DirectMail is billed based on your email sending volume. We offer two billing methods: resource plans and pay-as-you-go.
Email sending volume: The total number of emails sent by DirectMail.
One email is a single message sent to one address. A message sent to multiple recipients counts as a separate email for each recipient.
Billing scope: You are billed for all emails our system accepts for delivery, regardless of their final delivery status. You are not billed for delivery failures caused by system errors.
For special billing details about emails sent to addresses in the invalid address list, see Invalid Addresses Help.
If your Alibaba Cloud account has an overdue balance, all sending features are disabled. During this period, you cannot use your resource plan to send emails. After you clear the balance, email sending volume from the overdue period is deducted from your plan.
Resource plans
A resource plan is a prepaid billing method. It becomes active immediately after purchase.
Validity period: 6 months. The validity period of each resource plan is calculated independently. The validity periods of multiple resource plans do not stack.
Deduction method: Within the validity period, your email sending volume is first deducted from your resource plan. If you have multiple resource plans, volume is deducted from the one that expires first. After your resource plans are exhausted, you are automatically switched to the pay-as-you-go billing method.
Once a resource plan is used or expires, it cannot be canceled, and any remaining email volume is not refundable.
To prevent billing issues, purchase a new resource plan at least one hour before your current one expires.
Billing is hourly and does not occur at a fixed time of day.
Sending volume is calculated without interrupting your email sending. Emails sent in the last few minutes of an hour might be billed in the following hour. The console provides accurate daily statistics on your sending volume. Therefore, you may notice minor discrepancies between the real-time usage and your bill. However, the total billed usage will be accurate after all sending activities are processed.
Resource plan specifications
Package size (emails) | Package price (USD) | Validity period | Pay-as-you-go savings |
10,000 | $5.22 | 6 months | $0 for new customers (Save $5.22) |
50,000 | $13.05 | 6 months | Save at least $1.45 |
500,000 | $121.8 | 6 months | Save at least $23.2 |
1,000,000 | $230.55 | 6 months | Save at least $59.45 |
5,000,000 | $1123.75 | 6 months | Save at least $326.25 |
For the latest promotional pricing, refer to the purchase page.
Pay-as-you-go
Pay-as-you-go is a postpaid billing method where you are charged based on your actual usage at a rate of USD 0.29 per 1,000 emails. This method is enabled by default when you activate DirectMail and does not require manual setup. If you purchase a resource plan, you are automatically switched to pay-as-you-go once its volume is exhausted.
Formula: Pay-as-you-go fee = (email sending volume / 1000) * USD 0.29
Fees are rounded to two decimal places. The minimum billable amount is USD 0.01.Free quota
Each Alibaba Cloud primary account is entitled to a total free quota of 2,000 emails, with a daily limit of 200 free emails.
Your free quota is applied independently of resource plans or pay-as-you-go billing. You are charged for any emails sent after you exceed the free quota.