Ask HN: Why do you pay for stopped VMs? workaround?

Only handful of cloud providers charge you only for the running hours of VMs. Others charge for stopped VM's CPU and Memory. Why?

It makes logical sense to charge for the cold disk.

Is it just a billing gimmick that cloud providers are following?

Have you tried a workaround of retaining a snapshot to simulate the stopped VM experience and not getting charged?

What is HN experience?