Serverless billing

PolarDB for PostgreSQL (Compatible with Oracle) Serverless clusters are billed for four items: compute nodes, storage space, backup storage, and SQL Explorer. Compute nodes scale automatically and are billed per second. Storage and backup charges apply continuously, including when the cluster is paused.

Billable items

Billable item	Billing basis	Charged when paused?
Compute nodes	Per PCU per second, settled hourly	No
Storage space	Actual data stored (GB/hour)	Yes
Backup storage	Storage exceeding the free quota	Yes
SQL Explorer	Audit log storage capacity and retention period	Yes (if enabled)

When a cluster is paused, compute node charges stop. Storage space, backup storage, and SQL Explorer (if enabled) continue to accrue.

Billing rules

Compute nodes

A PolarDB Capacity Unit (PCU) is the unit used to measure Serverless compute resources. One PCU equals 1 core and 2 GB of memory. The minimum scaling granularity is 0.5 PCU.

Serverless compute nodes include a primary (read-write) node and optional read-only nodes. Charges apply per PCU per second and are settled hourly.

Hourly fee formula:

Hourly fee = (Sum of actual PCUs per second / 3,600) × Hourly price per PCU

Example: A cluster runs at 2 PCUs for an entire hour in the Chinese mainland region.

Hourly fee = (2 PCUs × 3,600 seconds / 3,600) × $0.079 = $0.158

Pay-as-you-go prices per PCU (USD/hour)USD/GB/hourUSD/hour

Standard Edition is not available in some regions, such as South Korea and Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur). No prices are provided for those regions.

Hourly fee range

The minimum and maximum hourly fees for a cluster are determined by the PCU configuration limits:

Min hourly fee = Price per PCU × (Min read-only nodes + 1 RW node) × Min PCUs per node
Max hourly fee = Price per PCU × (Max read-only nodes + 1 RW node) × Max PCUs per node

Storage space

Storage space covers data files, manifest, log files (online logs and archived logs), and temporary files. No capacity specification is required at purchase — storage scales automatically with your data volume, and you pay only for what you use.

Pay-as-you-go prices per GB of storage (USD/GB/hour)

Backup storage

Serverless clusters support level-1 backups, level-2 backups, and log backups. PolarDB provides a free quota for backup storage. Charges apply only to storage that exceeds the free quota.

For pricing details, see Billing rules for backup storage (for usage that exceeds the free quota).

SQL Explorer

SQL Explorer provides security audit and performance diagnostics for your database. Charges are based on audit log storage capacity and retention period, and apply only after you enable the feature.

To enable SQL Explorer, see SQL Explorer.
For pricing details, see Billing rules for SQL Explorer (optional).

Frequently asked questions

Does pausing a cluster stop all charges?

No. Pausing stops compute node charges only. Storage space, backup storage, and SQL Explorer (if enabled) continue to be charged during the pause.

What is a PCU?

A PolarDB Capacity Unit (PCU) is the unit used to scale Serverless compute resources. One PCU equals 1 core and 2 GB of memory. The minimum scaling granularity is 0.5 PCU, so a cluster can scale in increments of 0.5 PCU.

How is the hourly fee calculated if my cluster scales during the hour?

The hourly fee is based on the sum of PCU-seconds consumed during the hour. For example, if a cluster runs at 4 PCUs for 30 minutes and then scales down to 1 PCU for the remaining 30 minutes in the Chinese mainland region:

Hourly fee = ((4 PCUs × 1,800 seconds) + (1 PCU × 1,800 seconds)) / 3,600 × $0.079
           = (7,200 + 1,800) / 3,600 × $0.079
           = 2.5 PCU-hours × $0.079
           = $0.1975