Alibaba Cloud Model Studio offers several savings plans to help you manage and optimize costs.
Selection guide
To choose the right option quickly:
AI General-purpose Savings Plan (Recommended): Commit to monthly spending for up to 47% discount. Covers all models with maximum flexibility—preferred for most use cases.
Other savings plans: Purchase a fixed amount to offset fees for specific model series—such as Wan or audio models. Apply only to certain series and typically offer lower discounts. Use as needed.
To maximize cost-effectiveness, start with AI General-purpose Savings Plan.
AI General-purpose Savings Plan
Key benefits
The AI General-purpose Savings Plan is a discount program for pay-as-you-go model usage. You commit to a monthly spending amount for a specified period (3, 6, 12, or 24 months) and receive tiered discounts while retaining pay-as-you-go flexibility. Key benefits include the following:
Comprehensive coverage: One purchase applies to usage across all models on Model Studio.
Significant cost optimization: Higher committed spending amounts and longer commitment cycles result in larger discounts up to 47%.
Convenient management: The plan takes effect immediately after purchase or at a specified time. No manual activation or binding is required. It automatically applies deductions and supports auto-renewal.
Usage notes
Effective time: Choose either “Effective Immediately After Ordering” or “Effective at Specified Time (by Hour)”.
Commitment cycle details: The commitment cycle is monthly. At the end of each month, unused quota expires and does not carry over. For example, if you subscribe to a 3-month savings plan with a monthly committed quota of USD 1,000, you receive USD 1,000 each month—not USD 3,000 total.
Coverage: Covers all pay-as-you-go inference items, including model call fees (input and output tokens), tool calling, context cache, and batch inference. It does not cover fine-tuning or deployment fees.
Offset logic:
Offset order: New user free quota > Other savings plans > AI General-purpose Savings Plan > Pay-as-you-go.
Multiple plans: Earlier expiration or purchase date takes priority.
Excess usage: Automatically billed as pay-as-you-go.
Query bills: See How to query savings plan bills.
Purchasing guide
Purchase method | |
Supported models | After purchasing the LLM General-purpose Savings Plan, deductions apply to three model categories: A, B, and C. Different tiers, commitment cycles, and offering types offer different discounts.
|
Monthly spend commitment | Monthly committed amount to offset pay-as-you-go fees. Customize starting from USD 150, adjustable in USD 5 increments, with no upper limit. |
Commitment cycle | Choose from: 3, 6, 12, or 24 months. |
Offering type |
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Discount | Refer to the discount information. |
Activation time range | Choose "Effective Immediately After Ordering" or "Effective at Specified Time (by Hour)". |
Discount information
Discounts vary depending on the model, tier, commitment cycle, and offering type.
For example, if you select a 12-month savings plan with a monthly spend commitment of USD 10,000 and pay all upfront, you receive a 24% discount when calling the Qwen text generation model (Category A). This means a model call that originally costs USD 1 deducts USD 0.76 from your savings plan quota.
Offering type | Monthly spend commitment (USD) | Category A | Category B | Category C | ||||||
3 months | 6 months | 12 months | 24 months | 3 months | 6 months | 12 months | 24 months | Full period | ||
All upfront | [150, 700) | 12% | 14% | 16% | 18% | 17% | 20% | 23% | 26% | None |
[700, 1500) | 14% | 16% | 18% | 20% | 20% | 23% | 26% | 29% | None | |
[1,500, 4,500) | 16% | 18% | 20% | 22% | 23% | 26% | 29% | 32% | None | |
[4,500, 7,000) | 18% | 20% | 22% | 24% | 26% | 29% | 32% off | 35% | None | |
[7,000, 15,000) | 20% | 22% | 24% | 26% | 29% | 32% | 35% | 38% | None | |
[15,000, 45,000) | 22% | 24% | 26% | 28% | 32% | 35% | 38% | 41% | None | |
[45,000, 150,000) | 24% | 26% | 28% | 30% | 35% | 38% | 41% | 44% | None | |
USD 150,000 or more | 26% | 28% | 30% | 32% | 38% | 41% | 44% | 47% | None | |
No upfront Contact your account manager to use. | [150, 700) | 10% | 12% | 14% | 16% | 15% | 18% | 21% | 24% | None |
[700, 1,500) | 12% | 14% | 16% | 18% | 18% | 21% | 24% | 27% | None | |
[1,500, 4,500) | 14% | 16% | 18% | 20% | 21% | 24% | 27% | 30% | None | |
[4,500, 7,000) | 16% | 18% | 20% | 22% | 24% | 27% | 30% | 33% | None | |
[7,000, 15,000) | 18% | 20% | 22% | 24% | 27% | 30% | 33% | 36% | None | |
[15,000, 45,000) | 20% | 22% | 24% | 26% | 30% | 33% | 36% | 39% | None | |
[45,000, 150,000) | 22% | 24% | 26% | 28% | 33% | 36% | 39% | 42% | None | |
USD 150,000 or more | 24% | 26% | 28% | 30% | 36% | 39% | 42% | 45% | None | |
Lifecycle management
Manage your savings plans on the Savings Plan Overview page.
Savings plan renewal
Log on to the Expenses and Costs console. In the left navigation pane, choose . View and manage the subscription status, effective time, and auto-renewal status of your savings plans. Savings plans do not support unsubscription.
Query discounts
In the AI General-purpose Savings Plan, discounts vary depending on the model, tier, commitment cycle, and offering type. Query this information on the Savings Plan Price Discount Details table. Set Applicable Commodity to Model Studio Foundation Model Inference or Model Studio - Domain-Specific Model to view the corresponding pay-as-you-go discounts.
Query bills
Go to the Expenses and Costs console. In the left navigation pane, choose . Set Product Name to Alibaba Cloud Model Studio and Commodity Name to AI General-purpose Savings Plan. The page displays the current month’s detailed bill by default. For more information, see How to query savings plan bills.
Other savings plans
FAQ
Q: Why was my savings plan not used for deduction?
A: A savings plan is used for deductions only when specific conditions are met. Common reasons include the following:
Model mismatch: The model you called is not covered by your savings plan. For example, you purchased an LLM Inference Savings Plan but called a Wan model.
Free quota remaining: The system's offset order is Free quota > Savings plan. The savings plan is applied only to bills generated after the free quota is used up.