RDS Fees: Billable Items - ApsaraDB RDS - Alibaba Cloud Documentation Center

When you use ApsaraDB RDS, you may be charged for RDS instances and value-added services, as well as other Alibaba Cloud services that are related to RDS. This topic describes the definitions, billing formulas, and billing methods of these billable items.

RDS instances

Based on the billing method, RDS instances are classified into the following two types:

Subscription or pay-as-you-go RDS instances: When you purchase this type of RDS instance, you must specify the specifications of the computing resources and storage. After the purchase, RDS instance type fees and storage fees are generated.
Serverless RDS instances: The computing resources of a serverless instance are automatically scaled based on workloads within the range that you specify, and the storage is automatically expanded based on the data volume. A serverless instance generates RCU fees and storage fees.

RDS instance type

Category	Description
Definition	The fee for the computing resource specifications of subscription or pay-as-you-go RDS instances, including regular instances, read-only instances, and disaster recovery instances. The billable item is RDS instance type (rds_class) or instance type (ClassCode). This billable item is generated after an instance is created. In most cases, the fee changes when the computing resource specifications of the instance increase or decrease.
Billing formula	Basic Edition and High-availability Edition: RDS instance type fee = Unit price of the RDS instance type * Duration Cluster Edition: RDS instance type fee = Instance type fee of the RDS primary instance + Instance type fee of the RDS read-only instances Note The unit price of an RDS instance type varies based on the region, database engine, and instance type size. For more information, see the buy page and your bills.
Billing method	Subscription or pay-as-you-go.

RCU of serverless instances

Category	Description
Definition	The fee for the computing resources of serverless RDS instances. The billable item is RCU (rds_serverless_rcu). This billable item is generated after a serverless instance is created. You are charged based on the RCUs that you actually use. If you suspend the instance, billing for this item is also suspended.
Billing formula	RCU fee = RCU unit price * RCU usage * Usage duration Note For information about the RCU unit price, see SQL Server serverless pricing.
Billing method	Serverless.

Storage

Category	Description
Definition	The fee for the storage of subscription or pay-as-you-go, or serverless RDS instances, including regular instances, read-only instances, and disaster recovery instances. The billable item is storage (rds_storage or Storage). This billable item is generated after an instance is created. The fee for this billable item changes when the storage capacity of the instance increases or decreases.
Billing formula	Storage fee = Instance storage unit price * Instance storage capacity * Duration Note The unit price of RDS storage varies based on the region, product edition, storage type, and billing method. The actual price that is displayed in the console prevails. The duration in the billing formula varies based on the billing method. Subscription instances: The duration is the subscription period that you purchase. Pay-as-you-go or serverless instances: The duration is the billing duration. The billing cycle is one hour.
Billing method	Subscription, pay-as-you-go, and serverless.

RDS value-added services

RDS value-added services are paid features provided by RDS. Fees are generated only after you enable or use these features. The billed product for RDS value-added services is ApsaraDB RDS.

cloud disk data archiving

Category	Description
Definition	The fee for the archived data volume of RDS instances that use ESSDs. You are not charged for enabling data archiving. However, after the feature is enabled, the data that is archived to OSS generates OSS storage (rds_oss_storage) fees. For more information, see Data archiving for RDS SQL Server.
Billing formula	cloud disk data archiving fee = Archived data volume * Data archiving unit price * Duration Note For the unit price of data archiving, see Billing rules of data archiving for RDS SQL Server.
Billing method	Pay-as-you-go.

Regular backups and archived backups

Regular backup storage

Category	Description
Definition	Data backups and log backups are stored in the backup storage that is provided by Alibaba Cloud. Alibaba Cloud provides a free backup quota. If the backup storage exceeds the free quota, the excess is charged on a pay-as-you-go basis, and the billable item is RDS Basic Backup Fee (backup_charged). For more information, see Back up an RDS SQL Server instance.
Billed product	ApsaraDB RDS.
Billing formula	Backup storage fee = (Total backup size - Free backup quota) * Backup storage unit price * Duration Note Free backup quota: The free quota for cloud disk instances is 200% of the storage capacity, and the free quota for high-performance local disk instances is 50% of the storage capacity. For more information about the unit price of backup storage, see Backup fees for RDS SQL Server. For more information about how to reduce backup fees and backup sizes, see Reduce backup fees for RDS SQL Server.
Billing method	Pay-as-you-go.

