Pay-as-you-go is the default billing method for Object Storage Service (OSS). With pay-as-you-go, OSS bills you for the resources that you actually use, and the fees for each supported billable item are calculated and settled on a fixed cycle.
Billing rule
Under the pay-as-you-go billing method, OSS charges you based on your actual resource usage. You do not need to purchase OSS resources before you use them, and resources that you do not use are not billed.
Scenarios
The pay-as-you-go billing method is suitable for the following scenarios:
Fluctuating usage — Your OSS resource usage changes frequently.
Short-term usage — You need OSS resources for a limited period only, such as for a temporary or unplanned workload.
Billable items
The following OSS billable items support the pay-as-you-go billing method:
Billing cycle
OSS calculates pay-as-you-go fees on an hourly basis and settles them on a monthly basis. At the end of each monthly billing cycle, OSS generates a bill and deducts the fees from your Alibaba Cloud account.
The available credit of your Alibaba Cloud account includes your account balance and your vouchers. If your available credit is less than the amount to be settled, you receive a text message or an email notification about the insufficient balance.
Pricing
For information about pay-as-you-go pricing for OSS, see OSS pricing.