AnalyticDB for MySQL supports two billing methods: pay-as-you-go for short-term or variable workloads, and subscription for long-term, predictable usage. You can switch between them at any time from the console.
Choose a billing method
| Pay-as-you-go | Subscription | |
|---|---|---|
| Payment | Charged after use; no upfront commitment | Paid upfront when you create the cluster |
| Best for | Short-term usage, dev/test environments, unpredictable workloads | Long-term production workloads |
| Cost | Standard rates; release clusters when not needed to stop charges | Lower rates for longer durations |
| Flexibility | Release at any time | Fixed term; can switch to pay-as-you-go with a partial refund |
Pay-as-you-go billing granularity
Billing granularity depends on the edition:
| Edition | Reserved resources | Other billable items |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise Edition | Hourly (fractions rounded up to 1 hour) | Per minute |
| Basic Edition | Hourly (fractions rounded up to 1 hour) | Per minute |
| Data Lakehouse Edition | Per minute | Per minute |
| Data Warehouse Edition | Hourly (fractions rounded up to 1 hour) | Hourly (fractions rounded up to 1 hour) |
Switch from pay-as-you-go to subscription
After switching, you pay subscription fees upfront. Review the payable amount and expiration date in the console before completing the purchase.
Go to the Clusters page and find your cluster.
In the Actions column, click Switch to Subscription.
Select a subscription duration. Review the expiration date and the payable amount.
Click Buy Now and complete the payment.
Switch from subscription to pay-as-you-go
Switching may result in a refund of subscription fees. The refund amount is calculated based on refund rules and is shown in the console before you confirm. After switching, pay-as-you-go rates apply immediately.
Go to the Clusters page and find your cluster.
In the Actions column, choose More > Switch to Pay-as-you-go.
Read the notes for changing the billing method, review the refund amount and the pay-as-you-go unit price, then click Buy Now to confirm.
FAQ
Why do subscription clusters have pay-as-you-go charges?
Your subscription fee covers only the reserved resources. Additional usage — data storage, elastic resource scaling, and data backup — is billed pay-as-you-go and appears as separate line items in your bill. For the full list of billable items for your edition, see Billable items of Enterprise Edition and Basic Edition, Billable items of Data Lakehouse Edition, or Billable items of Data Warehouse Edition.