---
title: NATS FAQ
description: Discover Scaleway NATS, and get answers to all your most commonly asked questions, including information on compatibility with various services, and billing.
dates:
  validation: 2025-12-19
productIcon: NatsProductIcon
---

## Overview

### What is Scaleway NATS?

Scaleway NATS is a managed messaging service that leverages the open-source [NATS messaging system](/nats/concepts/#nats-messaging-system) to enable seamless communication between distributed applications and microservices. It allows you to implement your messaging streams without the hassle of managing the infrastructure, scaling, or updates.

### What is the NATS messaging system?

The **N**eural **A**utonomic **T**ransport **S**ystem, or [NATS](https://nats.io/), is a distributed messaging system, designed to be lightweight and high-performance. It implements both of the following:
- A [publish/subscribe](/nats/concepts/#publishsubscribe) model, designed for real-time messaging and notifications and event-driven architectures. This is ideal for communication between microservices.
- A [streaming service](/nats/concepts/#stream) via JetStream, providing persistence so that messages can be re-accessed after sending. The streaming add-on is ideal when applications require message replay or historical data access, such as event sourcing and audit logs.

## Pricing and billing

### How is Scaleway NATS billed?

Billing is based on [message volume](/nats/concepts/#message-volume) (the total sum of each message's size going through NATS) and [message persistence](/nats/concepts/#message-persistence) (the total amount of data stored * duration).

For full pricing details, see our [dedicated pricing page](https://www.scaleway.com/en/pricing/).

## Compatibility and integration

### Can I configure Scaleway NATS via Terraform/OpenTofu?

Yes, check out our [tutorial](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/scaleway/scaleway/latest/docs/guides/mnq_with_nats_terraform_provider) on how to configure Scaleway NATS with the Terraform/OpenTofu [NATS Jetstream provider](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/nats-io/jetstream/latest/docs).

### Can I access the NATS monitoring endpoint in order to deploy autoscaling tools?

The monitoring endpoint is not available on Scaleway NATS. Although you can access your account monitoring information through [Scaleway Cockpit](/cockpit/), this may not be usable by third-party autoscaling tools. As a workaround, you may consider coding a solution whereby your worker monitors consumption information via the metadata on each received message and provides this information to your scaling logic.