Express Connect allows you to create dedicated connections and hosted connections between data centers and virtual private clouds (VPCs). The billable items vary based on the connection type. This topic describes the billing rules of connections over Express Connect circuits.
Billing overview
| Connection type | Charged by | Billable item |
|---|---|---|
| Dedicated connections over Express Connect circuits Use a dedicated Express Connect circuit to connect to Alibaba Cloud. For more information, see Connect to Alibaba Cloud through a dedicated Express Connect circuit. |
Third-party service provider |
|
| Alibaba Cloud |
|
|
| Hosted connections over Express Connect circuits Use a shared Express Connect circuit pre-installed by an Express Connect partner to connect to Alibaba Cloud. For more information, see Overview. |
Third-party service provider |
|
| Alibaba Cloud |
|
Billing of dedicated connections over Express Connect circuits
Billable items of dedicated connections over Express Connect circuits
| Charged by | Billable item | Description | Payment method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Third-party service provider | Optical fiber installation | The connectivity provider charges you for the leased Express Connect circuit. You
must contact the connectivity provider for the pricing of leasing an Express Connect
circuit to connect to Alibaba Cloud.
Note Most access points of Alibaba Cloud are deployed in colocation data centers. When
you install an Express Connect circuit in one of these data centers, you may need
to purchase cables from the colocation provider. The access points in China (Zhangjiakou)
and the following access points are deployed in Alibaba Cloud data centers: Hangzhou-Yuhang-B,
Hangzhou-Yuhang-C, Hangzhou-Yuhang-D, Hangzhou-Yuhang-E, and Beijing-Langfang-A. When
you install an Express Connect circuit in your data center, the colocation provider
of your data center may also charge a cable fee.
|
For more information, contact the service provider. |
| Cable rental | |||
| Optical transceiver module | Alibaba Cloud provides 1 Gbit/s and 10 Gbit/s single-mode optical transceiver modules
free of charge. These optical transceiver modules support a maximum transmission distance
of 10 km. To use the following single-mode optical transceiver modules, you must purchase
them from a third party:
|
||
| Alibaba Cloud | Initial installation | Alibaba Cloud charges an initial installation fee for an Express Connect circuit. |
Note Starting July 1, 2021, if you enable billing for outbound data transfer, you are not
charged an installation fee.
|
| Resource usage | Alibaba Cloud charges a resource usage fee based on the specification of an Express Connect circuit. | Monthly subscription. For more information, see Resource usage fees for dedicated connections over Express Connect circuits. | |
| Outbound data transfer | Alibaba Cloud charges you for data transmitted through dedicated Express Connect circuits
from Alibaba Cloud to a data center.
|
Pay-by-data-transfer. For more information, see Outbound data transfer fees. |
Resource usage fees for dedicated connections over Express Connect circuits
| Express Connect circuit specification | Unit price of resource usage in regions within the Chinese mainland (USD/month) | Unit price of resource usage in regions outside the Chinese mainland (USD/month) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Gbit/s and below | 85 | 210 |
| 10 Gbps | 720 | 1,600 |
| 40 Gbps | 2,450 | 5,500 |
| 100 Gbps | 5,200 | 11,700 |
Billing of hosted connections over Express Connect circuits
Billable items of hosted connections over Express Connect circuits
| Charged by | Billable item | Description | Payment method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Third-party service provider | Optical fiber installation | If you want to use a hosted connection over an Express Connect circuit established by an Express Connect partner, you must contact the |
Express Connect partner for circuit prices. |
| Cable rental | |||
| Alibaba Cloud | Resource usage | Alibaba Cloud charges a resource usage fee based on the specification of an Express Connect circuit. | Monthly subscription. For more information, see Resource usage fees for hosted connections over Express Connect circuits. |
| Outbound data transfer | Alibaba Cloud charges you for data transmitted through shared Express Connect circuits
from Alibaba Cloud to a data center.
|
Pay-by-data-transfer. For more information, see Outbound data transfer fees. |
- The owner of an Express Connect circuit can contact customer service of Alibaba Cloud to apply for permissions to create shared ports if the following requirements are met: The owner and user of the Express Connect circuit belong to the same enterprise within the Chinese mainland. The enterprise owns the A26 license issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
- By default, shared ports are unavailable outside the Chinese mainland. To use this feature, Express Connect circuit owners can contact customer service of Alibaba Cloud to acquire the required permissions.
