This topic describes how CLB is billed.
Adjustments are made to the billable items of CLB. Beginning 00:00:00 (UTC+8), December 1, 2024, the following new billable items are used by pay-as-you-go CLB instances:
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Instance fee is renamed public IP retention fee.
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A billable item instance fee is added.
For more information, see CLB billing adjustments.
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Alibaba Cloud will stop selling new pay-by-specification Classic Load Balancer (CLB) instances on June 1, 2025 at 00:00:00 UTC+8. For more information, see Discontinuation Notice for Pay-by-Specification Classic Load Balancer (CLB) Instances.
Metering methods
Pay-as-you-go instances can be billed using two methods: pay-by-LCU and pay-by-specification (discontinued).
Internet-facing CLB instances support two metering methods: pay-by-bandwidth and pay-by-data-transfer.
Billing method | Metering method | Instance type | Internet data transfer billing method | Scenarios |
Pay-as-you-go | Internet-facing | Pay-by-data-transfer |
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Private network | N/A | |||
Pay-by-specification (EoS) | Internet-facing | Pay-by-data-transfer |
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Pay-by-bandwidth | ||||
Private network | N/A |
Billable items
The billable items for a pay-as-you-go CLB instance are shown in the following figure:
Billable item descriptions
A pay-as-you-go CLB instance may incur the following charges. The exact billable items depend on the network type and billing method.
Billable item | Description | Applicable to |
Public IP retention fee | Fee for configuring a public IP address. This fee applies regardless of whether the IP address is used. You are charged as long as the public IP exists. | Internet-facing instances only |
Instance fee | Base fee for using a CLB instance. You are charged as long as the instance exists and has not been released. | All instances |
LCU fee | Fee for performance capacity units (LCUs) used by pay-by-LCU instances. Billed hourly based on actual usage. | Pay-as-you-go instance |
Specification fee | Fixed fee for the selected specification of a pay-by-specification instance. This fee does not change with actual usage. | Pay-by-specification instances |
Data transfer fee | Fee for outbound Internet traffic. Billed based on actual outbound data transfer. Inbound traffic is free. | Internet-facing instances (pay-by-data-transfer) |
Bandwidth fee | Fixed fee for reserved bandwidth. Billed based on purchased bandwidth size, regardless of actual traffic usage. | Internet-facing instances (pay-by-bandwidth) |
Internal-facing CLB instances do not incur public IP retention fees, data transfer fees, or bandwidth fees. For more information, see EIP billing. If you attach an independently purchased EIP to an internal-facing CLB instance, the EIP-related public network fees are billed separately in the EIP console and do not appear on your CLB bill.
No additional traffic fees apply to internal network communication between CLB and backend ECS instances in the same region.
A CLB resource plan can offset only the instance fee and LCU fee for pay-by-LCU CLB instances. It cannot offset public IP retention fees, specification fees, data transfer fees, or bandwidth fees. To offset data transfer fees, purchase a Data Transfer Plan.
Billing cycles
CLB billing cycles are as follows:
Pay-as-you-go
Billing cycle | Fee deduction and bill generation time | Applicable billable items |
Hour | Billed hourly. Bills are typically generated about one hour after the end of each billing cycle. The exact time depends on the system. | Billable items for pay-as-you-go instances:
For more information, see Pay-as-you-go. |
Daily | Billed daily. Bills are typically generated in the early morning of the next day. The exact time depends on the system. | Bandwidth fee (pay-as-you-go) For more information, see Pay-as-you-go. |
Pricing
For the list price of each CLB billable item, see Pay-as-you-go. Actual purchase prices are displayed on the buy page.
You can use the CLB LCU calculator to estimate LCU consumption.
Cost optimization suggestions
Strategies to reduce costs
Cost type | Optimization strategy |
Internet data transfer fee | Buy a Data Transfer Plan to offset Internet data transfer fees. |
Specification fee | Adjust the instance specification of pay-by-specification instances to match actual business needs and avoid over-provisioning. |
Idle resources | Release unused CLB instances and public IP addresses promptly. If an internal-facing CLB instance uses an EIP, release that EIP separately to avoid unnecessary charges. |
How to estimate costs
Use the CLB LCU calculator to estimate LCU consumption.
Review historical bills and project future costs based on business growth trends.
How to troubleshoot unexpected cost increases
In the Cloud Monitor console, check metrics such as traffic and request count for your CLB instances. Identify when the cost increase began.
Check CLB access logs (if enabled) and backend service logs to identify unusual traffic or malicious attacks.
In the Expenses and Costs console, compare recent bills with historical ones to pinpoint which billable item caused the increase.
Set up cost alerts to receive automatic notifications when costs exceed your threshold.
References
Billing method: pay-as-you-go
Specification changes: Changing specifications of pay-as-you-go instances
FAQ: CLB Billing FAQ
Learn more
Overdue payments
Status | Resource status | Action required |
Overdue | If your Alibaba Cloud account has an overdue payment, all pay-as-you-go instances within your account are affected.
| After you top up the account balance, your service is resumed. |
After 15 days of service suspension due to overdue payment, the CLB instance will be released, and an email reminder will be sent one day before the instance is released. The configurations and data associated with the instance will be deleted and cannot be recovered. | This cannot be recovered. |
View overdue amounts
Log on to the Expenses and Costs console.
On the Account Overview page, view overdue amounts.
CLB Instance Recycle Bin
CLB supports adding instances from overdue payment accounts to the recycle bin for management.
Background information
Your instance continues running for 15 days after an overdue payment.
After 15 days, the instance is suspended and moved to the Expired Instances list.
If you top up your account and clear the overdue payment within 15 days after the instance is suspended, the instance moves from the Expired Instances page to the Instances page and resumes normal operation.
Fifteen days after the instance is suspended due to an overdue payment, the instance is automatically released.
How to renew instances in the recycle bin
Log on to the Classic Load Balancer (CLB) console.
In the left navigation pane, select Recycle Bin.
View details for instances from accounts with overdue payments.
Find the instance you want to renew. In the Actions column, click Renew. After successful renewal, the instance moves from the Expired Instances page to the Instances page.
View usage records
Log on to the Expenses and Costs console. In the left navigation pane, choose .
Click the Usage Records tab. Set Product to Server Load Balancer (SLB), set Billable Item to Classic Load Balancer (CLB), specify the Time Period and Time Unit, then click Export CSV.
After opening the exported file, you can view detailed usage by instance ID, region, or endpoint.
Query billing and spending details
Log on to the Expenses and Costs Bill Details page.
On the Bill Details page, click the Billing History, Consumption by Bill, or Usage Records tab to view spending and billing details. For more information, see Billing History, Consumption by Bill, and Usage Records.