This topic describes the specifications and pricing of PolarDB for PostgreSQL, including billing methods, billing items, and the pricing of compute nodes, storage space, data backups, and SQL Explorer.

Billing methods

PolarDB supports the following billing methods:

  • Subscription

    If you use the subscription billing method, you must pay for a compute cluster when you create the cluster. The compute cluster consists of one primary node and one read-only node. You are charged for the consumed storage space by hour. The charges are deducted from your account balance on an hourly basis.

  • Pay-as-you-go

    If you use the pay-as-you-go billing method, you pay for the resources after you use them. You are charged for the compute clusters and the consumed storage space by hour. The charges are deducted from your account balance on an hourly basis.

Billing items

The following table describes the billing items of PolarDB clusters.

Billing item Description
Compute node pricing Subscription or pay-as-you-go.
Storage space pricing
  • Pay-as-you-go.
  • You can also purchase storage packages by using the subscription billing method. For more information, see Purchase a storage plan.
SQL Explorer pricing After you enable SQL Explorer, the billing method is specified as pay-as-you-go. For more information, see SQL Explorer.
Back up data In PolarDB, the backup feature is available for free. You are charged for only the storage of backup files. For more information, see Overview.

Compute node pricing

All the nodes in PolarDB clusters are dedicated nodes. The CPU, memory, storage, and I/O resources allocated to a node are dedicated to this node. This improves the stability and reliability of the node. The following table describes the node specifications that are available in PolarDB.

Table 1. PolarDB for PostgreSQL node specifications
Node type CPU and memory Maximum storage capacity Maximum number of connections Internal bandwidth Maximum number of IOPS I/O bandwidth
polar.pg.x4.medium

2 cores

8 GB

5 TB 400 1 Gbps 16,000 1 Gbps
polar.pg.x4.large

4 cores

16 GB

10 TB 800 10 Gbps 64,000 4 Gbps
polar.pg.x4.xlarge

8 cores

32 GB

10 TB 1,600 10 Gbps 128,000 8 Gbps
polar.pg.x8.xlarge

8 cores

64 GB

30 TB 3,200 10 Gbps 160,000 10 Gbps
polar.pg.x8.2xlarge

16 cores

128 GB

50 TB 6,400 10 Gbps 256,000 16 Gbps
polar.pg.x8.4xlarge

32 cores

256 GB

50 TB 12,800 10 Gbps 384,000 24 Gbps
polar.o.x8.8xlarge

64 cores

512 GB

100 TB 25,600 10 Gbps 409,600 24 Gbps
polar.pg.x8.12xlarge

88 cores

710 GB

100 TB 36,000 25 Gbps 512,000 32 Gbps
Note
  • A cluster that has 2 CPU cores and 8 GB memory provides the basic specifications that are required in tests, trials, and other light load scenarios. We recommend that you do not use the clusters of this type in heavy-load production environments. In production environments, we recommend that you use a cluster that has 8 CPU cores and 32 GB memory or higher specifications.
  • If you have higher storage requirements, you can submit a ticket to contact after-sales services to increase the maximum storage capacity to 100 TB.
Table 2. Prices of compute nodes
Specification Chinese Mainland China (Hong Kong) US (Silicon Valley) Indonesia (Jakarta) Singapore (Singapore) Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) Germany (Frankfurt) India (Mumbai) Japan (Tokyo)
Node type CPU and memory
polar.pg.x4.medium