Note

For the billable items that are generated by cross-region backups, the billed products include ApsaraDB RDS and Database Backup. For more information, see Data Disaster Recovery: cross-region backup, backup storage of deleted instances, and backup downloads.
For the billable items that are generated by backup downloads, the billed product is Database Backup. For more information, see Data Disaster Recovery: cross-region backup, backup storage of deleted instances, and backup downloads.

Full data restoration and standard database and table restoration

Restore full data (clone an instance)

Data is restored by using the data backups and log backups of the original instance. If data is restored to a new instance, you are charged the RDS instance type fees and storage fees of the new instance.

For more information, see Restore RDS SQL Server data.

SQL Audit (DAS Enterprise Edition V0)

Category	Description
Definition	The storage fees of SQL audit logs. After the SQL Audit feature is enabled, you are charged based on the storage space that is occupied by SQL audit logs and the storage duration. The billable item is SQL Audit (sql_collected). For more information, see SQL Explorer and Audit for RDS SQL Server.
Billed product	ApsaraDB RDS.
Billing formula	SQL Audit fee = Unit price * Storage space * Duration Note For more information about the unit price of SQL Audit, see Billing.
Billing method	Pay-as-you-go.

Note

For the SQL Explorer and Audit feature that is provided by DAS Enterprise Edition V3/V2/V1, the billed product is Database Autonomy Service. For more information, see DAS: SQL Explorer and Audit.

Public endpoint traffic

If you apply for a public endpoint and use it to connect to your RDS instance, Internet traffic is generated. Currently, the Internet traffic (inbound and outbound) that is generated when you connect to an RDS instance over a public endpoint is eligible for a 100% discount and is free of charge.

For more information, see Apply for or release a public endpoint for RDS SQL Server.

Services provided and billed by other Alibaba Cloud products

RDS integrates the services of other Alibaba Cloud products. When you use the following features, billable items of other Alibaba Cloud products are generated.

Data Disaster Recovery: cross-region backup, backup storage of deleted instances, and backup downloads

Cross-region backup

Category	Description
Definition	The backup storage fees and network fees that are generated by cross-region backups. The billable items are as follows: Cross-region backup storage (DdrOssStorageSize) and cross-region backup network traffic (NetworkOutDuplicationSize). For more information, see Cross-region backup for RDS SQL Server.
Billed product	Cross-region backup storage (DdrOssStorageSize): ApsaraDB RDS. Cross-region backup network traffic (NetworkOutDuplicationSize): Database Backup.
Billing formula	Cross-region backup storage fee = Cross-region backup storage unit price * Cross-region storage size * Duration Cross-region backup network fee = Network traffic unit price * Traffic usage Note For more information about the unit price of cross-region backup storage, see Cross-region backup for RDS SQL Server. For more information about the unit price of network traffic, see Network fees.
Billing method	Pay-as-you-go.
Deduction by savings plans or resource plans	Data Disaster Recovery network plans can be used to offset the cross-region backup network traffic (NetworkOutDuplicationSize) fees of subscription or pay-as-you-go RDS instances.

Download backups

Category	Description
Definition	The fees that are generated when you download the backups of an RDS instance, that is, the Internet outbound traffic (NetworkOutSize) fees. For more information, see Download backups for RDS SQL Server.
Billed product	Database Backup.
Billing formula	Backup computing data volume fee = Unit price * Backup computing data volume Internet outbound traffic fee = Unit price * (Traffic usage - Free quota) Note For more information about the unit price of the backup computing data volume (also known as the unit price of the backup conversion fee) and the unit price of the Internet outbound traffic that are generated by backup downloads, see Download backups.
Billing method	Pay-as-you-go.
Deduction by savings plans or resource plans	Data Disaster Recovery network plans can be used to offset the Internet outbound traffic (NetworkOutSize) fees of subscription or pay-as-you-go RDS instances.

