When you change the specifications of an ApsaraDB RDS instance, billing adjusts based on your billing method: pay-as-you-go instances switch to the new rate immediately, while subscription instances generate a price difference that you pay or receive as a refund.
Pay-as-you-go
Pay-as-you-go instances are billed hourly. After a specification change takes effect, the instance is billed at the rate of the new specifications.
Subscription
Changing specifications on a subscription instance generates a price difference — either a charge or a refund, depending on whether you upgrade or downgrade.
Upgrade
Select Upgrade and pay the price difference upfront. The charge is calculated as follows:
Payment = (New monthly price / 30 / 24 × Remaining subscription duration) − (Original monthly price / 30 / 24 × Remaining subscription duration)
Example: The monthly price of the new configuration is USD 14,400, and the old configuration is USD 7,200. The remaining subscription period is 50 days. The fee you need to pay is (14,400 / 30 × 50) - (7,200 / 30 × 50) = USD 12,000.
Downgrade
Select Downgrade and the system refunds the price difference. The refund is calculated as follows:
Refund = (Original monthly price / 30 / 24 × Remaining subscription duration) − (New monthly price / 30 / 24 × Remaining subscription duration)
Example: You subscribed for three months at USD 3,500, but paid USD 3,000 after applying vouchers. Two months into the subscription, the remaining value of the original specifications is USD 1,000, and the remaining cost of the new specifications for that period is USD 800.
1,000 − 800 = USD 200 refunded
Change specifications
To upgrade or downgrade the specifications of a subscription instance:
Go to the Instances page of the ApsaraDB RDS console.
In the top navigation bar, select the region where the instance resides, then click the instance ID.
In the Configuration Information section of the Basic Information page, click Change Specifications.
Select Upgrade or Downgrade.
In the following scenarios, if you downgrade an instance immediately after an upgrade, the refund you receive may be less than the upgrade cost:
The upgrade order included a discount: For example, a 1-year subscription has a 15% discount. If the original price is USD 1,000, you only pay USD 850. The refund for a subsequent downgrade is calculated based on the actual payment of USD 850.
If you used a voucher for an upgrade order, any refund for a subsequent downgrade is issued only in cash. The refund is calculated based on the price of the configuration from the original upgrade, which includes the voucher.
Pricing
Instance pricing varies by region, instance type, and storage capacity. For current prices, see the ApsaraDB RDS buy page.
What's next
Change instance specifications for your database engine:
API reference
Operation | Description |
Changes the instance type and storage capacity of an instance. |