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Can I Downsize a Vultr Compute Instance Using a Snapshot?

Updated on 15 September, 2025

Explains why downsizing Vultr Compute instances from snapshots isnt possible due to potential data loss from non-sequential disk storage

No, you cannot downsize a Vultr Compute instance directly from a snapshot. Since disk data is not always stored sequentially, shrinking the disk size from a snapshot can lead to data loss or corruption.

When a snapshot is created, it captures the entire disk image not just the occupied data. As a result, you can only deploy new instances from a snapshot with equal or greater disk size than the original instance.

If you need a smaller instance, a safer approach is to manually migrate the data:

  • Deploy a new, smaller instance.
  • Transfer your data from the original instance using tools like rsync or scp.
Note
Snapshots can only be restored to disks of equal or larger size. If the destination instance has a single partition, it will be automatically expanded to fill the available space.