Three servers can each transfer 64.8 TB in a month and pay $150, $250, or $1,150 under the same 95th-percentile contract. A flat-rate unmetered plan costs $300 in all three examples. The difference comes from how long each server runs at higher speeds.
95th-percentile billing costs less when your measured rate stays below the break-even point for the two quotes. Unmetered bandwidth costs less when percentile charges exceed the flat monthly price. Check that both plans can carry your peak traffic before you compare prices.
| What to compare | 95th-percentile billing | Flat-rate unmetered bandwidth |
|---|---|---|
| What sets the bandwidth bill | The measured rate, the minimum commit, and any overage | The quoted monthly bandwidth fee |
| What can change the bill | Sustained peaks, traffic direction, and how the provider combines samples | A change to the plan, port, or other billed services |
| Where it can cost less | A low baseline with brief bursts, or steady traffic below break-even | Sustained or recurring usage above break-even |
| What limits throughput | The port speed and any burst limit | The port speed, available capacity, and service terms |
How does 95th-percentile billing work?
In a common billing model, the provider measures your average traffic rate every five minutes. At the end of the billing period, it removes the highest 5% of readings. The highest remaining reading is your measured 95th-percentile rate. Your contract uses that rate to calculate the charge. Cloudflare WAN bandwidth measurement
For a complete 30-day cycle with one valid reading every five minutes:
- Collect 8,640 readings.
- Sort the readings from highest to lowest.
- Remove the first 432 readings.
- Use the 433rd reading in the original list as the measured rate.
A bandwidth commit is the rate you agree to pay for under a commit-and-overage contract. If you commit to 100 Mbps and measure 80 Mbps, you still pay the minimum. If you measure 140 Mbps, the provider charges for 40 Mbps of overage under that model. The port and service terms set how high you can burst. NoBull Networks billing comparison
Which traffic does the provider count?
Ask whether the provider counts outbound traffic only, takes the higher direction in each interval, calculates each direction separately and takes the higher result, or adds the two directions. Inbound traffic enters your connection. Outbound traffic leaves it. Provider rules differ by service. Cloudflare WAN measurement · BytePlus bandwidth package billing
The order matters. Suppose inbound traffic jumps during 4% of the intervals. Outbound traffic jumps during a different 4%. Calculating a percentile for each direction can remove both sets of spikes from their respective lists. Taking the higher rate in each interval first puts high readings in 8% of one list. Some high readings then remain after the discard.
The same issue applies to multiple ports. If your contract pools ports, combine the rates for each matching timestamp before sorting. If it bills ports separately, calculate each port under its own rules. Adding individual port percentiles can give a different result from calculating the percentile of the combined traffic. Ingenuity Cloud Services bandwidth pooling
What happens when bursts last longer than 5% of the month?
In the 30-day example, 432 readings represent 36 hours of five-minute intervals. Those readings can come from several days. The provider removes the highest readings across the full cycle.
Suppose your baseline is 100 Mbps and every high reading is 1,000 Mbps. With 432 high readings, the measured rate stays at 100 Mbps. With 433 high readings, one high reading remains. The measured rate rises to 1,000 Mbps. Under the sample prices below, the bandwidth bill rises from $150 to $1,050.
Ask how your provider rounds the discard count and treats missing readings, partial months, and the billing time zone. If your bursts start or end within a five-minute interval, the recorded average can differ from the burst rate.
What does unmetered bandwidth include?
On a flat-rate unmetered plan, you pay a fixed bandwidth fee for the service described in your quote. The quote and service terms define the port speed, any guaranteed rate, and any fair-use or traffic-shaping rules. Check whether the port or upstream capacity is shared and what throughput the provider commits to. A 10Gbps port gives you the port’s rated speed. A throughput guarantee requires its own terms. How to choose a 10Gbps dedicated server
A plan with a monthly TB allowance uses a third billing model. The provider counts transfer volume against that allowance. If your quote includes a TB allowance, use a volume-based comparison alongside the two models here. 10Gbps with 100TB vs unmetered
Same 64.8 TB, three different bandwidth bills
We use two sample plans with 10Gbps ports. Both ports can carry the rates shown. The prices are illustrative. Common server fees, taxes, and other charges are excluded from both columns.
- 95th-percentile plan charges $150 per month for a 100 Mbps commit, plus $1 per Mbps above the commit.
- Unmetered plan charges $300 per month for bandwidth.