Resource usage fees for hosted connections over Express Connect circuits
| Express Connect circuit specification | Unit price of resource usage in regions within the Chinese mainland (USD/month) | Unit price of resource usage in regions outside the Chinese mainland (USD/month) |
|---|---|---|
| 50 Mbps | 20 | 20 |
| 100 Mbps | 30 | 40 |
| 200 Mbps | 40 | 55 |
| 300 Mbps | 45 | 85 |
| 400 Mbps | 55 | 115 |
| 500 Mbps | 60 | 140 |
| 1 Gbps | 85 | 210 |
| 2 Gbps | 150 | 475 |
| 5 Gbps | 375 | 1,100 |
| 8 Gbps | 600 | 1,400 |
| 10 Gbps | 720 | 1,600 |
Outbound data transfer fees
The unit price of outbound data transfer varies based on the region. The following table describes the prices.
The prices in the following table are for reference only. You can view the unit price of an Express Connect circuit in the bill.
| Area | Region | Unit price(USD/GB) |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese mainland | China (Hangzhou), China (Shanghai), China (Qingdao), China (Beijing), China (Zhangjiakou), China (Hohhot), China (Ulanqab), China (Shenzhen), China (Heyuan), China (Guangzhou), and China (Chengdu) | 0.0125 |
| Asia Pacific | China (Hong Kong), Singapore (Singapore), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Japan (Tokyo), South Korea (Seoul), and Philippines (Manila) | 0.0390 |
| Indonesia (Jakarta) | 0.0780 | |
| Australia (Sydney) | 0.0399 | |
| India (Mumbai) | 0.0428 | |
| Europe & Americas | US (Silicon Valley), US (Virginia), Germany (Frankfurt), and UK (London) | 0.0190 |
| Middle East | UAE (Dubai) | 0.0855 |
Outbound data transfer plans
| Area | Region | 1 TB (USD) | 10 TB (USD) | 100 TB (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese mainland | China (Hangzhou), China (Shanghai), China (Qingdao), China (Beijing), China (Zhangjiakou), China (Hohhot), China (Ulanqab), China (Shenzhen), China (Heyuan), China (Guangzhou), China (Chengdu), China (Wuhan), China (Shenyang), China (Nanjing), and China (Xi'an) | 13 | 125 | 1,241 |
| Asia Pacific | China (Hong Kong), Singapore (Singapore), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Japan (Tokyo), South Korea (Seoul), Philippines (Manila), Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh), and Thailand (Bangkok) | 39 | 390 | 3,871 |
| Indonesia | Indonesia (Jakarta) | 79 | 780 | 7,742 |
| Australia | Australia (Sydney) | 40 | 399 | 3,960 |
| India | India (Mumbai) | 43 | 428 | 4,248 |
| Europe & Americas | US (Silicon Valley), US (Virginia), Germany (Frankfurt), and UK (London) | 19 | 190 | 1,886 |
| Middle East | UAE (Dubai) and SAU (Riyadh) | 87 | 855 | 8,486 |
Example of outbound data transfer billing
You have two data centers. One is located in Beijing and the other is located in Virginia. You want to use an Express Connect circuit to connect the data center in Beijing to an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance in a VPC deployed in the China (Beijing) region. You also want to connect the data center in Virginia to an ECS instance in a VPC deployed in the US (Virginia) region. After you use the same Alibaba Cloud account to establish connections over Express Connect circuits in these regions, data is transmitted through the connections from Alibaba Cloud to the data centers. 100 TB of outbound data is transferred in the China (Beijing) region per month. Then, 80 TB of outbound data is transferred in the US (Virginia) region per month.
- Before the free quota of outbound data transfer expires, the outbound data transfer
fee that you must pay each month is calculated by using the following formulas:
- China (Beijing): USD 0.0125/GB × (100 - 50) × 1,024 GB = USD 640
- US (Virginia): USD 0.0190/GB × 80 × 1,024 GB = USD 1,556.48
Total fee = USD 640 + USD 1,556.48 = USD 2,196.48
- After the free quota of outbound data transfer expires, the outbound data transfer
fee that you must pay each month is calculated by using the following formulas:
- China (Beijing): USD 0.0125/GB × 100 × 1,024 GB = USD 1,280
- US (Virginia): USD 0.0190/GB × 80 × 1,024 GB = USD 1,556.48
Total fee = USD 1,280 + USD 1,556.48 = USD 2,836.48