> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.console.zenlayer.com/welcome/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.console.zenlayer.com/welcome/elastic-compute/networking/bandwidth/06-billing-direction.md). # Billing Direction Public network billing meters traffic in a specific direction. **Egress** (outbound) traffic — bytes leaving Zenlayer toward the internet — is what you pay for. Ingress (inbound) traffic is generally not billed; only the 95th-percentile methods look at both directions and take whichever is larger. Traffic that never leaves Zenlayer's network — VPC-to-VPC, same-region private IP, Cross-Region Network default mesh — is outside public network billing entirely, in any direction. Traffic to another instance's EIP on the platform is different: it leaves Zenlayer's network and comes back, so it's still billed as public traffic. See [Instance-to-Instance Traffic and Billing](/welcome/elastic-compute/networking/bandwidth/06a-instance-to-instance-traffic.md). ## Direction by billing method

Billing method	Metered direction
Flat Rate	Egress (outbound)
Data Transfer	Egress (outbound) — inbound is not counted
Bandwidth Cluster	Larger of egress and ingress: `billable 95th = max(ingress 95th, egress 95th)`

## Notes * **Flat Rate** and **Data Transfer** bill on **egress** only. Inbound traffic is not metered. * **Bandwidth Cluster** samples ingress and egress separately, takes each direction's 95th percentile, and bills the **larger** of the two.