Under the pay-as-you-go model, charges are based on the sandbox specifications, runtime state, and actual usage duration. After a sandbox is created in FC Agent Sandbox, it can be in the active, light hibernation, deep hibernation, or destroyed state. Different states incur charges for different resources.
Preview Notice
Independent pay-as-you-go billing for FC Agent Sandbox is currently in invite-only preview and is being opened to allowlisted customers in batches. This page provides billing rules and cost estimation references.
Before independent pay-as-you-go billing for FC Agent Sandbox becomes generally available, FC Agent Sandbox resources continue to be billed according to Function pay-as-you-go rules. After independent pay-as-you-go billing is enabled, the FC Agent Sandbox billing model described on this page applies.
During the preview, available regions, resource specifications, subscription plans, unit prices, billing cycles, and resource release policies may change. The actual activation scope, billed amount, and billing rules are subject to the console, cost and billing statements, preview activation terms, or official release announcements.
Billing Granularity
Billing granularity: Charges are calculated by the second, and usage shorter than 1 second is billed as 1 second.
Billing cycle: Charges are settled once per hour.
Subscription Plans
During the preview, FC Agent Sandbox describes billing rules based on three subscription plans: Eco, Std, and Pro. Different plans support different state capabilities. The plans that can be activated are subject to the preview scope.
| Subscription Plan | Applicable Scenarios | Active | Deep Hibernation | Light Hibernation |
| Eco | Individual developers, startup teams, and low-cost validation | Supported | Not supported | Not supported |
| Std | Enterprise production workloads | Supported | Supported | Not supported |
| Pro | Large-scale production workloads | Supported | Supported | Supported |
Billing Rules
Active State
When a sandbox is in the active state, you are charged for vCPU, memory, and disk. Disk usage includes a free allowance of 15 GiB.
Fee = vCPU fee + memory fee + disk fee
Billable disk size = max(0, disk size - 15) GiBLight Hibernation State
After a sandbox enters light hibernation, vCPU charges stop. You are charged only for memory and disk. Disk usage includes a free allowance of 15 GiB.
Fee = memory fee + disk fee
Billable disk size = max(0, disk size - 15) GiBLight hibernation is supported only by the Pro plan.
Deep Hibernation State
After a sandbox enters deep hibernation, vCPU and memory charges stop. You are charged only for disk based on the disk capacity occupied during deep hibernation. The 15 GiB free disk allowance does not apply during deep hibernation.
Deep hibernation disk usage = memory size × 2 + disk size
Fee = deep hibernation disk usage × disk unit price × durationDestroyed State
After a sandbox is destroyed, no additional FC Agent Sandbox instance charges are incurred. Deep hibernation is not the same as destruction, and disk charges still apply during deep hibernation.
Snapshot Pricing
Once the Snapshot feature is used, billing will be applied according to the Snapshot billing rules.
Snapshot Storage Usage = Memory Specification × 2 + Disk Specification
Cost = Snapshot Storage Usage × Disk Unit Price × DurationPreview Pay-as-you-go Unit Prices (International Site)
The following preview pay-as-you-go unit prices apply to the international site and can be used for cost estimation. Before independent pay-as-you-go billing becomes generally available, actual bills are subject to the cost and billing statements.
| Subscription Plan | vCPU Unit Price (USD/vCPU/hour) | Memory Unit Price (USD/GiB/hour) | Disk Unit Price (USD/GiB/hour) |
| Eco | 0.00936 | 0.004608 | 0.00031896 |
| Std | 0.01224 | 0.006012 | 0.00031896 |
| Pro | 0.01872 | 0.009360 | 0.00031896 |
Disk unit price: 0.00031896 USD/GiB/hour in regions in mainland China, and 0.00025308 USD/GiB/hour in regions outside mainland China. Availability in regions outside mainland China is subject to preview activation terms or official release announcements.
Billing Examples (International Site)
Eco Active for 1 Hour
Create an Eco sandbox with 2 vCPUs, 4 GiB of memory, and 15 GiB of disk, keep it active for 1 hour, and then destroy it.
| Billable Item | Calculation | Fee |
| vCPU | 2 × 0.00936 × 1 | 0.01872 USD |
| Memory | 4 × 0.004608 × 1 | 0.018432 USD |
| Disk | Within the 15 GiB free disk allowance | 0 USD |
| Total | 0.037152 USD |
Std Active for 1 Hour, Then Deep Hibernation for 1 Hour
Create a Std sandbox with 2 vCPUs, 4 GiB of memory, and 30 GiB of disk, keep it active for 1 hour, let it enter deep hibernation for 1 hour, and then destroy it.
| Billable Item | Calculation | Fee |
| vCPU (active) | 2 × 0.01224 × 1 | 0.02448 USD |
| Memory (active) | 4 × 0.006012 × 1 | 0.024048 USD |
| Disk (active) | (30 - 15) × 0.00031896 × 1 | 0.0047844 USD |
| Disk (deep hibernation) | (4 × 2 + 30) × 0.00031896 × 1 | 0.01212048 USD |
| Total | 0.06543288 USD |
The disk capacity occupied during deep hibernation is 4 × 2 + 30 = 38 GiB.
Pro Active, Light Hibernation, and Deep Hibernation for 1 Hour Each
Create a Pro sandbox with 2 vCPUs, 4 GiB of memory, and 30 GiB of disk, keep it active for 1 hour, let it stay in light hibernation for 1 hour, let it stay in deep hibernation for 1 hour, and then destroy it.
| Billable Item | Calculation | Fee |
| vCPU (active) | 2 × 0.01872 × 1 | 0.03744 USD |
| Memory (active) | 4 × 0.00936 × 1 | 0.03744 USD |
| Disk (active) | (30 - 15) × 0.00031896 × 1 | 0.0047844 USD |
| Memory (light hibernation) | 4 × 0.00936 × 1 | 0.03744 USD |
| Disk (light hibernation) | (30 - 15) × 0.00031896 × 1 | 0.0047844 USD |
| Disk (deep hibernation) | (4 × 2 + 30) × 0.00031896 × 1 | 0.01212048 USD |
| Total | 0.13400928 USD |
Overdue Payment and Resource Release
Pay-as-you-go charges are typically settled once per hour. If your account balance is insufficient and an overdue payment occurs, the system sends an overdue payment notification.
After an overdue payment occurs, FC Agent Sandbox instances may be automatically stopped and no longer provide runtime capabilities.
The retention period, release time, and recovery method for stopped sandbox data are subject to console notifications, cost and billing statements, preview activation terms, or official release announcements.
We recommend that you destroy sandboxes that are no longer needed and configure appropriate timeouts for production workloads to avoid unexpected charges caused by idle resources.
FAQ
Will I still be charged after a sandbox is destroyed?
No additional FC Agent Sandbox instance charges are incurred after a sandbox is destroyed. Deep hibernation is not the same as destruction, and disk charges still apply during deep hibernation.
Is the free disk allowance shared across sandboxes?
No. Each sandbox independently includes a 15 GiB free disk allowance, which is available only in the active and light hibernation states.
How do I view usage and bills?
During the preview, you can view usage details and bills for activated resources on Alibaba Cloud cost and billing pages. The available entry points may vary based on the preview activation scope of your account.