DAS: SQL Explorer and Audit

The billed product of the billable items for DAS Enterprise Edition V3, V2, and V1 is Database Autonomy Service.

Billing details

DAS Agent

Chinese mainland regions

Edition	Max managed instances	Max agents	Character usage	Concurrency limit	List price
Basic Edition	10	1	Billed monthly with overage charges.	1	USD 15/month. Includes a 100,000-character usage quota. Usage that exceeds the quota is billed at USD 0.00021 per character.
Enterprise Edition-SAAS	20	Unlimited	Unlimited usage	3	USD 1,500/month
	40			3	USD 3,000/month
	60			3	USD 4,500/month
	80			3	USD 6,000/month
	100			3	USD 7,500/month
	200			3	USD 15,000/month
	300			3	USD 22,500/month
	400			3	USD 30,000/month
	500			5	USD 37,500/month
	600			5	USD 45,000/month
	700			5	USD 52,500/month
	800			5	USD 60,000/month
	900			5	USD 67,500/month
	1000			5	USD 75,000/month

Other regions

Edition	Max managed instances	Max agents	Character usage	Concurrency limit	List price
Basic Edition	10	1	Billed monthly with overage charges.	1	USD 30/month. Includes a 100,000-character usage quota. Usage that exceeds the quota is billed at USD 0.00021 per character.
Enterprise Edition-SAAS	20	Unlimited	Unlimited usage	3	USD 2,250/month
	40			3	USD 4,500/month
	60			3	USD 6,750/month
	80			3	USD 9,000/month
	100			3	USD 11,250/month
	200			3	USD 22,500/month
	300			3	USD 33,750/month
	400			3	USD 45,000/month
	500			5	USD 56,250/month
	600			5	USD 67,500/month
	700			5	USD 78,750/month
	800			5	USD 90,000/month
	900			5	USD 101,250/month
	1000			5	USD 112,500/month

Monthly fee for the Basic Edition
- The monthly fee includes a usage quota of 100,000 characters. Unused characters are cleared at the end of the month and cannot be rolled over to the next month or refunded.
- If you unsubscribe early, the monthly fee is refunded on a pro-rata basis, deducting the cost for the days the service was used. For example, in regions other than China (Shanghai), if the monthly fee is USD 30, the month has 30 days, and you have used the service for 10 days, you will receive a refund of USD 20 upon unsubscription.
- The character count in DAS Agent includes all characters in questions, answers, and O&M reports, such as letters, numbers, punctuation, spaces, and line feeds.
- To provide a "What You See Is What You Get" (WYSIWYG) experience, DAS Agent uses character-based billing instead of token-based metering. For example, when you ask if an instance is abnormal, DAS Agent may check multiple metrics, such as CPU utilization, I/O, queries per second (QPS), transactions per second (TPS), and memory. It may also review slow SQL lists, lock analysis results, and even security risk detection results. The agent's inference determines the specific checks performed, which typically cover these common issue types. This process can consume a large number of tokens. If an issue is found, the response can be thousands of characters long. If no issues are found, the response might be as short as "This instance has no exceptions in its current state." To provide a more intuitive understanding of usage, we bill by the number of characters in the Q&A. A typical Q&A session for SQL optimization or CPU utilization anomaly diagnosis consumes about 1,000 to 5,000 characters. An O&M report consumes about 5,000 characters. The Basic Edition monthly fee covers approximately 15 to 50 diagnoses or reports, depending on Q&A complexity. You can view the character usage of each historical conversation or O&M report on the DAS Agent details page.

