A paused Aura Instance incurs reduced charges compared to a running instance which means it reduces the cost, but it does not eliminate charges entirely.Review Neo4j Aura Pricing for further details.

Once you pause your instance you'll get a pop-up indicating how much you will be charged based on your instance size.

How does the charge of a paused Aura instance work?

• While an instance is transitioning from Running to Paused (status: Pausing), it continues to be billed at the running rate until the status changes to Paused.
• While an instance is transitioning from Paused to Running (status: Resuming), it continues to be billed at the paused rate until the status changes to Running.

If you have non-production Aura Instances, you can save on costs by pausing them when they're not in use.
Also see: What Happens When I Pause/Resume My Aura Instance

You can programmatically pause/resume instances using the Neo4j Aura API

To pause your Aura Instance manually from the Console:

1. Go to https://console.neo4j.io and log in
2. Once logged in, you'll see your Aura Instances
3. Click the Pause button at the top right-hand corner (clicking on the three dots that will show it as part of a list of actions) of the Aura Instance you want to pause 
   
4. Once you have clicked the pause button, you'll see the following message (the quantities shown will vary depending on the type of your Aura instance):
    
    
   NOTE: Aura instances will be automatically resumed after 30 days to ensure they don't miss critical updates
   
   
5. When you resume the Instance, you'll receive the following message (the message may vary depending on the type of your Aura instance):
    

 

Some useful links:

• Aura Instance Access Issues: Understanding Pausing, Resuming, and Auto Delete Policy
• Neo4j Aura Billing FAQ
• How is the billing in the Aura console laid out (Professional Tier only)?
• How can I redeem Google Credits / Coupons against Aura usage?
• Why am I being billed? I cancelled my account
• How to cancel an Aura account?
• Deleting your Neo4j Aura Instance