- Measurement uses 8,640 five-minute outbound averages in a 30-day cycle. We discard the 432 highest readings.
| Traffic profile | Five-minute readings | Transfer | Measured 95th percentile | Percentile bill | Unmetered bill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steady delivery | 8,640 at 200 Mbps | 64.8 TB | 200 Mbps | $250 | $300 |
| Short release bursts | 360 at 2,500 Mbps and 8,280 at 100 Mbps | 64.8 TB | 100 Mbps | $150 | $300 |
| Recurring traffic peaks | 864 at 1,100 Mbps and 7,776 at 100 Mbps | 64.8 TB | 1,100 Mbps | $1,150 | $300 |
In the short-release profile, the 360 high readings represent 30 hours. All 360 fall within the 432 discarded readings. In the recurring-peak profile, the 864 high readings represent 72 hours. After the discard, 432 readings at 1,100 Mbps remain.
Why can’t you calculate the 95th percentile from monthly TB?
Monthly TB gives total transfer. The 95th percentile depends on the distribution of sampled rates. When you know the length of the month, you can use total transfer to calculate an average. You still need the interval readings to calculate the percentile.
Each profile in the table averages 200 Mbps over 30 days. That comes to 64.8 decimal TB. The measured percentiles range from 100 Mbps to 1,100 Mbps because the rates vary across the intervals.
How to find your break-even bandwidth rate
For a contract with one overage rate, calculate the monthly percentile bill this way:
Overage Mbps = max(0, measured 95th-percentile Mbps − commit Mbps)
Percentile bill = minimum monthly charge + (overage Mbps × price per Mbps)
When the flat price is above the minimum monthly charge, the break-even rate is:
Break-even Mbps = commit Mbps + (flat price − minimum charge) ÷ price per Mbps
Sample break-even = 100 + (300 − 150) ÷ 1 = 250 Mbps
Below 250 Mbps, the percentile plan costs less under these terms. At 250 Mbps, both cost $300. Above 250 Mbps, the unmetered plan costs less.
If the flat price falls below the minimum percentile bill, the flat plan starts cheaper and stays cheaper in this model. If the prices match at the minimum, the two plans tie through the commit. For tiered overages, calculate the cost using the contract’s pricing tiers. If server, transit, or port fees differ, include them in the monthly costs before finding the break-even point.
How to estimate your bill from real traffic
- Get the billing rules in writing. Ask for the sample interval, traffic directions, port grouping, discard and rounding rules, commit, and overage prices.
- Export a complete billing cycle. Use the provider’s timestamped readings if available. If you use interface counters, convert each interval’s change in bytes to bits per second. Match the provider’s measurement point, time zone, and interval boundaries.
- Check the readings. Find gaps, duplicates, and counter resets. Ask how the provider treats missing readings before assigning any values to those intervals.
- Apply the contract in order. Combine ports or directions at the required stage. Sort the resulting rates, apply the discard rule, and calculate the charge.
- Reproduce a past invoice. If your result differs, ask for the billed sample count, measured percentile, and rate used. Check whether the provider included traffic you excluded, such as traffic measured before filtering.
- Compare several months. Include a quiet month and a busy month. Check peak rates separately so you can see whether either plan would slow a release, backup, or stream.
Which plan fits your workload?
Short software releases or backup windows. Price the percentile plan if normal traffic stays low and the busiest intervals are few enough to fall within the discard. Check that the port has enough capacity to complete each job on time.
Streaming, CDN origins, and recurring download peaks. Compare the flat quote with a busy month’s measured rate. A peak that repeats for hours can raise the percentile even when traffic drops overnight.
Steady, moderate usage. Use the break-even rate. A steady 200 Mbps costs less on the sample percentile plan. A steady 500 Mbps would cost $550 on that same plan, which is $250 more than the sample flat price.
Ask for both quotes on comparable terms. Include port speed, available capacity, setup charges, recurring fees, overage tiers, and any fair-use conditions. If predictable costs matter to your team, compare the busiest month and the typical month before you choose.
Frequently asked questions
Will a one-hour traffic spike every day affect my bill?
It depends on which readings remain after the discard. In a complete 30-day cycle, 12 high readings per day give 360 high readings. If those are the highest readings, they fit within the 432 discarded readings. Other busy periods can use up that room.
Can 95th-percentile billing charge for traffic below my commit?
Under a commit-and-overage contract, you pay the agreed minimum even if your measured rate falls below the commit. Overage applies to the part of the measured rate above the commit.
Does unmetered bandwidth have a speed cap?
Yes. The port and service terms set the available rate. Check for a committed or guaranteed rate, shared capacity, and any traffic-shaping terms in the quote.
Can I compare an inbound-heavy backup service with an outbound-heavy streaming server?
Yes, if you apply the correct traffic rule to each quote. For outbound-only billing, the outbound readings determine the percentile. For a plan that counts inbound traffic, backup uploads to the server can change the billed rate.
Recommended Next Steps
Export a complete month of interval readings and use the provider’s rules to calculate the percentile. Then price the same workload under both quotes. If you need a flat-rate option, we can review your peak rate and port requirements and help you compare them with an Atal quote. Explore Atal Networks’ 10Gbps unmetered dedicated servers