Overview - Object Storage Service - Alibaba Cloud Documentation Center

The default billing method for Object Storage Service (OSS) resources is pay-as-you-go. Compared with the pay-as-you-go billing method, resource plans can be more cost-effective. To reduce costs, we recommend that you purchase resource plans. Resource plans can be used to offset resource fees, such as storage and traffic fees. If a resource plan expires or the actual resource usage exceeds the quota of the resource plan, the pay-as-you-go billing method is automatically used.

Resource plan types

Resource plan	Description
Storage plan	Used to offset the storage fees of OSS objects.
Standard (LRS) storage plan	Used to offset the storage fees of Standard locally redundant storage (LRS) objects.
IA (LRS) storage plan	Used to offset the storage fees of Infrequent Access (IA) LRS objects.
Data transfer plan	Used to offset OSS traffic fees.
Outbound traffic plan	Used to offset the traffic fees generated when data is transferred from OSS to the client over the Internet.
Transfer acceleration plan	Used to offset the traffic fees generated when OSS is accessed by using acceleration endpoints.
DDoS protection basic plan	Used to offset the fees that are generated when Anti-DDoS instance resources are reserved.

Purchase suggestions

Suggestion 1: Select resource plans based on your business scenarios

In most cases, storage plans and outbound traffic plans are purchased. Storage plans are used to offset the storage fees of OSS objects. Outbound traffic plans are used to offset the fees that are generated when OSS objects are accessed over the Internet.

Scenario	Resource plan
OSS is used to store text, images, audio files, and videos as Standard LRS objects.	Standard (LRS) storage plan
OSS objects are browsed or downloaded over the Internet.	Outbound traffic plan

For information about the use scenarios of different resource plans, see the Resource plan types section of this topic.

Suggestion 2: Select resource plans based on specific billable items in your bill

You can select resource plans based on specific billable items on the Details tab of the Bills page.

For example, if the billable item is the storage usage of Standard LRS objects, you can purchase Standard (LRS) storage plans to offset the storage fees.

Suggestion 3: Select resource plans based on your resource usage

You can select resource plans based on the usage of specific billable items on the Details tab of the Bills page.

For example, if the storage usage of Standard LRS objects is 40 GB per hour, you can purchase a Standard (LRS) storage plan that has a capacity of 40 GB to offset the storage fees.

Suggestion 4: Purchase resource plans based on the reasons why existing resource plans are not used to offset fees and the pay-as-you-go billing method is used

You can view the types of billable items and the usage and consumption time of resources on the Details tab of the Bills page.
You can view the types, number, and effective time of resource plans that are in effect on the Resource Packages tab of the Manage Reserved Instances page.

Compare the billable items and resource plans.

Sample issue	Solution
The bill contains outbound traffic over the Internet (NetworkOut), but the resource plan list does not contain outbound traffic plans.	Purchase outbound traffic plans.
The bill contains the storage usage of Standard LRS objects, but the resource plan list does not contain Standard (LRS) storage plans.	Purchase Standard (LRS) storage plans.
The storage usage of Standard LRS objects in the bill is 100 GB per hour, but the Standard (LRS) storage plan in the resource plan list has a capacity of 40 GB.	Increase the capacity of the Standard (LRS) storage plan to 100 GB.
The bill is generated before you purchase resource plans.	None.

Offset limits

Resource plans can be used to offset only the fees for the current Alibaba Cloud account and cannot be used across accounts.
OSS resource plans can be used to offset only the resource fees of OSS.
Resource plans can be used to offset only the fees generated after the resource plans are purchased.
Resource plans of a specific type can be used to offset only the fees for billable items that are specific to the resource plans. For more information, see the Resource plan types section of this topic.
Region-specific resource plans can be used to offset only the fees for billable items supported by the resource plans in specific regions. Resource plans for the Chinese mainland can be used to offset fees for billable items supported by the resource plans in multiple regions in the Chinese mainland. For more information, see the Regions section of this topic.

Offset methods

Offset method	Resource plan	Example
Fixed total capacity	Storage plan	A fixed quota is available every hour. If the fixed quota is not exhausted within one hour, the unused quota cannot be transferred to the next hour. For example, a resource plan that has a capacity of 10 TB can be used to offset fees for storage usage of up to 10 TB per hour. If the storage usage is 9 TB in the first hour, the resource plan can be used to fully offset the storage fees. If the storage usage is 10 TB in the second hour, the resource plan can still be used to fully offset the storage fees. If the storage usage is 11 TB in the third hour, the resource plan can be used to offset the storage fees for the first 10 TB. You are charged for the excess 1 TB on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Monthly subscription	Outbound traffic plan	A fixed quota is available every month. The full quota is restored on the first day of the next month. The unused quota cannot be transferred to the next month. For example, if you purchase an outbound traffic plan that has a capacity of 100 GB and a validity period of 6 months, you can use the traffic plan to offset fees for 100 GB of download traffic over the Internet per month within 6 months. The excess part is billed on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Decreasing total capacity	Transfer acceleration plan	Transfer acceleration plans are used to offset the fees of actual resource usage until the balance in your account is cleared or until the plans expire. For example, if you purchase a transfer acceleration plan that has a capacity of 5 TB and a validity period of 3 months, you can use the plan to offset fees for 5 TB of transfer acceleration traffic within 3 months. The excess part is billed on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Regions

