> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.akua.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Limits and pricing

> Which Akua limits apply to clusters, compute, and storage

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  <img className="block dark:hidden" src="https://mintcdn.com/akua-0b861dc6/o-ywDlh24ZayP_tj/images/heros/limits-light.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=o-ywDlh24ZayP_tj&q=85&s=0ad93f5a05792dacb83738c80da3c0aa" alt="Resource quota limits apply per user; concurrency and rate limits apply per cluster. A BYOM key bypasses only the resource quota cap, while concurrency and rate stay enforced." width="1536" height="864" data-path="images/heros/limits-light.svg" />

  <img className="hidden dark:block" src="https://mintcdn.com/akua-0b861dc6/o-ywDlh24ZayP_tj/images/heros/limits-dark.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=o-ywDlh24ZayP_tj&q=85&s=3093c4c7ec008a751657aab070b3b4e7" alt="Resource quota limits apply per user; concurrency and rate limits apply per cluster. A BYOM key bypasses only the resource quota cap, while concurrency and rate stay enforced." width="1536" height="864" data-path="images/heros/limits-dark.svg" />
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The following limits apply when provisioning and running managed clusters and machines. For the actual Free / Pro / Enterprise numbers, see the canonical pages linked below. This page only describes scope.

## Limits that apply to clusters

| Limit | Scope | Canonical source |
| - | - | - |
| Managed clusters per user | Resource quota | [Plan comparison →](/pricing#plan-comparison) |
| Compute machines per user (Pro, Enterprise) | Resource quota | [Plan comparison →](/pricing#plan-comparison) |
| The free Akua-managed machine | One-time lifetime trial, not a resource quota | [The one-time managed-VM trial →](/platform/quotas#the-one-time-managed-vm-trial) |
| CPU cores and memory | Resource quota | [Plan comparison →](/pricing#plan-comparison) |
| Machine lifetime (Akua-managed) | Fixed resource lifetime, not a reset interval | [Plan comparison →](/pricing#plan-comparison) |
| Concurrent machine provisions per cluster | Concurrency limit | [Quotas → Concurrency limits →](/platform/quotas#concurrency-limits) |
| Cloud-provider API call rate | Rate limit | [Quotas → Rate limits →](/platform/quotas#rate-limits) |

Resource quotas count **per user** across all workspaces and are renewable: deleting an owned resource frees up room for another, up to the current limit. Concurrency limits count **per cluster**. The free Akua-managed machine is the one exception — it is a one-time lifetime grant per account, not a renewable resource quota, so deleting it does not free up a new one.

## Bring your own cloud key

[BYOM machines](/clusters/add-workers) bypass the machine, CPU, and memory resource quotas (you pay the provider directly). Cluster, concurrency, and rate limits still apply because they protect the control plane regardless of who pays for the compute. Full details on the [BYOM section of Quotas](/platform/quotas#bring-your-own-cloud-key-byom).

## Pricing

Cluster and machine costs are part of Akua's plan tiers. Pro includes more headroom and removes the trial machine lifetime cap; Enterprise allows custom overrides. See the [plan comparison](/pricing#plan-comparison).

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Plan comparison" icon="credit-card" href="/pricing">
    Free vs Pro: included clusters, machines, CPU, memory, and overage pricing.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Enterprise" icon="building" href="/billing/enterprise">
    Custom per-workspace limits, dedicated support, compliance.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Quota model" icon="scale-balanced" href="/platform/quotas">
    How resource, concurrency, and rate limits work end-to-end.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Add workers (BYOM)" icon="key" href="/clusters/add-workers">
    Bypass machine quotas with your own cloud provider key.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Related topics

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Clusters" icon="server" href="/clusters">
    Managed and imported Kubernetes infrastructure.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Compute" icon="microchip" href="/compute/overview">
    Provision and scale the servers behind your clusters.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Storage" icon="hard-drive" href="/clusters/storage">
    Persistent volumes for stateful workloads.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Quota model" icon="scale-balanced" href="/platform/quotas">
    How resource, concurrency, and rate limits work.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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