Each row below is one instance state. It describes the instance meter only, not your whole AWS bill.
| Instance state | Instance charge (per AWS) | Can you get the instance back? | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| RUNNING | Charged | Yes, it is running | FAQ: charged "in the running or stopped state" |
| STOPPED | Still charged | Yes. Stopped means "powered down at its current state and is available for you to start again at any time" | FAQ (billing and stop vs. delete answers) |
| DELETED | Instance charge stops: "You stop incurring charges for the instance as soon as it’s deleted" | No. Deletion is "a destructive action" and the instance "can’t be recovered" | User guide (delete page); FAQ |
What this table does not tell you: whether anything else in the account is still billing. The next section is for that.
Inventory what is left after deleting a Lightsail instance
The AWS delete page puts it plainly: "resources that were attached to the deleted instance will continue to incur charges until you delete them as well." Its "Next steps" section names four: "a static IP, snapshots, block storage disks, and load balancer associated to an instance remain in Lightsail, and incur additional charges."
Use one block per resource. Check each one in the account and Region where the instance lived.
Static IP
- Account / Region / static IP name: ______
- Status: attached to another instance / detached
- Why keep it: ______ (for example, DNS still points to it)
- Published rate: "Static IPs are not charged extra when attached to a Lightsail instance." When it is not attached to an instance for more than 1 hour, the FAQ lists "$0.005 USD/hour."
- Note: when you delete an instance that used a static IP, the FAQ says "the static IP is detached, but remains in your account."
Snapshots
- Account / Region / snapshot name: ______
- Type: snapshot you created / automatic snapshot you chose to keep
- Why keep it: ______ (the backup you may restore from)
- Published rate: the FAQ says "Lightsail snapshots cost $0.05 USD/GB-month for both instance snapshots and for disk snapshots." The pricing page lists the same rate for manual and automatic snapshots.
- Note: automatic snapshots are deleted along with the instance. Choosing Keep on an automatic snapshot copies it "as a manual snapshot" (FAQ). A snapshot you created, or a kept copy, is a separate resource and is billed separately.
Block storage disks
- Account / Region / disk name: ______
- Status: attached elsewhere / not attached
- Why keep it: ______
- Published rate: the pricing page lists block storage from 8 GB, at USD 0.10 per allocated GB per month.
Load balancer
- Account / Region / load balancer name: ______
- Status: still in use by other instances / no longer needed
- Why keep it: ______
- Published rate: not covered in this guide. Read it on the pricing page.
The rates above are the public list prices on the date checked. They are not your bill. Taxes and any account-specific terms are outside this guide.
Fill-in worksheet
Copy this and fill it from your own Lightsail console and bill. If you can’t confirm a cell, leave it UNKNOWN. Don’t add the rows into a total you then treat as final, and don’t share account IDs, keys or payment details with anyone (including us).
| Field | Your entry |
|---|---|
| Service named on the bill line (Lightsail or something else) | UNKNOWN |
| AWS Region | UNKNOWN |
| Billed period you are checking | UNKNOWN |
| Instance state (running / stopped / deleted) | UNKNOWN |
| Backup you need before deleting (snapshot created or automatic snapshot kept: yes / no) | UNKNOWN |
| Static IP: attached / detached / none | UNKNOWN |
| Other retained resources (snapshots, block storage disks, load balancer) | UNKNOWN |
| Actual charge shown on your bill for each line | UNKNOWN |
| Date you checked the AWS pages | UNKNOWN |
If your bill and the published rates don’t line up, ask AWS to explain the charge. Don’t rely on this worksheet over the bill.
FAQ
Does stopping a Lightsail instance stop the billing? Not for the instance. The FAQ says instances are charged in "the running or stopped state." Stopping keeps the instance so you can start it again.
Does deleting the instance end all my Lightsail charges? It ends the instance charge. AWS says the static IP, snapshots, block storage disks and load balancer associated with it "remain in Lightsail, and incur additional charges" until you delete them too. It does not make the whole account bill zero, and nothing on these pages promises a refund for past use.
Do automatic snapshots survive deletion? No. AWS: "Any automatic snapshots of the instance will also be deleted as part of this operation." What survives is a manual copy you made beforehand, either a new snapshot or an automatic snapshot you chose to Keep.
Is a snapshot I keep free? No. The FAQ lists snapshots at $0.05 USD/GB-month for both instance and disk snapshots.
This guide doesn’t cover removing a payment card, closing an AWS account, or comparing Lightsail with EC2.
Next step: Read the official deletion caveats and finish the inventory before you decide: Delete Lightsail instances (AWS user guide). Leave any field you couldn’t confirm as UNKNOWN.
Sources
- AWS, "Amazon Lightsail FAQs" (billing, static IP, snapshot and stop vs. delete answers): https://aws.amazon.com/lightsail/faq/ (checked October 6, 2026, 12:07 KST)
- AWS, "Delete Lightsail instances", Amazon Lightsail User Guide (warning and Next steps): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lightsail/latest/userguide/delete-an-amazon-lightsail-instance.html (checked October 6, 2026, 12:07 KST)
- AWS, "Amazon Lightsail pricing" (block storage and snapshot list rates only; prices can change): https://aws.amazon.com/lightsail/pricing/ (checked October 6, 2026, 12:07 KST)
Limits: these are public list pages, not your account. They don’t state your taxes, credits or what you will be charged; that comes from your own bill.