O&M service (formerly Economy Edition)

Pricing: USD 45/month/instance

Note

Promotional price: USD 15/month/instance

Security services

Billable item	Billing object	Specification	Pricing	Description
Security management (SecurityManagement_Amount)	Number of instances	Unlimited	USD 20/instance/month	The security management feature provides a comprehensive database security solution. It unifies management of SSL certificates and allow lists and uses automated security baseline checks to continuously detect configuration risks, such as weak passwords and insecure backup or audit settings. This improves the security posture of your databases. Each instance consumes one security management quota.
Sensitive data detection (DCG_Amount)	Number of database tables (X)	0 to 50,000	USD 80 per 10,000 tables/month	Each table scanned by a detection task consumes one quota. The quota is consumed upon use and does not roll over to the next month. The unit price decreases as your usage increases. Note You receive a complimentary quota for 100 table scans to help you get started.
		60,000 to 100,000	USD 60 per 10,000 tables/month
		110,000 to 500,000	USD 40 per 10,000 tables/month
		510,000 or more	USD 20 per 10,000 tables/month
Column encryption (CLE_Amount)	Number of database columns (Y)	5	USD 498/month	You can encrypt columns identified as containing sensitive data. Encrypting a column consumes one quota. Decrypting a column restores the quota. The unit price decreases as your usage increases.
		10	USD 598/month
		15	USD 699/month
		20	USD 798/month
		25	USD 898/month
		30	USD 996/month
		35	USD 1,092/month
		40	USD 1,198/month
		45	USD 1,287/month
		50	USD 1,398/month
		51 to 100	USD 25/column/month
		101 to 200	USD 20/column/month
		201 to 300	USD 15/column/month
		301 to 400	USD 12/column/month
		401 to 500	USD 11/column/month
		501 to 600	USD 10/column/month
		601 to 700	USD 9/column/month
		701 to 800	USD 8/column/month
		801 to 900	USD 7/column/month
		901 to 1,000	USD 6/column/month
		More than 1,000	USD 5/column/month

Audit log (NoSQL compatible)

Billable item	Billing method	Daily unit price	Description
log traffic	pay-as-you-go	USD 0.04/GB	Default fee. This pay-as-you-go fee applies when logs are ingested into storage and covers basic processes like collection, transmission, and writing.
cold storage		USD 0.001042/GB/hour	Default fee. Cold storage fees are based on log volume and storage duration. If hot storage is disabled, all logs incur cold storage fees. If you enable hot storage: New logs are first stored in hot storage, incurring the hot storage fee for that period. After the hot storage period expires, the system automatically moves the data to cold storage at no extra cost.
log indexing		USD 0.04/GB	This fee applies when you enable the log indexing feature. The system stores indexed log data in hot storage. The system automatically adapts and creates optimized indexes to improve data read speed.
hot storage		USD 0.00133/GB/hour	Hot storage fees are based on log volume and storage duration. After the hot storage period expires, the system automatically moves the data to cold storage at no extra cost. Hot storage retains logs for a maximum of 7 days.

Billing example

Audit Log (NoSQL Compatible) supports log queries, online analysis, and data exports. Security auditors can detect unusual data operations and trace who made changes and when, while developers and O&M engineers can troubleshoot performance issues. It also helps meet security and compliance requirements.

Suppose your instance ingests 10 GB of log data daily. You set the Select the storage duration of SQL logs. to 180 days, enable log indexing, and configure a hot storage period of 7 days for performance troubleshooting.

Note

The SQL Log Storage Duration is the total retention period for your SQL logs, which are stored in cold storage by default.
To meet compliance regulations in the Chinese mainland, the cold storage period must be at least 180 days.

Feature	Billable item	Daily unit price	Daily usage	Daily fee
SQL logs	log traffic	USD 0.04/GB	10 GB	USD 0.4
SQL logs	cold storage	USD 0.001042/GB/hour	Day 1: 10 GB Day 2: 20 GB ... Day 173: 1,730 GB	10 * (180 - 7) * 0.001042 * 24 = USD 43.25
log indexing	log indexing	USD 0.04/GB	10 GB	USD 0.4
log indexing	hot storage	USD 0.00133/GB/hour	After enabling the feature: Day 1: 10 GB Day 2: 20 GB ... Day 7: 70 GB (After 7 days, data in hot storage expires and is moved to cold storage.)	Daily fee from Day 7 onward: 10 * 7 * 0.00133 * 24 = USD 2.23

Note

The type of audit log records affects the volume of stored logs and their associated fees. You can customize the configuration after you enable this feature.

