A key attribute of what constitutes a *serverless service* is that it should offer a pay-per-use (aka PAYG) pricing model.
Specifically, the metrics used in determining the price for a [[Serverless MOC|Serverless]] service should all be based on how much the service consumer is using the service.
## Pay-per-use metrics
Examples of such metrics include:
- Number of requests or invocations
- Amount of data stored
## Non Pay-per-use metrics
The following metrics DO NOT follow a pay-per-use model:
- Instance size
- Hours an instance is "available" to serve requests
Also, if a service is not being used at all, it should **scale to zero** and users should not be **paying for idle**:
> A Serverless solution is one that **costs you nothing to run if nobody is using it** (excluding data storage). [^pj1]
[^pj1]: [A simple definition of “Serverless”](https://pauldjohnston.medium.com/a-simple-definition-of-serverless-8492adfb175a) by [[@Paul Johnston]]
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## References
- https://serverlessfirst.com/serverless-definitions/
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tags: #Serverless