This topic describes the fees that are generated when you change the specifications of an ApsaraDB RDS instance.

Pay-as-you-go

Pay-as-you-go RDS instances are billed on an hourly basis. After the specifications of a pay-as-you-go RDS instance are changed, the RDS instance is billed based on the new specifications.

Subscription

If the specifications of a subscription RDS instance are changed, a price difference may occur. You need to pay for the price difference, or the system will refund you the price difference.
  • To upgrade the specifications, you must select Upgrade and pay for the price difference based on the new specifications.
  • To downgrade the specifications, you must select Downgrade, and the system will refund you the price difference based on the new specifications.
Change methodBilling
UpgradePayment = Total fees of the new specifications for the remaining subscription duration (Monthly price of the new specifications/30/24 × Remaining subscription duration) - Total fees of the original specifications for the remaining subscription duration (Monthly price of the original specifications/30/24 × Remaining subscription duration).

Example: The monthly price of the new specifications is USD 14,400. The monthly price of the original specifications is USD 7,200. The remaining subscription duration is 50 days. The fee for the specification upgrade is calculated by using the following formula: (14,400/30/24 × 50 × 24) - (7,200/30/24 × 50 × 24) = USD 12,000.

DowngradeRefund = Total fees of the original specifications for the remaining subscription duration (Monthly price of the original specifications/30/24 × Remaining subscription duration) - Total fees of the new specifications for the remaining subscription duration (Monthly price of the new specifications/30/24 × Remaining subscription duration).

Example: You subscribed to an RDS instance for three months, during which the original specifications are charged USD 3,500. You paid USD 3,000 after vouvhers are used. Two months later, the total fees of the original specifications for the remaining subscription duration are USD 1,000. The total fees of the new specifications for a month are USD 800. The system will refund you the price difference. The price difference is calculated by using the following formula: 1000 - 800 = 200.

Note If you upgrade the specifications of an RDS instance and then downgrade the specifications, you may get fewer refunds in the following two scenarios:
  • Discounts used in the upgrade order: If you subscribed to the RDS instance for a year at a 15% discount, you need to pay only USD 850 to enjoy USD 1,000 worth of service. If you want to downgrade the specifications of the RDS instance, a refund is calculated based on USD 850.
  • Coupons used in the upgrade order: If you downgrade the specifications of the RDS instance, the refund of the original specifications is calculated based on the amount of money that you paid, excluding the amount deducted by coupons. However, when you upgrade the specifications of the RDS instance, the fees of the original specifications are calculated based on the unit price of the original specifications, including the amount deducted by coupons.

Pricing

The price of an RDS instance varies based on the instance configuration, such as the region, instance type, and storage capacity. For more information, visit the ApsaraDB RDS buy page.

References