Hostinger VPS CPU credits let your server burst to 100% CPU capacity temporarily, then recover automatically as usage drops. Every Hostinger VPS plan includes a CPU credit balance that builds up during light usage and depletes during demanding tasks, such as installing software or handling a traffic spike. A full balance supports approximately three hours of continuous 100% CPU usage across all allocated vCPUs, and full capacity returns automatically once usage decreases – no manual intervention is required.
Before you start
- This applies to all Hostinger VPS plans. The CPU credit system works automatically; there’s no setting to enable or configure.
- The baseline is 60% on every plan. The temporary limit depends on your plan.
How CPU credits work on your Hostinger VPS
Think of your CPU credit balance as a rechargeable battery.
Light usage charges the battery
When your VPS uses less than 60% of its allocated CPU capacity (the baseline), it builds up credits. These credits are available for future workloads. The balance has a maximum capacity. Once it is full, additional credits do not accumulate.
Heavy usage uses stored credits
When CPU usage exceeds the baseline, your VPS spends accumulated credits. Tasks such as processing a traffic spike, installing software, or compiling an application can use these credits. While credits remain available, the credit system allows your VPS to use its full allocated CPU capacity.
A full balance supports approximately three hours of continuous 100% CPU usage across all allocated vCPUs. Lower usage above the baseline drains the balance more slowly.
An empty balance temporarily limits CPU capacity
When credits run out, available CPU capacity is reduced to your plan’s limit: 40% on KVM 1 and 30% on KVM 2, KVM 4 and KVM 8. Your VPS remains running, but CPU-intensive tasks may take longer, and applications may respond more slowly.
Lower demand allows automatic recovery
Reduce your workload so that credits can accumulate again. If applications continue demanding more CPU than the temporary limit allows, credit earning may remain paused.
Full CPU capacity returns automatically once a sufficient reserve has been rebuilt. No manual intervention is required.
How Hostinger calculates your CPU credit balance
A vCPU is a virtual CPU allocated to your VPS. The calculations below use the number of allocated vCPUs.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Baseline | 60% of the allocated CPU capacity on every plan. Usage below this baseline increases the balance; usage above it decreases the balance. |
| Credit | One credit equals one second of one vCPU running at 100%, also called a core-second. |
| Balance | The credits currently available, measured in core-seconds. |
| Capacity | The maximum credit balance, calculated as 10,800 × (vCPUs − baseline), where the baseline is expressed in equivalent fully utilized vCPUs. |
For example, a KVM 4 VPS has four vCPUs, so its baseline is 4 × 0.60 = 2.4 fully utilized vCPUs.
The baseline is a credit accounting threshold, not a permanent CPU cap. The temporary limit applied at an empty balance is a separate, lower value.
Earning credits
During each measurement interval, the system calculates credits earned:
baseline = vCPUs × 0.30
earned = baseline × interval_secondsA KVM 1 VPS (one vCPU) earns 0.60 core-seconds per second, or 2,160 per hour, before actual CPU consumption is deducted.
Spending credits
The CPU resources consumed during the interval are subtracted from earned credits:
balance_change = earned − consumedHere, consumed is actual CPU usage during the interval, measured in core-seconds.
For example, over 60 seconds, a KVM 1 VPS earns 36 credits:
- At 10% CPU usage, it consumes 6 credits, increasing its balance by 30 credits.
- At 60% CPU usage, it consumes 36 credits, leaving its balance unchanged.
- At 100% CPU usage, it consumes 60 credits, decreasing its balance by 24 credits.
The balance stays between zero and its maximum capacity. It cannot become negative or exceed the cap.
The recovery rules below can pause earning while the VPS is CPU-limited.
Credit capacity and burst duration
| Allocated vCPUs | Baseline in equivalent fully utilized vCPUs | Maximum balance in core-seconds | Approximate duration at 100% CPU usage from a full balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.60 | 4,320 | 3 hours |
| 2 | 1.20 | 8,640 | 3 hours |
| 4 | 2.40 | 17,280 | 3 hours |
| 8 | 4.80 | 34,560 | 3 hours |
These estimates assume all allocated vCPUs are continuously running at 100%.
