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    Elastic Compute Service:Optimize snapshot costs

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    Elastic Compute Service:Optimize snapshot costs

    Last Updated:May 15, 2026

    Reduce snapshot fees by tuning retention, archiving cold snapshots, and offsetting costs with SCU.

    Important

    Snapshot deletion is irreversible. Verify the snapshot is no longer needed before deleting it.

    How snapshot billing works

    Snapshot storage is billed hourly based on the following factors:

    • Snapshot type — Standard or Archive

    • Snapshot size — Total storage consumed (incremental after the initial snapshot)

    • Retention period — How long snapshots are kept

    • Region — Prices vary by region

    Note

    View current snapshot costs in the ECS console: Storage & Snapshots > Snapshots > Snapshot Size tab.

    Optimize snapshot retention

    Snapshot costs depend on data volume and retention time. Define a policy that sets creation frequency and retention period based on your needs.

    Use case

    Creation frequency

    Retention period

    Core applications

    Every 1-2 days

    Several months or longer

    Non-core applications

    Every 1-2 weeks

    Several days to weeks

    Software upgrades

    On-demand

    Delete promptly

    Critical file modifications

    Application data migration

    Test environments

    How to delete

    See Delete snapshots.

    Optimize automatic policies

    Poorly configured automatic snapshot policies can generate unnecessary costs.

    Review current policies

    1. In the ECS console, go to Storage & Snapshots > Snapshots.

    2. Click the Automatic Snapshot Policies tab.

    3. Review each policy's Policy Details:

      • Execution Frequency — How often snapshots are created

      • Retention Period — How long snapshots are kept

    Modify retention period

    1. On the Automatic Snapshot Policies tab, click Modify Policy for the target policy.

    2. Adjust the Retention Period to match your needs.

    3. Click OK.

    Disassociate policies from unused disks

    If a disk no longer needs automatic snapshots, remove it from the policy:

    1. Click Modify Policy for the automatic snapshot policy.

    2. Remove the disk from the associated disk list.

    Enable automatic deletion with disk release

    By default, automatic snapshots persist after disk release. Enable automatic deletion to prevent orphan snapshots:

    1. Go to Storage & Snapshots > Block Storage.

    2. Click Edit Attributes for the target disk.

    3. Select Delete Automatic Snapshots While Releasing Disk.

    4. Click Confirm.

    Warning

    When enabled, releasing a disk (manually, with an instance, or during system disk replacement) deletes all its automatic snapshots, including unexpired ones.

    Disable cross-region replication

    Cross-region replication incurs transfer and storage fees in the destination region.

    1. Review automatic snapshot policies for cross-region replication settings.

    2. Disable replication for policies where cross-region disaster recovery is not required.

    Archive snapshots for long-term retention

    Archive rarely accessed snapshots that require long-term retention to cut storage costs by ~50%.

    When to archive

    Archive snapshots that meet all of the following criteria:

    • Retained longer than 90 days

    • Rarely or never accessed

    • Does not need instant restore

    Cost comparison

    Example: a 50 GB disk with three snapshots in China (Hangzhou), kept for two months:

    Snapshot type

    Storage rate

    Two-month total

    Standard

    USD 0.0173/GB

    USD 1.73

    Archive

    USD 0.0085/GB

    USD 0.85

    Savings: ~50% by archiving.

    Note

    Archiving individual snapshots may not reduce costs due to incremental size calculation. Archive all snapshots of a disk together for maximum savings. See How snapshot size is calculated.

    How to archive

    See Archive snapshots.

    Purchase SCU

    Storage Capacity Units (SCU) provide pre-purchased capacity at 20–30% discount to offset snapshot storage costs.

    Benefits

    • 20–30% savings compared to pay-as-you-go pricing

    • Flexible capacity shared across multiple storage types

    • No commitment to specific resources

    Limitations

    • SCU cannot offset archive snapshot costs

    • SCU applies only within the region where it is purchased

    How to purchase

    1. In the Snapshot Size tab, locate the Storage Capacity Units section.

    2. Click Buy Now.

    3. Select capacity and billing term based on your projected usage.

    Note

    Check monthly snapshot storage from the Snapshot Size chart before purchasing SCU.

    Verify cost reduction

    After applying optimizations, confirm the cost reduction:

    1. Go to Storage & Snapshots > Snapshots > Snapshot Size tab.

    2. Compare the storage trend before and after the changes.

    3. Wait at least 24 hours for billing changes to take effect.

    4. Check billing details in the Alibaba Cloud Management Console: Billing > Bills.

    FAQ

    How do I find which snapshots use the most storage?

    In the ECS console, go to Storage & Snapshots > Snapshots. On the Disk Snapshots tab, sort by creation time or filter by disk to identify large or old snapshots. The Snapshot Size tab shows total storage by type.

    Why didn't archiving reduce my costs?

    Incremental snapshots share data blocks. Archiving only some snapshots of a disk may not reduce total size because the archived snapshot still references blocks used by non-archived snapshots. Archive all snapshots of a disk together for maximum savings.

    Can I recover a deleted snapshot?

    No. Snapshot deletion is permanent and irreversible.

    What happens to automatic snapshots when I release a disk?

    By default, automatic snapshots are retained after disk release and continue incurring costs. Enable Delete Automatic Snapshots While Releasing Disk in disk attributes to clean them up automatically.