Enterprise Edition V3

Important

Enterprise Edition V3 enhances long-term storage (180 days or more) with multi-AZ backup, accidental deletion recovery, and long-term retention to meet audit log backup and recovery requirements under regulations such as GDPR and China's Multi-Level Protection Scheme (MLPS).

Billing

Billable item	Billing method	Pricing in the Chinese mainland	Pricing in Hong Kong (China) and other regions	Description
SQL logs (DataIngestion)	pay-as-you-go	USD 0.04/GB	USD 0.06/GB	Default fee. This fee is for the volume of data ingested, covering collection, transmission, and writing to storage.
Log indexing (RealTimeSearchAnalytics)		USD 0.04/GB	USD 0.06/GB	This fee applies when you enable log indexing. Data for log indexing is stored in hot storage, where the system automatically creates optimized indexes to accelerate data reads. After logs are ingested into hot storage, no storage fee is charged for the first day.
SQL Explorer (InsightAnalysis)		USD 0.0134/GB	USD 0.02/GB	This fee is charged based on the amount of log data processed by SQL Explorer for automatic aggregation and analysis.
Hot storage (SqlInsightHotDataSize)		USD 0.00167/GB/day	USD 0.0025/GB/day	The fee for hot storage is charged based on log volume and storage duration. Logs can be stored in hot storage for a maximum of 7 days. After logs are ingested into hot storage, no storage fee is charged for the first day. If you enable cold storage, logs are automatically moved from hot storage to cold storage for free when the hot storage period expires.
Cold storage (SqlInsightColdDataSize)		USD 0.0005/GB/day	USD 0.00075/GB/day	Default fee. The fee for cold storage is charged based on log volume and storage duration. If hot storage is not enabled, logs are stored only in cold storage. No storage fee is charged for the first 30 days. If you enable hot storage: Newly ingested logs are first stored in hot storage (free for the first day). You are charged for hot storage for the duration of (`Hot storage duration - 1 day`). After the hot storage period expires, logs are automatically moved to cold storage free of charge. No fee is charged during the subsequent cold storage period of (`30 days - Hot storage duration`).
Cold query (SqlScanDataSize)		USD 0.0025/GB	USD 0.00375/GB	This fee is based on the volume of data scanned during offline queries on logs in cold storage.
Download		USD 0.067/GB	USD 0.1/GB	The fee for exporting or dumping data is waived while this feature is in public preview.
Security audit (SecurityAudit)		USD 0.08/GB	USD 0.12/GB	When you use the new version of security audit, you are billed based on either a minimum charge (USD 0.1042/hour/instance) or the volume of logs processed, whichever is higher. Note If the fee calculated based on your actual log volume exceeds the minimum charge, you are billed for the log volume. Otherwise, the minimum charge applies. To view security audit bills, select AI-Native Database Service for Product Name and select Database Security Agent for Commodity Name.
Redacted log delivery (PSQLDelivery)		USD 0.1333/GB	USD 0.2/GB	When you use redacted log delivery, you are billed based on either a minimum charge (USD 2.5/day) or the volume of logs processed, whichever is higher. Note If the fee calculated based on your actual log volume exceeds the minimum charge, you are billed for the log volume. Otherwise, the minimum charge applies.
Insights delivery (InsightDelivery)		USD 0.06/hour	USD 0.09/hour	This fee is charged per hour when you use insights delivery.

Mapping between bill item names and console feature names

When you receive an Enterprise Edition V3 bill, the bill item names shown in the Alibaba Cloud billing console may differ from the feature names shown in the DAS console. The following table shows the mapping.

