This topic describes how Elastic Algorithm Service (EAS) of Machine Learning Platform for AI (PAI) is billed.

You are charged EAS fees for the resources that are used to deploy model services.
  • You can deploy model services in shared resource groups and dedicated resource groups. Bills are generated based on the used resources of resource groups. For more information about the differences between the two types of resource groups, see Dedicated resource groups.
  • If you deploy a model service in a shared resource group and a dedicated resource group, you are charged for using the resources of both resource groups.
The following table describes the billing rules for shared resource groups and dedicated resource groups.
Resource Billable item Billing method Billing rule Method to stop billing
Shared resource group The duration that model services have been running, which is the amount of time for which the model services have occupied shared resources. Pay-as-you-go Bills are generated based on the number of shared resources that are occupied by model services. The billing starts immediately after model services are created. Stop model services
Dedicated resource group The duration that resource groups have been running. Pay-as-you-go Only dedicated resource groups are billed. Model services deployed in dedicated resource groups are not charged. The billing starts immediately after pay-as-you-go dedicated resource groups are created. Stop dedicated resource groups
Subscription N/A

Billing rules for shared resource groups

You can use the default instance type or specify the instance type as needed if you use shared resource groups. Billing rules vary based on the type of the instance that you use.
Item Default instance type Specified instance type
Billing formula 
Bill amount of each model service = Number of instances × (Number of CPU cores × Unit price + Memory size × Unit price) × Usage duration
Note Usage duration is measured in minutes. 
Bill amount of each model service = Number of instances × Unit price × Usage duration
Note Usage duration is measured in minutes.
Unit price For more information about the prices, see Prices of shared resource groups with the default instance type. For more information about the prices, see Prices of shared resource groups with the specified instance type.
Usage duration
  • Bills are generated from the time when a model service starts to run and consume resources.
  • The system stops billing immediately after a model service is suspended and releases resources.
Scaling
  • If you scale out a model service, newly added resources are billed after the scale-out activity is complete.
  • If you scale in a model service, released resources are no longer billed, and only the remaining resources are billed.
Notes
  • Fees are charged on a per minute basis. No fee is charged if a resource group runs for less than one minute.
  • We recommend that you stop unwanted model services to avoid unnecessary costs.
  • Fees are charged on a per minute basis. No fee is charged if a resource group runs for less than one minute.
  • We recommend that you stop unwanted model services to avoid unnecessary costs.
  • Some resources may not be available in one or more regions for a short period of time. During the time period, you cannot purchase relevant resource groups in these regions.

Prices of shared resource groups with the default instance type

If you use pay-as-you-go shared resource groups with the default instance type, fees are charged on a per minute basis. The following table lists the unit prices per hour. You can calculate the unit prices per minute by dividing the prices listed in the table by 60.
Resource type Unit price Region
CPU USD 0.03 per core per hour
  • China (Hangzhou)
  • China (Shanghai)
  • China (Shenzhen)
  • China (Beijing)
  • China (Hong Kong)
  • Singapore (Singapore)
  • Indonesia (Jakarta)
  • India (Mumbai)
  • Germany (Frankfurt)
  • US (Virginia)
Memory USD 0.004 per GB per hour
Note Shared resource groups do not provide GPU resources. If you require GPU resources, you must purchase dedicated resource groups.

Prices of shared resource groups with the specified instance type

If you use pay-as-you-go shared resource groups with the specified instance type, the prices vary based on the instance type and the region. For more information about the unit prices per hour of different instance types, go to the Dedicated Node for EAS (Pay-As-You-Go) buy page. However, fees are charged on a per minute basis. You can calculate the unit prices per minute by dividing the prices listed on the page by 60.

Billing examples for shared resource groups

  • Scenario:
    For example, you used shared resource groups with the specified instance type in the China (Hangzhou) region to deploy a model service.
    • The model service occupied 2 CPU cores and 8 GB of memory, and started to run at 09:00:00 (UTC+8) on June 3, 2019.
    • You scaled in the model service and reduced the occupied resources to 1 CPU core and 4 GB of memory at 10:00:00 (UTC+8) on June 3, 2019.
    • Then, you scaled out the model service and increased the occupied resources to 4 CPU cores and 16 GB of memory at 11:00:00 (UTC+8) on June 3, 2019.
    • At 12:00:00 (UTC+8) on June 3, 2019, the model service stopped running.
  • The bill amount is calculated based on the following formula:
    Bill amount = 2 × 0.03 + 8 × 0.004 + 1 × 0.03 + 4 × 0.004 + 4 × 0.03 + 16 × 0.004 = USD 0.322

Billing rules for dedicated resource groups

Two types of billing methods are supported for dedicated resource groups: subscription and pay-as-you-go. Billing rules vary based on the two types of billing methods.
Item Subscription Pay-as-you-go
Billing formula 
Bill amount of each resource group = Number of resources × Unit price × Subscription duration
Note Usage duration is measured in minutes. 
Bill amount of each resource group = Number of resources × (Unit price/60) × Usage duration
Note Usage duration is measured in minutes.
Unit price For more information about the prices, see Prices of dedicated resource groups.
Usage duration After you purchase a dedicated resource group, the resource group is free of charge on the current day, and the subscription takes effect from the next day. For example, you purchased a dedicated resource group on July 31, 2019, and the subscription duration is one month. Then, the resource group expired at 00:00:00 (UTC+8) on August 31, 2019.
Note Valid range of subscription duration: 1 to 12 months. Each month contains 30 calendar days.
  • The billing starts immediately after a dedicated resource group is created and enters the Running state.
  • The billing stops immediately after the resource group enters the No Node state.
Scaling N/A
  • If you scale out a model service, newly added resources are billed after the scale-out activity is complete.
  • If you scale in a model service, released resources are no longer billed, and only the remaining resources are billed.
Notes Some resources may not be available in one or more regions for a short period of time. During the time period, you cannot purchase relevant resource groups in these regions.
  • Fees are charged on a per minute basis. No fee is charged if a resource group runs for less than one minute.
  • We recommend that you stop unwanted model services to avoid unnecessary costs.
  • Some resources may not be available in one or more regions for a short period of time. During the time period, you cannot purchase relevant resource groups in these regions.

Prices of dedicated resource groups

For more information about the pricing of subscription dedicated resource groups, go to the Dedicated Node for EAS (Subscription) buy page.

For more information about the pricing of pay-as-you-go dedicated resource groups, go to the Dedicated Node for EAS (Pay-As-You-Go) buy page.

Billing examples for dedicated resource groups

  • Subscription
    • Scenario:

      For example, you subscribe to two T4 GPUs in the China (Hangzhou) region for three months, and the specifications of each GPU are 4 CPU cores and 15 GB of memory.

    • The bill amount is calculated based on the following formula:
      Bill amount = 2 × 570 × 3 = USD 3,420
  • Pay-as-you-go
    • Scenario:

      For example, you purchase two pay-as-you-go Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances whose instance type is ecs.g6.6xlarge in the China (Hangzhou) region, and use the instances for 45 minutes. The specifications of each ECS instance are 24 CPU cores and 96 GB of memory.

    • The bill amount is calculated based on the following formula:
      Bill amount = 2 × (2.94/60) × 45 = USD 4.41