ApsaraDB for MongoDB supports two billing methods: subscription and pay-as-you-go. Choose based on how long you plan to run the instance and how predictable your usage is.
| Billing method | Payment model | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Upfront, when you create the instance | Long-running production workloads with predictable usage |
| Pay-as-you-go | Hourly, billed in arrears | Development, testing, or workloads with variable demand |
Choose a billing method
Use subscription when your workload runs continuously or for a known period. Upfront payment gives you a lower per-unit price — the longer the subscription term, the greater the discount.
Use pay-as-you-go when your usage is temporary, experimental, or unpredictable. You pay only for what you use, and billing stops as soon as you release the instance.
You can switch between billing methods at any time:
Subscription to pay-as-you-go: Change the billing method from subscription to pay-as-you-go
Pay-as-you-go to subscription: Change the billing method from pay-as-you-go to subscription
How pay-as-you-go billing works
Fees are deducted from your Alibaba Cloud account at the end of each billing cycle. Key details:
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Billing cycle | 1 hour. Instances used for less than 1 hour are billed as 1 hour. |
| Billing basis | Instance type and the peak storage capacity used during the cycle |
| Bill generation | In most cases, 1–3 hours after a billing cycle ends. The actual time may vary. |
Storage changes within a billing cycle: If storage capacity changes mid-cycle, you are charged for the peak value in that cycle.
Example: During the 01:00–02:00 (UTC+8) cycle, storage is 1 GB at 01:10, scales to 8 GB at 01:20, then drops to 2 GB at 01:50. You are charged for 8 GB for that cycle.
Example: The bill for the 09:00–10:00 (UTC+8) cycle is generated before 11:00.
After you release an instance, it is no longer charged.