2 cores

8 GB

USD 44/month

USD 0.092/hour

USD 76/month

USD 0.159/hour

USD 62/month

USD 0.130/hour

USD 74/month

USD 0.155/hour

USD 76/month

USD 0.159/hour

USD 76/month

USD 0.159/hour

USD 67/month

USD 0.140/hour

USD 61/month

USD 0.128/hour

USD 64/month

USD 0.140/hour

polar.pg.x4.large

4 cores

16 GB

USD 155/month

USD 0.323/hour

USD 295/month

USD 0.615/hour

USD 240/month

USD 0.500/hour

USD 271/month

USD 0.565/hour

USD 295/month

USD 0.615/hour

USD 295/month

USD 0.615/hour

USD 264/month

USD 0.550/hour

USD 233/month

USD 0.486/hour

USD 248/month

USD 0.520/hour

polar.pg.x4.xlarge

8 cores

32 GB

USD 310/month

USD 0.646/hour

USD 589/month

USD 1.228/hour

USD 480/month

1.000

USD 1.000/hour

USD 542/month

USD 1.129/hour

USD 589/month

USD 1.227/hour

USD 589/month

USD 1.227/hour

USD 527/month

USD 1.098/hour

USD 480/month

USD 1.000/hour

USD 496/month

USD 1.040/hour

polar.pg.x8.xlarge

8 cores

64 GB

USD 496/month

USD 1.033/hour

USD 743/month

USD 1.548/hour

USD 620/month

USD 1.292/hour

USD 689/month

USD 1.436/hour

USD 743/month

USD 1.548/hour

USD 743/month

USD 1.548/hour

USD 651/month

USD 1.356/hour

USD 604/month

USD 1.258/hour

USD 635/month

USD 1.330/hour

polar.pg.x8.2xlarge

16 cores

128 GB

USD 991/month

USD 2.065/hour

USD 1,486/month

USD 3.096/hour

USD 1,239/month

USD 2.581/hour

USD 1,378/month

USD 2.871/hour

USD 1,486/month

USD 3.096/hour

USD 1,486/month

USD 3.096/hour

USD 1,301/month

USD 2.711/hour

USD 1,208/month

USD 2.517/hour

USD 1,270/month

USD 2.650/hour

polar.pg.x8.4xlarge

32 cores

256 GB

USD 1,982/month

USD 4.129/hour

USD 2,972/month

USD 6.192/hour

USD 2,477/month

USD 5.161/hour

USD 2,756/month

USD 5.742/hour

USD 2,972/month

USD 6.192/hour

USD 2,972/month

USD 6.192/hour

USD 2,601/month

USD 5.419/hour

USD 2,415/month

USD 5.031/hour

USD 2,539/month

USD 5.290/hour

polar.pg.x8.8xlarge

64 cores

512 GB

USD 3,963/month

USD 8.256/hour

USD 5,944/month

USD 12.384/hour

USD 4,953/month

USD 10.319/hour

USD 5,511/month

USD 11.481/hour

USD 5,944/month

USD 12.383/hour

USD 5,944/month

USD 12.383/hour

USD 5,722/month

USD 11.921/hour

USD 5,313/month

USD 11.069/hour

USD 5,586/month

USD 11.640/hour

polar.pg.x8.12xlarge

88 cores

710 GB

USD 5,449/month

USD 11.352/hour

USD 8,173/month

USD 17.028/hour

USD 6,811/month

USD 14.190/hour

USD 7,577/month

USD 15.786/hour

USD 8,173/month

USD 17.027/hour

USD 8,173/month

USD 17.027/hour

USD 7,299/month

USD 15.061/hour

USD 6,640/month

USD 13.833/hour

USD 6,981/month

USD 14.550/hour

Note
  • The preceding table lists the prices of a single node. By default, a PolarDB cluster consists of a primary node and a read-only node.
  • You can select a node type for the primary node when you create a cluster. The same type will be automatically applied to read-only nodes.
  • The maximum number of input/output operations per second (IOPS) is a theoretical value.
  • The maximum number of connections for a cluster varies based on the node specifications of the cluster. If you add nodes to a cluster, the number of connections for the cluster does not change.
  • If you require higher computing performance and larger storage space, for example, 100 TB,you can submit a ticket to contact after-sales services.

Storage space pricing

Storage space refers to the space that is occupied by data files, index files, log files, and temporary files. Log files are divided into online logs and archived logs.
Note After you purchase a PolarDB cluster, the system automatically generates the files that are required for regular database operations. The files include the preceding files and occupy some storage space.

Pay-as-you-go

Storage resources are provisioned in a serverless architecture. Therefore, you do not need to specify the storage capacity when you create clusters. The storage capacity of the clusters is automatically increased when the amount of data increases. You are charged for only the storage space that you use. On the Overview page in the PolarDB console, you can view the storage space that you use.
  • Chinese mainland: USD 0.00077/GB/hour
  • China (Hong Kong) and regions outside China: USD 0.00085/GB/hour
Note The maximum storage capacity varies based on cluster specifications. If you use 90% of the maximum storage capacity, the system sends SMS messages and emails to you on a daily basis. If you need to increase the maximum storage capacity, upgrade your cluster specifications. For more information, see Change specifications.

Subscription

If the data size is large, we recommend that you purchase storage packages. Compared with the pay-as-you-go billing method, subscription-based storage packages offer additional discounts. Higher discounts are provided for larger storage packages. To purchase a storage package, click Purchase a storage package.

Data backup pricing

The backup and restoration features of PolarDB are free. Only storage fees are charged. In PolarDB, the storage fees are calculated based on the storage space that is occupied by the backup files of data and logs and the retention periods of these backup files.

Backup type Free quota Billing method
Level-1 backups Used database storage space × 50%

You can view the used database storage space of a cluster on the Overview page of the cluster in the PolarDB console.

Storage fee per hour = (Total physical storage of level-1 backups - Free quota) × Unit price per hour
  • You can use level-1 backups for free within the free quota.
  • Figure 1 shows the total physical storage of level-1 backups.Total physical storage of level-1 backups

For example, if the total physical storage of level-1 backups is 700 GB and the used database storage space is 1,000 GB, the storage fee per hour is USD 0.0928.

The fee is calculated based on the following formula: [700 GB - (1,000 GB × 50%)] × USD 0.000464 = USD 0.0928.

Level-2 backups None Storage fee per hour = Total physical storage of level-2 backups × Unit price per hour

For example, if the total physical storage of level-2 backups is 1,000 GB, the storage fee per hour is USD 0.0325.

The fee is calculated based on the following formula: 1,000 GB × USD 0.0000325 = USD 0.0325.

Log backup 100 GB Storage fee per hour = (Total physical storage of log backups - 100 GB) × Unit price per hour

For example, if the total physical storage of log backups is 1,000 GB, the storage fee per hour is USD 0.02925.

The fee is calculated based on the following formula: (1,000 GB - 100 GB) × USD 0.0000325 = USD 0.02925.

SQL Explorer pricing

You are charged for SQL Explorer based on the storage space that is consumed by audit logs.

  • Chinese mainland: USD 0.0013/GB/hour
  • China (Hong Kong) and regions outside China: USD 0.0019/GB/hour
Note The storage space that is consumed by audit logs is billed on only a pay-as-you-go basis.

FAQ

  • What is the price if I add a read-only node?

    The price of a read-only node is the same as that of the primary node. For more information, see Compute node pricing.

  • Is the storage capacity doubled after I add a read-only node?

    No, the storage capacity is not doubled after you add a read-only node. PolarDB uses an architecture where computing is decoupled from storage. The read-only nodes that you purchase are used for computing. If you add read-only nodes to your cluster, the storage capacity of the cluster does not change.

    Storage resources are provisioned in a serverless architecture. Therefore, you do not need to specify the storage capacity when you create clusters. The storage capacity of the clusters is automatically increased when the amount of data increases. You are charged for only the storage space that you use. The maximum storage capacity for each cluster varies based on the cluster specifications. If you need to increase the maximum storage capacity, upgrade your cluster specifications. For more information, see Change the specifications of a cluster.