At maximum usage, the balance drains at:
net_drain_per_second = vCPUs − baselineBoth credit capacity and consumption scale with the number of vCPUs. This is why a full balance supports approximately three hours at maximum usage across the sizes shown.
When the balance reaches zero
Available CPU capacity is limited to your plan’s limit percentage of the VPS’s total allocated CPU capacity. See the table in the recovery section below for the equivalent in vCPUs.
This changes the processing capacity available to your workloads. It does not change the number of vCPUs included in your plan.
How your Hostinger VPS recovers CPU capacity automatically
Two rules prevent the VPS from repeatedly switching between limited and full CPU capacity:
- CPU demand must decrease. While limited, if the VPS is throttled in 33% or more of CPU scheduling periods, credit earning pauses. Throttling means workloads are requesting more CPU time than the limit permits. During this pause, the balance cannot increase. Normal earning resumes once throttling falls below this threshold.
- A reserve must be rebuilt. The limit is removed only when the balance reaches 20% of its maximum capacity.
For a one-vCPU VPS, the recovery threshold is:
4,320 × 0.20 = 864 creditsStarting from an empty balance, an idle VPS takes approximately:
- 24 minutes to reach the recovery threshold and restore full CPU capacity.
- Two hours to refill its balance completely.
These estimates assume no CPU consumption and that credit earning has resumed. Any ongoing CPU usage reduces the net earning rate and increases recovery time.
You do not need a completely full balance for the temporary limit to be removed.
CPU credits for new, stopped, and restarted Hostinger VPS instances
- New VPS instances start with a full credit balance.
- Stopped VPS instances neither earn nor spend credits. Their existing balance is preserved.
- CPU usage counter resets, such as those occurring after a reboot, are detected and skipped so they do not distort credit calculations.
What to do if your Hostinger VPS is CPU credit limited
Reduce CPU demand so that credits can rebuild:
- Use
toporhtopto identify processes consuming CPU. - Pause nonessential intensive tasks and avoid running multiple heavy jobs simultaneously.
- Investigate unexpected background activity — rule out malware with the VPS Malware Scanner if usage stays high after optimization.
- Optimize application code, database queries, and caching to reduce ongoing CPU usage.
- Keep demand low while the balance recovers. Check VPS resource usage in the Hostinger dashboard, or ask Hostinger Agent VPS Terminal Edition to check live CPU usage and running processes directly. The limit lifts automatically once the recovery threshold is reached.
CPU credits are designed to support workloads that alternate between light usage and occasional demanding tasks. Workloads that continuously exceed the baseline will eventually exhaust their credits, even if CPU usage stays below 100%. If your VPS consistently runs through its credit balance even after optimization, your workload may have outgrown your current plan — consider upgrading your VPS.
Your Hostinger VPS now automatically balances temporary bursts against sustained demand, giving you full CPU power for occasional heavy tasks without any configuration on your part.
NOTES
- The CPU credit system described here is separate from the CPU use limit, which throttles VPS instances that sustain high CPU usage for a long period as a potential-abuse protection measure.
- It is also separate from CPU steal, which results from the hypervisor sharing physical CPU resources across multiple VPS instances.
FAQ
Does stopping my VPS affect my CPU credit balance?
No. Stopped VPS instances neither earn nor spend credits, so your existing balance is preserved until you start the VPS again.
How is the CPU credit limit different from the CPU use limit at Hostinger?
CPU credits are a burstable performance model tied to your own usage pattern, limiting you to 20% capacity only when your credit balance is empty. The separate CPU use limit is an abuse-prevention measure that throttles sustained high usage regardless of your credit balance.
Can I disable or configure the CPU credit system?
No. The system works automatically on all Hostinger VPS plans, and there’s no setting to enable, disable, or adjust it.
Why did my VPS slow down even though CPU usage shows below 100%?
Your CPU credit balance may be empty, limiting available capacity to your plan’s limit (30% or 40% of allocated capacity). Sustained usage above the 60% baseline – even moderate usage – gradually depletes the balance over time.