Managed Service for OpenTelemetry uses an ingestion-based billing model: you pay only for the observability data stored on the platform after processing.
This billing model applies to all new users by default. Existing users can switch through the billing change wizard in the console. For questions, join the DingTalk group (group ID: 37120013838).
Billable items
Managed Service for OpenTelemetry charges for two categories: data ingestion and archive storage.
Data ingestion
All ingested data -- metrics, traces, and profiling -- shares a single per-GB price with regional variation.
| Data type | Included storage period | Price per GB (Chinese mainland) | Price per GB (regions outside the Chinese mainland) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metrics | 90 days | USD 0.062 | USD 0.087 |
| Traces | 30 days | USD 0.062 | USD 0.087 |
| Profiling | 7 days | USD 0.062 | USD 0.087 |
Archive storage
Only trace data supports archiving. Archived data is billed based on its uncompressed size:
Daily archive storage fee = Daily cumulative uncompressed storage (GB) x Price per GB| Archive item | Price per GB (Chinese mainland) | Price per GB (regions outside the Chinese mainland) |
|---|---|---|
| Trace archive storage | USD 0.000263 | USD 0.000378 |
Supported archive periods: 60, 90, and 180 days.
To configure archive storage, go to System Configuration > Cluster Configuration in the Managed Service for OpenTelemetry console. In the Storage Retention Period Configuration section, select an archive period or disable archiving. Archive storage settings apply per region.
What counts as billable data
Billable ingestion volume is the data stored on the ARMS platform after processing -- not the raw traffic reported by ARMS agents or open-source agents and SDKs. Processing includes cleaning, aggregation, conversion, and analysis.
Free tier
Each Alibaba Cloud account receives a monthly free tier upon activating a paid plan. The free tier is granted at the account level and shared across all applications and sub-service instances.
| Allowance | Details |
|---|---|
| Monthly free ingestion (total) | 50 GB |
| -- Metrics | 25 GB |
| -- Traces | 25 GB |
| Included storage for metrics | 90 days |
| Included storage for traces | 30 days |
| Included storage for profiling | 7 days |
Rules:
The monthly free tier for Application Monitoring and Managed Service for OpenTelemetry can be used across regions. It is deducted based on billing order -- the first item billed receives the deduction.
Free tiers for metrics and traces cannot be transferred or combined. For example, if a month's usage is 40 GB of traces and 5 GB of metrics, 15 GB of trace data is billed (40 minus the 25 GB trace free tier). The remaining 20 GB of unused metrics free tier is forfeited.
Included storage periods are fixed and cannot be modified.
Minimum daily usage
For Application Monitoring and Managed Service for OpenTelemetry, the minimum daily billable volume per application is 0.1 GB per data type. If no data is ingested for a data type, no minimum applies.
For example, if an application uses 20 MB of metrics, 10 MB of traces, and 0 MB of profiling data in a day:
| Data type | Actual usage | Billed amount | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metrics | 20 MB | 0.1 GB | Minimum applied |
| Traces | 10 MB | 0.1 GB | Minimum applied |
| Profiling | 0 MB | 0 GB | No data ingested |
Metrics billing
Starting from 00:00 on July 1, 2024, Managed Service for OpenTelemetry bills for default performance statistics metrics. Custom metrics are billed based on their ingestion data volume. All metrics -- default and custom -- share the 25 GB monthly free tier.
Profiling data
Profiling data consists of files generated by Continuous Profiling and Application Diagnosis:
Memory snapshots
Performance analysis flame graphs
Thread status and call stack information from thread analysis
Billing cycle
ARMS calculates the previous day's resource consumption at 00:00 each day. Bills are typically issued by 08:00, and fees are automatically deducted from your account balance. View bills in the Expenses and Costs console and check resource usage in the Managed Service for OpenTelemetry console. For more information, see Resource usage and bills.
Cost estimation
Estimate from actual usage
New to ARMS: Connect a test application, then check data volume on the Usage Statistics tab of the Overview page.
Already using ARMS: Check data volume directly on the Usage Statistics tab of the Overview page.
Estimate from business scale
The following table compares the new and previous billing models, assuming an average span size of 1.27 KB, a daily volume of 100 million spans, and a 30-day storage period:
| Business scale | Estimated daily data volume | New pay-as-you-go pricing | Previous pay-as-you-go pricing | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 million spans stored for 30 days | 121 GB | USD 7.5 per day | USD 10.75 per day | 30% |
The new billing model does not bill separately for data reporting, trace storage, or metric storage.
Activate the service
Go to the buy page of Managed Service for OpenTelemetry and follow the prompts.
Change the billing method
Billing model changes take effect globally for the account. Review the cost comparison for all regions in use. If the account spans both Chinese mainland and other regions, switch between them at the top of the page to compare cost changes.
On the Overview page, click Billing Change Wizard in the Resource status section (upper-right corner).
In the Comparison Between New and Old Prices step, review the cost comparison and click Next.
In the Activate New Billing step, click Click to Activate, then click Redetect to verify the activation status.
Click Complete.