Alibaba Cloud CDN charges for outbound data transfer from points of presence (POPs). Two metering methods are available: pay-by-data-transfer (default) and pay-by-peak-bandwidth. This topic describes both methods, their billing rules, and how burst bandwidth is handled.
Billed data transfer is slightly higher than the volume recorded in access logs. Logs reflect application-layer (Layer 7) traffic, but the actual billed amount includes TCP/IP packet header overhead and TCP retransmission bytes. For details, see Why is the traffic amount in monitoring and usage analytics different from the logged traffic amount?.
Choose a metering method
| Pay-by-data-transfer | Pay-by-peak-bandwidth | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Spiky or unpredictable traffic — video-on-demand, software distribution, seasonal campaigns | Steady, high-utilization traffic — live streaming, gaming acceleration, real-time APIs |
| Rule of thumb | Daily bandwidth utilization below 30% | Daily bandwidth utilization exceeds 30% |
| Billable item | Data transfer (GB) | Peak bandwidth (Gbit/s) |
| Billing cycle | Hourly | Daily |
| Billing method | Pay-as-you-go or subscription | Pay-as-you-go only |
| Availability | Default; available to all accounts | Requires peak bandwidth > 5 Gbit/s over the previous 30 days; contact your account manager to enable |
Pay-by-data-transfer
Monthly outbound data transfer from POPs is billed in arrears using tiered pricing. The pricing tier is determined by the cumulative monthly data transfer at the time each hourly billing cycle closes. In most cases, bills are generated approximately 3–4 hours after each billing cycle ends. The time when bills are generated is determined by the system.
Pricing
The prices below are for reference only. Actual prices on the Alibaba Cloud CDN pricing page prevail.
| Pricing tier (USD/GB) | Chinese mainland-CN | North America-NA | Europe-EU | Asia Pacific 1-AP1 | Asia Pacific 2-AP2 | Asia Pacific 3-AP3 | Middle East & Africa-MEAA | South America-SA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 TB–50 TB (inclusive) | 0.04 | 0.07 | 0.07 | 0.081 | 0.108 | 0.096 | 0.105 | 0.105 |
| 50 TB–100 TB (inclusive) | 0.03 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.062 | 0.094 | 0.083 | 0.085 | 0.085 |
| 100 TB–1 PB (inclusive) | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.053 | 0.079 | 0.070 | 0.07 | 0.07 |
| > 1 PB | 0.02 | 0.025 | 0.025 | 0.048 | 0.072 | 0.064 | 0.06 | 0.06 |
Billing example
This example shows how tiered pricing applies as monthly data transfer accumulates (Chinese mainland).
May 1–15: Cumulative data transfer reaches 51,200 GB, falling within the 0–50 TB tier at USD 0.04/GB.
Bill for May 1–15: 51,200 GB x USD 0.04 = USD 2,048
May 16, 00:00–01:00: An additional 1,000 GB is consumed, bringing the monthly total to 52,200 GB. This pushes the total into the 50–100 TB tier, so this hour is billed at USD 0.03/GB.
Bill for May 16, 00:00–01:00: 1,000 GB x USD 0.03 = USD 30
Total bill (May 1–May 16, 01:00): USD 2,048 + USD 30 = USD 2,078
Billing example
The following table lists the official pricing on a pay-by-data-transfer basis:
NoteThe following prices are for reference only. The actual prices on the official website prevail.
Price tier (USD/GB)
Chinese mainland-CN
North America-NA
Europe-EU
Asia Pacific 1-AP1
Asia Pacific 2-AP2
Asia Pacific 3-AP3
Middle East & Africa-MEAA
South America-SA
0TB~50TB (inclusive)
0.04
0.07
0.07
0.081
0.108
0.096
0.105
0.105
50TB~100TB (inclusive)
0.03
0.06
0.06
0.062
0.094
0.083
0.085
0.085
100TB~1PB (inclusive)
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.053
0.079
0.070
0.07
0.07
＞ 1PB
0.02
0.025
0.025
0.048
0.072
0.064
0.06
0.06
Sample scenario:
Billing of hourly data transfer in the Chinese mainland
From May 1 to May 15, the accumulated data transfer is 51,200 GB, which falls within the 0TB - 50TB price tier with a unit price of USD 0.04/GB.
From 00:00:00 to 01:00:00 on May 16, the data transfer is 1,000 GB, and the monthly accumulated data transfer is 52,200 GB.
The 1,000 GB used from 00:00:00 to 01:00:00 on May 16 falls within the 50TB – 100TB price tier with a unit price of USD 0.03/GB.
Billing:
The bill amount from 00:00:00 on May 1 to 23:59:59 on May 15 is: 51,200 GB × USD 0.04 = USD 2,048.
The bill amount from 00:00:00 to 01:00:00 on May 16 is: 1,000 GB × USD 0.03 = USD 30.
The total bill amount from 00:00:00 on May 1 to 01:00:00 on May 16 is: 51,200 GB × USD 0.04 + 1,000 GB × USD 0.03 = USD 2,078.
Pay-by-peak-bandwidth
To switch to pay-by-peak-bandwidth, contact your account manager or contact Alibaba Cloud. This metering method is available only when peak bandwidth over the previous 30 days exceeds 5 Gbit/s.
Bandwidth is sampled every 5 minutes — 288 samples per day. The highest sample value is the daily peak bandwidth, which is the billable quantity for that day. The bills of a day are generated and the amount due is deducted after 00:00 on the following day. The time when bills are generated is determined by the system.
Burst bandwidth
Burst bandwidth is a sudden, large increase in bandwidth beyond normal usage patterns. The criteria differ by metering method.
Pay-by-peak-bandwidth — any of the following qualifies as burst bandwidth for a single account:
Current month bandwidth exceeds the previous month by more than 500 Gbit/s
The previous month's peak bandwidth was 0, and the current month's total increase exceeds 200 Gbit/s
The current month's total peak bandwidth is 1.3 times the billable bandwidth of the previous month
Pay-by-data-transfer — a single domain's peak bandwidth exceeds 100 Gbit/s within a calendar month.100
Apply for burst bandwidth
If you anticipate a traffic spike, apply for burst bandwidth before the event:
Standard events: Apply at least 3 business days in advance.
Major events (such as the Spring Festival Gala or Double 11 Global Shopping Festival): Apply at least 1 month in advance.
To apply, contact your account manager or contact Alibaba Cloud.
If your application is approved, service availability is guaranteed up to the agreed burst level, and you are billed at the newly agreed price. If you do not apply or the application is rejected, you are billed at the current rate. Alibaba Cloud reserves the right to take measures such as bandwidth throttling to ensure service-level stability for other Alibaba Cloud customers and is not liable for availability reductions caused by such measures. Final fees are determined by Alibaba Cloud CDN bills.
Any specific agreements with Alibaba Cloud take precedence over the general burst bandwidth rules described above.