When you build and run agents in AgentCore, compute, gateway, storage, and Internet data transfer resources incur fees based on actual usage. AgentCore uses the pay-as-you-go billing method, and its billable items include Compute CU, Gateway CU, Storage CU, an optional dedicated collaboration control plane, and Internet data transfer. The metering rules and regional prices help you estimate costs before activation and verify bill details after billing.
Billing overview
|
Category |
Billable item |
Billing dimension |
Reference unit price |
Reference Region |
|
Agent building and runtime |
Compute CU |
CU converted from vCPU and memory usage |
USD 0.00001/CU |
China (Shanghai) |
|
Agent building and runtime |
Gateway CU |
CU converted from request calls |
USD 0.000000225/CU |
China (Shanghai) |
|
Agent building and runtime |
Storage CU |
CU converted from GB-hours |
USD 0.0000375/CU |
China (Shanghai) |
|
Collaboration control plane |
Dedicated collaboration control plane |
Instance-hour |
USD 0.45/hour |
China (Shanghai) |
|
Internet data transfer |
Internet data transfer |
GB, metered and billed by Cloud Data Transfer (CDT) |
USD 0.12/GB |
China (Shanghai) |
The preceding table covers only AgentCore resources. Other Alibaba Cloud products activated as AgentCore dependencies are billed independently based on their own billing rules. For more information, see Fees for dependent products in AgentCore product overview.
The reference unit prices for Compute CU, Gateway CU, Storage CU, and the dedicated collaboration control plane are prices for China (Shanghai) region. For regional unit prices, see Regional pricing. Actual metering rules and prices are subject to the official pricing page, the product console, and your bill.
Monthly fee
Monthly fee = Compute CU fee + Gateway CU fee + Storage CU fee + dedicated collaboration control plane fee (optional) + Internet data transfer fee.
The dedicated collaboration control plane is optional. You incur this fee only after you purchase a dedicated collaboration control plane instance and enable Team collaboration.
Compute CU
Compute CU is converted from the actual vCPU and memory usage of agent runtimes based on the following rules:
|
Resource usage |
CU conversion |
|
1 vCPU × 1 second |
1 CU |
|
1 GB of memory × 1 second |
0.5 CU |
The reference price is USD 0.00001 per Compute CU in China (Shanghai) region.
Billing examples
The following examples are calculated with the reference price for China (Shanghai) region .
|
Scenario |
Usage conversion |
Fee |
|
A 1-vCPU resource runs for one hour |
1 × 3,600 seconds = 3,600 CU |
3,600 × 0.00001 = USD 0.036 |
|
2 GB of memory is used for one hour |
2 × 3,600 × 0.5 = 3,600 CU |
3,600 × 0.00001 = USD 0.036 |
|
A resource with 1 vCPU and 2 GB of memory runs for one hour |
3,600 + 3,600 = 7,200 CU |
7,200 × 0.00001 = USD 0.072 |
Gateway CU
Gateway CU is metered by the number of request calls that pass through the gateway. One request call equals one Gateway CU. The reference price in China (Shanghai) region is USD 0.000000225 per CU, this equals USD 0.00225 per 10,000 calls per hour.
Request call metering rules
Request calls are counted by the number of requests that pass through the gateway. Long-lived connections continuously occupy gateway resources and are converted to request calls based on connection duration.
|
Metering rule |
Description |
|
Short-lived connection |
A standard request-response interaction counts as one request call. |
|
Long-lived connection |
Streaming responses, MCP long-lived connections, and long-running agent sessions are metered by connection duration. Every 30 seconds counts as one request call. |
The data volume of request and response bodies is billed separately as the data processing fee and does not affect the number of request calls.
Metering examples
|
Request |
Metered request calls |
|
A standard AI conversation completed within seconds |
1 |
|
A long-lived connection held for 2 minutes |
4 |
|
A long-lived connection held for 10 minutes |
20 |
Storage CU
One Storage CU represents 1 GB of storage used for one hour. The reference price in the Chinese mainland regions is USD 0.0000375 per CU.
Billing examples
|
Scenario |
Usage conversion |
Fee |
|
10 GB of storage is used for one hour |
10 × 1 = 10 CU |
10 × 0.0000375 = USD 0.000375 |
|
10 GB of storage is used for one month, calculated as 720 hours |
10 × 720 = 7,200 CU |
7,200 × 0.0000375 = USD 0.27 |
Internet data transfer
Internet traffic is billed by Cloud Data Transfer (CDT). For more information, see Internet traffic pricing.
Regional pricing
The unit prices of Compute CU, Gateway CU, Storage CU, and the dedicated collaboration control plane vary by region.
Singapore and Hong Kong(China) regions
|
Region |
Compute CU (USD/CU) |
Gateway CU (USD/CU) |
Storage CU (USD/CU) |
Dedicated collaboration control plane (per hour) |
|
Singapore |
0.000015 |
0.000000225 |
0.000042 |
0.6 |
|
Hong Kong |
0.000015 |
0.000000225 |
0.000042 |
0.675 |