You can use PrivateLink to establish private connections between a virtual private cloud (VPC) and another Alibaba Cloud service, a third-party service, or a self-managed service. This topic describes the billable items and pricing of PrivateLink.

Billable items and pricing

Billable items of PrivateLink include instance fees and data transfer fees.
  • Instance fees: You are charged an instance fee for each zone in which an endpoint is deployed. An endpoint can be deployed in multiple zones, and you are charged for each zone. For example, an endpoint is deployed in three zones, as shown in the following figure. In this case, you are charged instance fees for three zones.
  • Data transfer fees: You are charged for the total amount of inbound and outbound data transferred over the elastic network interfaces (ENIs) that are associated with an endpoint. In this example, you are charged for the total amount of inbound and outbound data transferred over the three ENIs that are associated with the endpoint.
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The following table describes the pricing of PrivateLink.
Billable item Unit price Billing method Description
Instance fees

USD 0.01/hour

 Pay-as-you-go You are charged based on the number of zones in which an endpoint is deployed. If you use an endpoint for less than 1 hour, the usage duration is rounded up to 1 hour.
Data transfer fees

USD 0.01/GB

 Pay-as-you-go You are charged based on the total amount of inbound and outbound data transferred over an endpoint.
Note You can specify whether the service consumer or service provider pays the bills of PrivateLink. For more information, see the Payments section of this topic.

Billing cycle

You are charged for PrivateLink during the following time period:

The billing starts when an endpoint is connected to an endpoint service.

The billing stops when the endpoint is disconnected.

Notice A disconnected endpoint is considered as an idle endpoint. Each Alibaba Cloud account can have up to 10 idle endpoints. Otherwise, you cannot create more endpoints.

Payments

The service consumer and service provider can use different Alibaba Cloud accounts. You can specify whether the service consumer or service provider pays the bills when you create an endpoint service.
  • By default, the Alibaba Cloud account that is used to create the endpoint pays the bills.
    For example, a customer has created an endpoint and ENIs in two zones. The service consumer is specified to pay the bills. The total amount of outbound and inbound data transferred within one month is 100 GB. In this example, one month is equivalent to 30 days. Total fees of the month: USD 14.4 + USD 1 = USD 15.4
    • Instance fees = USD 0.01/hour × 24 hours × 30 days × 2 zones for the endpoint = USD 14.4
    • Data transfer fees = USD 0.01/GB × 100 GB = USD 1
  • You can also specify the service provider to pay the bills. In this case, the Alibaba Cloud account to which the endpoint service belongs pays the bills. The bills include the fees of all endpoints that are associated with the endpoint service.
    For example, a service provider has created an endpoint service that is associated with 100 endpoints, and each endpoint is deployed in two zones. The total amount of inbound and outbound data transferred over the endpoints within one month is 10,240 GB. In this example, one month is equivalent to 30 days. The service provider is charged. Total fees of the month: USD 1,440 + USD 102.4 = USD 1,542.4
    • Instance fees = USD 0.01/GB × 100 endpoints × 30 days × 24 hours × 2 zones for each endpoint = USD 1,440
    • Data transfer fees = USD 0.01/GB × 10,240 GB = USD 102.4
Notice
  • You can specify the Alibaba Cloud account that pays the bills when you create an endpoint service. After you specify the payer account, you cannot change it.
  • Whether the service consumer or service provider pays the bills does not affect how the service is billed. When you use the PrivateLink service, you are charged for the endpoints.
  • To specify the service provider to pay the bills, submit a ticket. You can perform the operation after your application is approved.

Overdue payments

To prevent service disruptions caused by expired endpoints or overdue payments, we recommend that you renew your endpoints or add funds to your account at the earliest opportunity.

Expiration and overdue payments Renew endpoints and add funds
If a payment is overdue for the endpoints that you created for PrivateLink, the system sends text message and email notifications to the account to which the endpoints belong. A payment is considered overdue if the bill is generated but no payment is made for the bill.
  • If the conditions for service suspension protection provided by Alibaba Cloud are met, the endpoints are not suspended.
  • Otherwise, the endpoints are suspended. After the endpoints are suspended, the billing stops.
  • If you do not complete the overdue payments within seven days after the endpoints are suspended, the endpoints are released. A notification is sent to you by text message and email one day before the system releases the endpoints. After the endpoints are released, configurations and data of the endpoints are deleted and cannot be restored.
To complete the overdue payments, add funds to your Alibaba Cloud account.
  • If you add funds to your Alibaba Cloud account within the service suspension protection period, the endpoints are not suspended.
  • If you add funds to your Alibaba Cloud account within seven days after the endpoints are suspended, the system automatically deducts the overdue payments from your account balance and restarts the endpoints.