Pay-As-You-Go

Applicable resources

Currently, the Pay-As-You-Go billing method is applicable to the following ECS resources:

• ECS instances, including CPU configuration and memory capacity
• Images
• System disks and/or data disks

If you create an ECS instance that uses the Pay-As-You-Go billing method, the Instance Cost displayed in the bottom of the instance creation page is the total fee for the preceding three types of resources.

You can make following changes after activating Pay-As-You-Go resources:

• Resource configuration change:

  You can change the instance types, including CPU configuration and memory capacity, after you create an instance. For more information, see Change configurations of Pay-As-You-Go instances.

• Billing method change:

  Instances, system disks, and data disks support switching from Pay-As-You-Go billing to Subscription billing. For more information, see Switch from Pay-As-You-Go to Subscription billing.

Payment methods

You can use a credit card or a PayPal account linked to your Alibaba Cloud account to pay for Pay-As-You-Go resources. For more information, see Add a payment method.

Billing period

A Pay-As-You-Go resource is billed by the second after is it created, and billing stops after it is released.

For a VPC instance, you can enable the no fees for stopped instances feature. When the feature is enabled, a VPC instance is not billed when it is in a Stopped status. This feature is only available for instances, and not for other ECS resources.

The billing cycle varies depending on the resource types. The minimum charge for the lifecycle of an ECS instance (from creation to release) is USD 0.01.

Settlement cycle

Pay-As-You-Go resources are billed by the second, but settled by the hour. Note the following:

• Payments for Pay-As-You-Go resources are settled together with other products under your account that are billed after you use them.

• Generally, if the cumulative monthly consumption amount of your account is less than 1,000 USD, fees are deducted on the first day of the following month.

• If you have a quota agreement with Alibaba Cloud, fees are deducted when the cumulative consumption amount of your account exceeds the quota.

  Cumulative consumption amount	Due date (T)	Fee deduction day	Description
  Cumulative monthly consumption amount less than 1,000 USD.	The first day of the following month.	T, T+7, and T+14	In the event of deduction failure on the due date (T), the system attempts to deduct fees again on the day T+7 and the day T+14. If fee deduction fails three times, the instance goes out of service on the day T+15. In this case, the instance stops running but data is retained. Billing stops when the instance is out of service. When your instance is out of service, you must open a ticket to clear the overdue payment. After the overdue payment is cleared, you must reactivate the instance before the day T+30. Otherwise, the instance is released automatically. If the overdue payment fails to be cleared before the day T+30, the instance is released and data cannot be recovered.
  Agreed quota	On the day when the quota is exceeded

• Example: The following flowchart shows the settlement process for a Pay-As-You-Go ECS instance. Assume that the due date is March 1.

  

Instructions for settlement

• Settlement period

  • For ECS instances: The active duration is the time during which the ECS instance runs properly, starting from when the ECS instance is activated to when it is released or expires. If the instance is out of service during the active duration due to an overdue payment, billing stops until the payment is cleared.
  • For system disks and/or data disks: The active duration is the time during which the disks run properly, starting from when the disks are activated to when they are released.

• Release rules

  • If payment for an ECS instance is overdue, usage of Pay-As-You-Go cloud disks is restricted, and the cloud disks cannot process I/O read and write requests properly, affecting the normal running of the ECS instance. The impact includes but is not limited to the reduced performance of application read/write, serious time-out of some operations, and power-off or restart failure for some operating system versions.
  • ECS instances configured with the automatic release time are automatically released at a specified time.
  • Notification of release: In the event of service expiration or overdue payment, the system notifies you by email.

Resource status when an instance is out of service

If you fail to pay for the Pay-As-You-Go resources fees three times in one settlement period, the instance is out of service on the day T+15. When your instance is out of service, you cannot use the resources normally until you clear the overdue payment. Once the payment is cleared, you must reactivate the instance within the specified period. The following table lists the status of the related resources once the instance is out of service.

* When a Pay-As-You-Go instance is out of service, the instance is in an Expiredstatus. During the period it is out of service, no fees are incurred.

FAQs

If a Pay-As-You-Go ECS instance is out of service or has stopped running, are fees still incurred?

An instance stops working and is rendered out-of-service when a payment is overdue. When a Pay-As-You-Go instance is out of service, it is in an Expired status, and no fees are incurred.

A stopped instance is in a Stopped status and has been stopped in the ECS console or by using the StopInstance interface. Billing of a stopped instance varies according to the network type of the instance:

• VPC: You can enable the No fees for stopped instances (VPC-Connected) feature. When this feature is enabled, an instance is not billed when it is in a Stopped status. This feature is only available for instances, and not for other resources.

• Classic: An instance continues to be billed even after it is in a Stopped status.