Captcha:Billing

What counts as a billable request

A billable request is counted each time a user initiates a risk consultation to the Captcha server for security verification and human-machine risk assessment. This applies in both client V2 and V3 architectures.

If the Captcha server determines a user is at risk and blocks them or triggers secondary authentication, that also counts as one billable request.

Where billing is triggered in the sequence

The following table shows which step in the time series chart triggers billing.

In V2, the verification request is sent from the business server to the Captcha server. In V3, it is sent from the business client to the Captcha server.

Pricing

Total cost = Verification cost + Feature cost

Billing is based on the number of verification requests that reach the Captcha server. Each successful verification counts as one billable request.

Billing cycle

Fees are settled once a day (UTC+8). After settlement, a new billing cycle begins and a bill is generated the following day.

Worked example

Suppose your business runs in the Chinese mainland, serves 500,000 verification requests per day, uses 5 scenarios, and has custom policy configuration enabled:

Pricing

Total cost = Verification count + Feature cost (pay-as-you-go)

Offset rules

• Resource plans offset verification counts regardless of region or CAPTCHA type. Different plan specifications have different prices; see the resource plan purchase pageresource plan purchase page for details.

• Feature costs (scenarios and custom policy configuration) are billed on a pay-as-you-go basis and cannot be offset by resource plans.

Offset order

Resource plan quota is deducted before any pay-as-you-go charges apply. Resource plans support stacked purchases. If you hold multiple resource plans of the same type, the system deducts in the following order:

1. The plan expiring soonest is deducted first.

2. If two plans share the same expiration date, the one purchased first is deducted first.

3. After a plan's quota is exhausted, remaining usage is charged at the pay-as-you-go rate.

Validity period

Resource plans are valid for either 1 year or 1 month. After a plan expires, its remaining quota cannot be used. Purchase a new resource plan to continue offsetting verification costs.

Resource plans take effect immediately after purchase and start offsetting pay-as-you-go bills from the same day.

Check remaining count

1. Log on to .

2. In the left navigation pane, click Manage Reserved Instances.

3. On the Manage Reserved Instances page, set Resource Type to Resource Packages.

4. Click the Instances or Details tab, then set Product Name to Web Application Firewall.

   Alibaba Cloud CAPTCHA 2.0 is listed under Web Application Firewall. Filter by this product name to locate your Verification Code Resource Package.

5. View the remaining count and usage details of your Verification Code Resource Package.

Query remaining verifications

You can query the remaining verifications and usage details of your Captcha resource plan in the Alibaba Cloud Expenses and Costs console.

1. Log on to the Expenses and Costs console.

2. In the navigation pane on the left, click Resource Instances.

3. On the Resource Plan page, set Resource Dimension to Resource Plan.

4. Click the Instance Summary or Usage Details tab. In the Product Name column, select Web Application Firewall.

   Note

   The Alibaba Cloud Captcha product is part of Web Application Firewall. Therefore, you can select Web Application Firewall in the Product Name column to quickly filter for Captcha resource plans.

5. You can view the remaining verifications, usage details, and other information for your Captcha resource plan.

Refund policy

Resource plans do not support self-service unsubscription. To request a refund, submit a ticket. Refunds are available only if all of the following conditions are met:

• The resource plan was purchased no more than 5 days ago.

• The resource plan has not been used.

After any quota has been consumed, the remaining balance is not eligible for a refund.