[Yandex Cloud documentation](../../index.md) > [Yandex Compute Cloud](../index.md) > FAQ > Instance groups

# Instance groups

* [What is Instance Groups?](#what-is)

* [How do I calculate the cost of using instance groups?](#ig-cost)

* [How do I make sure I'm not overpaying?](#not-overpaying)

* [Why can't I delete a service account linked to my instance group?](#sa-deletion)

* [Can I install the required software on an instance in the group when creating that instance?](#preinstall-software)

#### What is Instance Groups? {#what-is}

Instance Groups is a component that enables you to create, use, and scale groups of same-type VM instances in the Yandex Compute Cloud infrastructure.

With Instance Groups, you can:

- Create groups with the required number of VM instances and performance parameters.
- Scale your computing capacity up or down, depending on the utilization.

You handle an instance group as a single entity in the Yandex Compute Cloud infrastructure. This enables you to manage internal settings of instance groups in line with your app requirements.

#### How do I calculate the cost of using instance groups? {#ig-cost}

Creating an instance group is free of charge.

All other Yandex Cloud services, e.g., creating VMs and allocating external IP addresses, are charged in the usual way.

#### How do I make sure I'm not overpaying? {#not-overpaying}

To choose the right number of VM instances and minimize costs:

- Estimate the amount of computing resources required for your service and see the calculation examples and [pricing policy](../pricing.md) for Yandex Compute Cloud.
- Regularly check your service load at various times throughout the day.

#### Why can't I delete a service account linked to my instance group? {#sa-deletion}

You cannot delete a service account used to manage an instance group while it is linked to this group. First, [update](../operations/instance-groups/update.md) the service account in the instance group settings or [delete](../operations/instance-groups/delete.md) the instance group and then delete the service account.

#### Can I install the required software on an instance in the group when creating that instance? {#preinstall-software}

Yes, you can. To do this, specify a custom script with commands to install the required software in the metadata section of your new instance template. For more information, see [Creating a VM with a custom configuration script](../operations/vm-create/create-with-cloud-init-scripts.md).