Alibaba Cloud discontinued the sale of serverless ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instances starting November 3, 2025. Technical support, including new feature iterations and fixes for technical issues, ends on June 1, 2026. To avoid service interruption, migrate your instance to pay-as-you-go before that date.
Serverless ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instances are billed hourly based on two components: RDS Capacity Unit (RCU) usage and storage space.
Cost at a glance:
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RCU fees and storage costs are billed separately and summed.
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Storage is billed at the maximum capacity provisioned, not actual usage.
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When an instance is Paused, RCU fees stop. Storage costs continue.
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Optional items such as basic backup storage are billed on top, based on actual usage.
Billable items
Unit prices
|
Billable item |
Unit price |
|
RCU (RDS Capacity Unit) |
|
|
Storage (PL1 ESSD) |
ESSD PL1 disk: USD 0.0008 per GB-hour |
Fee formula
Total fees = RCU fees + Storage costs + (Optional) Other fees
RCU fees = Σ (RCUs used × unit price × hours)
Storage costs = storage capacity × USD 0.0008 × hoursThe number of billable RCUs ranges from 2 to 16.
Other fees are optional. For example, basic backup storage is billed based on actual usage. For details, see Billing.
Storage billing rules
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You are billed for the maximum storage capacity selected at purchase, even if actual usage is lower.
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Storage can be scaled out manually but cannot be scaled in after scale-out. Fees are based on the post-scale-out capacity.
Billing example
Scenario: A serverless instance in Singapore, configured with 2–8 RCUs and 200 GB of storage, runs as follows over a 24-hour period:
| Time interval | RCUs used | Billing rule | RCU-hours billed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peak hour (1 hr) | 8 RCUs | Billed at 8 RCUs | 8 RCU-hours |
| Off-peak (23 hrs) | 2 RCUs | Billed at 2 RCUs | 46 RCU-hours |
| Total | 54 RCU-hours |
Fee calculation:
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RCU fees: 54 RCU-hours × USD 0.288 = USD 15.552
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Storage costs: 200 GB × USD 0.0008 × 24 hours = USD 3.84
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Total: USD 19.392
This example is for reference only. Actual fees are specified on your bill.
Billing based on instance status
| Instance status | RCU fees | Storage costs |
|---|---|---|
| Running | Billed | Billed |
| Pausing | Billed | Billed |
| Paused | Not billed | Billed |
| Starting | Not billed | Billed |