An Alibaba Cloud account is the identity for accessing and managing all your cloud resources. It is the core entity for resource ownership, billing, and access control. Understanding your account is the first step to using the cloud securely.
Overview
An Alibaba Cloud account represents the formal business relationship you establish with Alibaba Cloud. It is the foundational container for all your cloud resources, serving as the central entity for ownership, security, and billing. Each account has a unique ID, distinguishing it from all other accounts on the platform.
Alibaba Cloud assigns a unique 16-digit Account ID to each account as its unique identifier.
Three core functions of an Alibaba Cloud account
Resource ownership: Every cloud resource you create, whether it's an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance, ApsaraDB RDS database, or Object Storage Service (OSS) object, belongs to a single account. This account defines the legal ownership of these resources and manages their entire lifecycle.
Billing entity: The account is the single entity responsible for paying for all consumed services. All costs are tracked and billed to this account.
Security boundary: By default, Alibaba Cloud accounts are completely isolated from each other. Operations, configurations, and security risks within one account do not affect any other accounts. All cross-account resource access requires explicit authorization. This account isolation boundary is the foundation for implementing security governance across multiple environments, such as production and testing environments.
Getting started with your Alibaba Cloud account
Create an account: You can create an Alibaba Cloud account for free.
Complete identity verification: This is required to use Alibaba Cloud services hosted in the Chinese mainland. You can choose to verify your account as individual or enterprise. See Identity verification overview for details.
Enhance account security: The security of your Alibaba Cloud account is the foundation for the security of your entire cloud environment. A compromised account can have serious consequences. We recommend taking the following measures immediately:
To add an extra layer of security for account logins and sensitive operations, enable multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Periodically change the password.
Securely manage your contact information and, as needed, change your logon name and email and change the secure mobile number.
As needed, set the session duration for your account and set or clear a logon mask.
Use RAM users for daily operations:
An Alibaba Cloud account, similar to the root user in a Linux system, has the highest level of permissions and is unsuitable for daily use. Therefore, we strongly recommend using Resource Access Management (RAM) users for everyday tasks. See Step 4: Create a RAM user as an administrator.
For team collaboration, the best practice is to create a unique RAM user for each team member and grant permissions based on their responsibilities. This follows the principle of least privilege: grant only the permissions required to perform a job. See Quick Start: Create and authorize a RAM user.
Item
Alibaba Cloud account
RAM user
Identity role
The owner of resources. Has full ownership of all assets and the highest permissions.
A user of resources and services. Permissions are granted by the Alibaba Cloud account. A RAM user usually corresponds to a specific person or application.
Owns cloud resources
Yes
No. Resources are owned by the Alibaba Cloud account.
Default permissions
Full permissions. Cannot be restricted.
No permissions by default. Must be granted permissions by the Alibaba Cloud account.
Recommended use
Only for key management operations, such as authorization, payment, and account management.
Daily development, O&M, deployment, and other tasks.
Differences between individual and enterprise accounts
When you create an account or update your information (before completing identity verification), you can select your account type as individual or enterprise. The differences are as follows:
Individual: For solo developers, students, startup teams, or personal projects, learning, and testing.
Enterprise: For any company or organization. This account type can use features designed for enterprise scenarios, such as Resource Management and finance trusteeship.
After an account completes identity verification, the main differences in entitlements between the two account types are as follows. See Identity verification overview.
Individual account: Purchase cloud services in the Chinese mainland.
Enterprise account: Purchase cloud services in the Chinese mainland; sign online contracts, apply for credit limits, and join the Alibaba Cloud Partner Network (ACPN).
If the account is used for business purposes, choose enterprise verification to avoid disputes over asset ownership that may arise from employee turnover.
After an account completes enterprise verification, it cannot be changed back to an individual account.
Limitations
To ensure platform security and compliance, Alibaba Cloud has the following limitations on account creation and verification:
Item | Limit | Description |
Accounts per mobile number | 6 | A maximum of 6 Alibaba Cloud accounts can be created with the same phone number. |
Ready to start your cloud journey? Visit the Alibaba Cloud official website to create a free account and experience a wide range of cloud products and services. For step-by-step instructions, see Step 1: Create an Alibaba Cloud account.