When you purchase resource plans, you must select the region in which you want to use the resource plans. You do not need to select a region when you purchase a DDoS protection basic plan because this plan takes effect in all regions. Region-specific resource plans are available only in specific regions.

Note

You can use the DDoS protection basic plan to offset the fees generated for Anti-DDoS instances in different regions. One DDoS protection basic plan can be used to offset the fees generated only for a single instance in a single region within the same hour. If fees are generated in multiple regions within the same hour, you can purchase multiple DDoS protection basic plans to offset the fees.

Region type	Description
All regions	Offset resource usage fees in all regions.
Specific regions ^①	Offset resource usage fees only in selected regions. ^②
Regions in the Chinese mainland ^①	Offset resource usage fees in multiple regions in the Chinese mainland. ^③
Transfer acceleration regions	Offset traffic fees generated when you use an acceleration endpoint to accelerate uploads or downloads. The acceleration endpoint can be used to access OSS buckets across different regions.
Transfer acceleration M2M	Offset transfer acceleration fees generated when you use an acceleration endpoint to accelerate uploads (AccM2MIn) or downloads (AccM2MOut). The acceleration endpoint can be used to access OSS buckets across regions in the Chinese mainland.
Transfer acceleration M2O_O2M	Offset transfer acceleration fees generated when you use an acceleration endpoint to accelerate uploads (AccM2OIn or AccO2MIn) or downloads (AccM2OOut or AccO2MOut). The acceleration endpoint can be used to access OSS buckets in regions in the Chinese mainland from regions outside the Chinese mainland or in regions outside the Chinese mainland from regions in the Chinese mainland.
Transfer acceleration O2O	Offset transfer acceleration fees generated when you use an acceleration endpoint to accelerate uploads (AccO2OIn) or downloads (AccO2OOut). The acceleration endpoint can be used to access OSS buckets in regions outside the Chinese mainland from regions outside the Chinese mainland.

^① You can purchase resource plans for the Chinese mainland and region-specific resource plans at the same time. Region-specific resource plans are preferentially used to offset fees. After the quota is exceeded, fees are offset based on resource plans for the Chinese mainland. If the actual usage still exceeds the quota of resource plans for the Chinese mainland, you are billed for the excess usage on a pay-as-you-go basis.

^② For example, resource plans for the China (Qingdao) region can be used to offset only the resource usage fees that are generated in the China (Qingdao) region.

^③ For more information about the regions in the Chinese mainland that are supported by resource plans for the Chinese mainland, see the Regions supported by resource plans for the Chinese mainland section of this topic.

Regions supported by resource plans for the Chinese mainland

Resource plan	Region
Outbound traffic plan	China (Hangzhou), China (Shanghai), China (Qingdao), China (Beijing), China (Zhangjiakou), China (Hohhot), China (Ulanqab), China (Shenzhen), China (Heyuan), China (Guangzhou), and China (Chengdu)

Supported operations

Note

In the following table, a check mark (√) indicates that the operation is supported by the corresponding resource plan, and a cross (×) indicates that the operation is not supported by the corresponding resource plan.

Resource plan	Purchase	Upgrade	Renew	Purchase of multiple resource plans ^①	Details
Standard (LRS) storage plan	✓	✓	✓	×	✓
IA (LRS) storage plan	✓	✓	✓	×	✓
Outbound traffic plan	✓	×	✓	✓	✓
Transfer acceleration plan	✓	×	×	✓	✓
DDoS protection basic plan	✓	×	✓	✓	✓

^①: Purchase of multiple resource plans of the same type. If you purchase multiple resource plans of the same type, the resource plan that has the earliest expiration time is used to offset fees first. For example, you purchased an outbound traffic plan for the Chinese mainland that has a capacity of 1 TB and an 1-year validity period on February 1, 2022. The outbound traffic plan for the Chinese mainland is available in all regions in the Chinese mainland. Then, you purchased an outbound traffic plan for the Chinese mainland that has a capacity of 1 TB and a 3-month validity period on March 1, 2022. The outbound traffic plan for the Chinese mainland is available in all regions in the Chinese mainland. In this case, the outbound traffic plan for the Chinese mainland purchased on March 1, 2022 is used to offset fees first.

Object Storage Service:Overview