This topic describes how to switch the billing method from Subscription to Pay-As-You-Go. After you create a Subscription instance, you can convert its billing method to Pay-As-You-Go if you want to pay only for the actual usage of your resources.

Prerequisites

The instance whose billing method is to be switched is in the Running or Stopped state.

Background information

Whether you can convert the billing method is determined by your ECS instance resource usage.

Before converting the billing method, note that:
  • The billing method conversion applies to the following resources:
    • System disk
    • The Subscription data disks created for the instance when the instance is created
    • Manually created Subscription disks for the instance after the instance is created
  • The billing method of public bandwidth is unchanged.
  • After the billing method is converted, the duration of usage offered for reasons such as the ICP filing, failure, or IDC migration is automatically invalidated.
The conversion of the billing method may result in a refund. Note that:
  • Each account is limited by a maximum monthly refund amount. For more information, see the conversion page. If the monthly limit is reached, you cannot claim additional refunds. The remaining amount will be automatically cleared on the first day of the next month.

    To calculate the refund amount resulting from billing method conversion, the calculation uses the number of vCPUs and the remaining hours in the current billing cycle. For example, 1 refund unit = 1 vCPU × 1 hour.

    Assume that you have purchased a Subscription instance with four vCPUs for six months. Four months later, you convert the billing method to Pay-As-You-Go. In this case, the refund amount for this instance is calculated based on the formula: Refund amount = 4 (vCPUs) × 60 (remaining days) × 24 (hours/day) = 5760 (refund amount).

  • If the instance involves renewal or upgrade orders that have not taken effect, a full refund will be made. If orders have already taken effect, only a partial refund will be made.

After conversion, make sure your account has sufficient funds to pay the bill. Otherwise, overdue payments will affect the running of your services. If you no longer require the instance, you can set it to auto release or release it manually. For more information, see Release an instance.

Procedure

  1. Log on to the ECS console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Instances & Images > Instances.
  3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.
  4. Find the relevant instance. In the Actions column, choose More > Configuration Change > Switch to Pay-As-You-Go.
  5. On the conversion page, read the notes and confirm you agree to the ECS Terms of Service .
  6. Click Switch.

Result

After the billing method is converted, you can go to the ECS console to view the billing method of the instance:
  • On the Instances page, the Billing Method has been changed to Pay-As-You-Go.
  • Click the instance ID to go to the Instance Details page. In the left-side navigation pane, click Disks. The Billing Method of the system disk and data disks (if any) of the instance have changed to Pay-As-You-Go.