Using the Alibaba Cloud ApsaraVideo Real-time Communication (ARTC) service incurs fees based on the type and duration of audio and video streams that users subscribe to. This topic describes the billing rules and pricing.
Audio charges begin as soon as a user or bot (such as an AI bot or recording bot) joins a channel, even if they are the only participant.
To avoid unnecessary charges, ensure all users promptly leave the channel and stop all server-side processing tasks, such as cloud recording.
Billing formula
The total audio and video communication cost is the combined usage cost for all users in a channel.
Total audio and video communication cost = (Unit price for audio specification × billable audio duration) + (Unit price for video specification × billable video duration)
Pricing
Audio and video communication uses a pay-as-you-go model. We bill usage by the minute, rounding any partial minute up to a full minute. Bills are generated daily for the previous day, and fees are deducted from your account after midnight. The exact billing time may vary.
Stream type | Specification | Subscribed resolution | Price (USD/minute) |
Audio call | Audio | Audio-only | 0.00086 |
Video call | 480P or lower | ≤ 720×480 | 0.00171 |
720P or lower | > 720×480 and ≤ 1280×720 | 0.00343 | |
Above 720P (including 1080P) | > 1280×720 | 0.01286 |
The publisher's configuration determines the stream type and specification.
Billable duration
Audio billable duration
Audio billable duration = Total time a user is in the channel - Total time the user receives video streams
After a user joins a channel, any time they are not receiving a video stream counts as audio billable duration, regardless of whether they actively subscribe to an audio stream.
If a user subscribes to multiple audio streams simultaneously (for example, in a multi-party audio conference), they are charged for only a single audio stream.
Video billable duration
Video billable duration is the total duration of all video streams a user receives in a channel. Billing combines tiered pricing with the duration of each stream.
Duration of each received video stream: This is the time from when a user starts receiving a specific remote video stream until they stop receiving it.
Tiered pricing: Each received video stream maps to a pricing tier based on its resolution. Each tier has its own unit price.
Summation of multiple streams: When a user receives multiple video streams simultaneously, the system records the duration for each stream and then bills the total duration for each resolution tier separately.
Simultaneous audio and video subscriptions: If a user subscribes to both video and audio streams during the same period, you are only charged for the video stream. We do not double-charge for audio.
Billing examples
Usage example
The following diagram shows a user's activity in a channel, including when they join, subscribe to streams, and leave.
Audio cost = (Duration with no subscription + Duration of audio subscription) × Unit price for audio = (10 minutes + 20 minutes) × 0.00086 USD/minute = 0.0258 USD.
Video cost = (Duration of 480P video subscription × Unit price for 480P video) + (Duration of 720P video subscription × Unit price for 720P video) = 20 minutes × 0.00171 USD/minute + 10 minutes × 0.00343 USD/minute = 0.0685 USD.
Audio-only billing example
Users A, B, and C join a channel for an audio-only call that lasts 1,790 seconds, which is billed as 30 minutes.
Total cost = Unit price for audio × Sum of all users' time in channel = 0.00086 USD/minute × 30 minutes × 3 = 0.0774 USD.
Mixed audio and video billing example
Users A, B, and C join a channel for a call that lasts 590 seconds, which is billed as 10 minutes. User A publishes a 640×360 video stream, User B publishes a 1280x720 video stream, and User C publishes an audio-only stream. The following table describes their subscriptions:
Subscriber | A | B | C | Description |
A | - | - | Yes | User A receives no video streams and is billed for audio only. |
B | Yes | - | Yes | User B subscribes to User A's video stream. The simultaneous subscription to User C's audio stream is not charged. |
C | Yes | Yes | - | User C subscribes to the video streams from both User A and User B. |
User A's cost = 0.00086 USD/minute × 10 minutes = 0.0086 USD.
User B's cost = 0.00171 USD/minute × 10 minutes = 0.0171 USD.
User C's cost = (0.00171 USD/minute × 10 minutes) + (0.00343 USD/minute × 10 minutes) = 0.0514 USD.
Total cost = User A's cost + User B's cost + User C's cost = 0.0771 USD.