You are separately charged for each service of Database Backup (DBS). This topic describes the billing methods and billable items of DBS.

Billing methods

DBS supports the subscription and pay-as-you-go billing methods.
Billing methodDescription
Pay-as-you-go
  • Pay-as-you-go is a billing method that allows you to use resources before you pay for the resources. Fees are calculated and automatically deducted every hour from the balance of your Alibaba Cloud account.
  • Fees = Actual usage × Unit price per hour
Subscription
  • Subscription is a billing method that allows you to use resources only after you pay for them. You need to pay fees when you create a backup schedule that uses the subscription billing method.
  • You can purchase resource plans. Resource plans are used to deduct fees incurred when you use resources in each billing cycle.

Billable items

Billable itemDescriptionBilling method
Backup feesAfter you purchase and configure a backup schedule in the DBS console, DBS charges you based on the amount of data that is backed up. Backup and restoration performance, free quota for data backup, and prices vary based on backup schedule specifications. For more information, see Backup fees.

Subscription

Storage feesDBS charges you the following backup storage fees:
  • DBS storage fees: If you configure a backup schedule and set the storage type to DBS Built-in Storage in the DBS console, DBS charges you based on the amount of data that is backed up in the built-in storage and the storage duration.
    If you configure a backup schedule to back up data to a self-managed Object Storage Service (OSS) bucket or Apsara File Storage NAS (NAS) file system, you are not charged storage fees.
    Note If the stored data is compressed or the format of the stored data is optimized, the size of the storage data is smaller than the space occupied by the data on database disks in most cases. For more information, see Data amount.
  • Storage fees for backing up an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance that uses standard SSDs or enhanced SSDs (ESSDs) across regions: If you enable the cross-region backup feature for an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance that uses standard SSDs or ESSDs in the ApsaraDB RDS console, the backup files that are generated are stored in the destination region. DBS charges you for the backup storage. For more information, see Storage fees.
  • Storage fees for backing up a PolarDB for MySQL cluster across regions: If you enable the cross-region backup feature for a PolarDB for MySQL cluster in the PolarDB console, the backup files that are generated are stored in the destination region. DBS charges you for the backup storage. For more information, see Storage fees.
  • Storage fees for storing backup sets of an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance that uses local SSDs after the instance is deleted: The backup sets of an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance that uses local SSDs are retained free of charge for seven days after the ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance is deleted in the ApsaraDB RDS console. Seven days later, you are charged for the resources that are used to store the backup sets. For more information, see Storage fees.
  • Storage fees for backing up an ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance: If you configure automatic backup for an ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance or manually back up data of the instance in the ApsaraDB for MongoDB console, the backup files that are generated are stored in the region in which the instance resides. DBS charges you for the backup storage. For more information, see Storage fees.
  • Pay-as-you-go
  • Subscription storage plans. For more information, see Use storage plans.
Network traffic feesDBS charges you the following network traffic fees:

Pay-as-you-go

DBS sandbox feesDBS charges you for the sandbox instances that you create in the DBS console. You can use the sandbox feature to restore backup sets to make your backup data available within seconds. For more information, see Overview. For more information, see DBS sandbox fees.
Note DBS does not charge you for the restoration feature. If you restore backup data to a new instance, you are charged instance fees.