version: "1.0.0" name: render-scaling description: >- Scales Render services—configures autoscaling targets, chooses instance types, sets manual instance counts, and optimizes cost. Use when the user needs to handle more traffic, set up autoscaling, pick the right instance type, reduce costs, or troubleshoot scaling behavior like slow scale-down or stuck instances. license: MIT compatibility: Render web services, private services, and background workers metadata: author: Render version: "1.0.0" category: operations

Render Scaling

This skill covers how to scale Web Services, Private Services, and Background Workers on Render: manual instance counts, Professional+ autoscaling, plan (instance type) choices, and platform limits. Deeper tables and tuning guidance live under references/.

When to Use

• Setting or changing instance count (Dashboard, CLI, API, or Blueprint)
• Configuring autoscaling (min/max, CPU and memory targets)
• Choosing vertical (plan) vs horizontal (more instances) scaling
• Understanding constraints (disks, static sites, cron/workflows, 100-instance cap)
• Cost implications of multi-instance and per-second billing
• Blueprint fields: numInstances, scaling, plan

Manual Scaling

• Set instance count from 1 to 100 via the Dashboard, CLI, or API.
• All instances share the same instance type (plan); you cannot mix plans on one service.
• Changes apply immediately: Render provisions new instances and deprovisions excess capacity as needed.

Autoscaling

• Available on Professional and higher workspaces only.
• Configure minimum and maximum instances and targets for CPU and/or memory utilization (1–90% each).
• At least one metric must be enabled (CPU or memory). If both CPU and memory autoscaling toggles are off, autoscaling is disabled.
• If both manual instance settings and autoscaling are configured, autoscaling wins—manual count does not override the scaling policy in effect.

Autoscaling Formula

Render computes a candidate instance count from utilization vs target:

new_instances = ceil(current_instances * (current_utilization / target_utilization))

• When both CPU and memory targets are set, the platform uses the larger of the two new_instances values (the more conservative scale-out).

Scaling Constraints

Scale-Down Behavior

• Scale-up is immediate when utilization supports it.
• Scale-down waits a few minutes after conditions allow reduction (spike protection). This reduces flapping from brief load spikes.

Instance Types

• In Blueprints, the instance type is the `plan` field (e.g. standard, pro).
• Options span free / starter through standard, pro, pro_plus, pro_max, pro_ultra—each with defined CPU and RAM (see references/instance-types.md).

Vertical vs Horizontal

Cost Patterns

• Per-second billing; no separate fee for scaling actions.
• You pay roughly for compute time × number of running instances (see Render pricing for current rates).
• Right-size by monitoring CPU and memory utilization (see render-monitor).

Blueprint Configuration

Manual instance count:

numInstances: 3

Autoscaling:

scaling:
  minInstances: 1
  maxInstances: 10
  targetCPUPercent: 70
  targetMemoryPercent: 80

Instance type (plan):

plan: standard

Do not rely on numInstances to cap autoscaling when a scaling block is present—autoscaling takes precedence. Preview behavior for scaling is detailed in references/autoscaling-guide.md.

References

Related Skills

• render-web-services — Web Service settings, disks, deploy lifecycle
• render-background-workers — Worker-specific configuration and scaling context
• render-blueprints — Full Blueprint schema and field reference
• render-monitor — Metrics, logs, and utilization for right-sizing