Cloud pricing term
What are CPU credits?
A CPU credit represents a fixed amount of full-vCPU work that a burstable instance can spend above its baseline.
The expensive mistake
Treating credits as permanent CPU capacity. AWS defines one CPU credit as one vCPU at 100% for one minute. When the balance runs out, Standard mode returns toward baseline while Unlimited mode can keep bursting and charge for surplus credits.
Where it appears on your bill
The balance is usually visible in monitoring, not the base invoice. Paid surplus appears as separate CPU credit usage when the selected mode allows it.
Worked example
A workload that needs 600 extra vCPU-minutes consumes 600 credits, equal to 10 vCPU-hours. On a recorded AWS T4g plan in Unlimited mode, 10 x $0.04 = $0.40 of surplus is possible. In Standard mode, the same exhaustion changes available CPU instead of adding that charge.
Example prices checked: