Instance pools

Instance pools is a Databricks compute / bi capability, introduced July 2019.

A set of idle, ready-to-use cloud instances that clusters draw their driver and worker nodes from, cutting cluster start and autoscaling times; released instances return to the pool for the next cluster.

• An idle pool costs you nothing in Databricks terms - no DBUs are charged while instances sit waiting, though your cloud provider happily bills for the VMs. 🔗
• The pool docs open by talking you out of pools, recommending serverless compute instead wherever your workload supports it. 🔗
• A pool gets three default tags stamped on it and room for exactly 43 custom ones - not 40, not 50. 🔗

Category

Compute / BI

Introduced

July 2019🔗

Also known as

Pools, Databricks pools, Instance pool, Pool-backed clusters, Instance Pools API

Verified

2026-09-27