Bill item name	Item code	Console feature name	Description
Advanced Professional Edition - Data Ingestion	DataIngestion	SQL logs	Collects full SQL details with long-term storage.
Real-time Search Analytics	RealTimeSearchAnalysis	Log indexing	Upgrades SQL log retrieval speed from offline to real-time.
Security Audit	SecurityAudit	Security audit	Supports audit alerts for anomalous operations, data leaks, and SQL injection.
Insight Analysis	InsightAnalysis	SQL Explorer	Improves efficiency of fault diagnosis, database optimization, and risk detection.

Disable Enterprise Edition V3 services

If you no longer need specific Enterprise Edition V3 services, you can disable them at any time to stop incurring charges.

Log on to the DAS console.
In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resource Management > Instance List.
Find the target instance and check the Audit Log Service column.
Click Change Configuration.
In the dialog box that appears, deselect the services you want to disable.
Click Submit.

Enterprise Edition V2

Billable item	Billing method	Chinese mainland, Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), and Indonesia (Jakarta) pricing	Hong Kong (China) and Singapore pricing	Description
Hot storage (SqlInsightHotDataSize)	Pay-as-you-go	USD 0.00145/GB/hour	USD 0.002175/GB/hour	Data is stored on high-performance devices for query acceleration and SQL aggregation. `SQL Explorer` and `audit data` from the last 7 days use the `hot storage` tier.
Cold storage (SqlInsightColdDataSize)		USD 0.00018/GB/hour	USD 0.00027/GB/hour	Data is stored on low-cost devices to reduce usage costs. The system automatically moves `SQL Explorer` and `audit data` older than 7 days from `hot storage` to `cold storage`. Queries on `cold storage` data are slower than queries on `hot storage` data.
Data query fee (SqlScanDataSize)		USD 0.029/GB	USD 0.0435/GB	A pay-as-you-go `data query fee` is charged for querying data in `cold storage`.
Security audit (SecurityAudit)		USD 0.08/GB	USD 0.12/GB	Optional. You can enable or disable this feature at any time. For the new version of `security audit`, you are billed for the greater of the `log volume` cost or a `minimum consumption` fee of USD 0.1042/hour/instance. Note The `minimum consumption` fee applies unless the usage-based fee for your `log volume` is higher. To view security audit bills, select AI-Native Database Service for Product Name and select Database Security Agent for Commodity Name.

Enterprise Edition V1 and V0

Important

Only Enterprise Edition V1 is billed on a subscription basis.

Billable item	Billing method	Pricing	Description
Subscription fee	subscription	USD 6.2/instance/month	The number of billable instances is your Enterprise Edition V1 quota, which is the total number of database instances eligible for DAS Professional Edition V1. For example, if your Enterprise Edition V1 quota is 3 and you have enabled DAS Professional Edition for 1 database instance, your subscription fee for DAS Professional Edition is `USD 6.2/month × 3 = USD 18.6/month`. Important Only Enterprise Edition V1 is billed on a subscription basis.
Storage fee for SQL Explorer (sql_storage_used)	pay-as-you-go	Free quota: 5 GB of storage. Important The free storage quota is available only for Enterprise Edition V1. Overage fee: USD 0.0013/GB/hour.	Pricing for the Chinese mainland, Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), and Indonesia (Jakarta).
Storage fee for SQL Explorer (sql_storage_used)		Free quota: 3 GB of storage. Important The free storage quota is available only for Enterprise Edition V1. Overage fee: USD 0.0019/GB/hour.	Pricing for Hong Kong (China) and Singapore.
Security audit (SecurityAudit)		Chinese mainland: USD 0.08/GB. Hong Kong (China) and other regions: USD 0.12/GB.	Optional. You can enable or disable this feature separately. When you use the new security audit feature, you are billed based on either a minimum charge (USD 0.1042/hour/instance) or the volume of logs processed, whichever is higher. Note If the fee calculated based on your actual log volume exceeds the minimum charge, you are billed for the log volume. Otherwise, the minimum charge applies. To view security audit bills, select AI-Native Database Service for Product Name and select Database Security Agent for Commodity Name.