This topic describes the billable items of PolarDB.

The following chart shows the approximate proportion of each billable item in a PolarDB cluster.

Percentage
Table 1. Billable items
Billable item Description Billing method
Compute nodes
  • Compute nodes contain primary and read-only nodes.
  • You are charged for compute nodes based on their region, specifications, and usage duration.
  • Pay-as-you-go
  • Subscription
Note
Storage space
  • Storage space is used to store cluster data files, index files, log files, and temporary files. Log files include online and archived logs. You are charged for the amount of storage space that you use.
  • The amount for which you are charged depends on the volume of data stored and the length of time for which data is retained.
  • Pay-as-you-go and storage plan
  • Pay-as-you-go
Note
  • The subscription billing method is not supported for storage space. If you select Subscription when you purchase a cluster, the subscription billing method is applied only to compute nodes. Subscription clusters may incur additional fees on top of their subscription, such as those generated by storage space. We recommend that you purchase storage plans, which are cost-effective. For more information, see Combination with storage plans.
  • For more information about the billing and pricing of storage, see .
Backup storage space (charged only after it exceeds the free quota)
  • Backup files consume storage spaces. PolarDB offers a free storage quota for backup files. After this quota is consumed, you are charged for the amount of additional storage space consumed by backup files.
  • The amount for which you are charged depends on the size of data backup files and the length of time for which the files are retained.
  • Pay-as-you-go and storage plan
  • Pay-as-you-go
Note
  • The subscription billing method is not supported for backup storage space. If you select Subscription when you purchase a cluster, the subscription billing method is applied only to compute nodes. Subscription clusters may incur additional fees on top of their subscription, such as those generated by storage space. We recommend that you purchase storage plans to offset fees generated by level-1 backup. For more information, see Billing rules of backup storage that exceeds the free quota.
  • For more information about the billing of data backups, see Pay-as-you-go.
SQL Explorer (optional)
  • The SQL Explorer feature provides value-added capabilities, such as security auditing and performance diagnostics. After you enable this feature, you are charged for the amount of storage space consumed by audit logs.
  • The amount for which you are charged depends on the size of audit logs and the length of time for which the logs are retained.
  • Pay-as-you-go
Note
  • The SQL Explorer feature does not support the subscription billing method. If you select Subscription when you purchase a cluster, the subscription billing method is applied only to compute nodes. Subscription clusters may incur additional fees on top of their subscription, such as those generated by the SQL Explorer feature.
  • For more information about the pricing of the SQL Explorer feature, see Pricing of SQL Explorer (optional).