To unsubscribe from a resource or service, follow these steps:
Confirm whether the resource is eligible for unsubscription
Unsubscription applies to subscription products (pay before you use). Eligibility for a full or partial refund depends on the subscription duration and usage.
Pay-as-you-go products do not require unsubscription (pay after you use). For services such as pay-as-you-go ECS, you can stop billing by backing up your data and releasing the resources in the console.
Request an unsubscription
Go to the Expenses And Costs > Resource Unsubscription page. You can then request an unsubscription for the order, verify the refund amount, and confirm the request.
ImportantUnsubscriptions are irreversible. Carefully review the order details to prevent accidental cancellation. Unsubscribing from a service deletes the associated resources, so you must back up your data beforehand.
Check the refund status
The refund amount is calculated as: Actual cash paid - Amount consumed.
After a successful unsubscription, the refund is returned to your original payment method (credit card, PayPal, or Alibaba Cloud account balance) within 30 business days. If the original payment method is no longer valid (for example, a canceled bank card), the refund is credited to your Alibaba Cloud account balance.
Supported unsubscription scenarios
Unsubscriptions are categorized as five-day full refund for unused resources, partial unsubscription, and unsubscription from a pending renewal order based on rules such as resource properties, subscription duration, and usage. The following table shows the applicability of these unsubscription scenarios to common products. indicates that the scenario is supported, and indicates that it is not.
The specific rules and conditions for unsubscription are shown in the following table:
Unsubscription scenario | Conditions | Common products | |
Full refund | Five-day unused full unsubscription |
| |
Pending renewal order |
Note If the resource configuration has been changed, you must unsubscribe from both the resource and the renewal order together. You cannot unsubscribe from the renewal order alone. | ||
Partial unsubscription |
| ||
Resource downgrade | You can downgrade the specifications of subscription instances. After a downgrade, the refund is calculated based on the price difference between the old and new configurations. For detailed rules, see Downgrade refund rules. | ||
Subscription to pay-as-you-go | The product supports changing the billing method. When you make the change, the remaining fee is refunded. For detailed rules, see Refund rules for changing the billing method from subscription to pay-as-you-go. | ||
Unsupported unsubscription scenarios
Pay-as-you-go resources: In the product console, release the resources and delete all billable components. Billing stops after deletion, and a consumption summary is generated at the end of the current billing cycle.
Promotional restrictions: The product was purchased as part of a promotion with a "no refunds" policy.
Resource transfer: Before you transfer a resource, a pop-up notice informs you that refunds are unavailable for unsubscription or downgrade after the transfer.
Mismatched settlement currencies: The order's settlement currency differs from your account's current settlement currency.
The unsubscription is not supported due to the cloud product's rules.
Resource has been upgraded: An upgrade order cannot be unsubscribed from individually. You must initiate an unsubscription for the entire instance.
The instance has unpaid orders.
Unsubscription is not supported for distribution customers.
If your situation does not match any of these scenarios, please submit a ticket for manual processing.
Calculate the refund amount
Full refund
Refund amount = Amount paid for the order. This is the cash amount you paid.
Unsubscription type | Example |
Five-day unused full unsubscription | You purchase a new resource plan for a total of USD 200 (USD 150 cash + USD 50 coupon). If you request an unsubscription after 3 days with zero usage, you will receive a USD 150 cash refund. |
Unsubscribe from a pending renewal order | You pay a renewal order of USD 300 (all cash) for an existing ECS instance. If you request to unsubscribe from this renewal order before it takes effect, you will receive a USD 300 refund. |
Partial refund
Partial refunds include partial unsubscription, downgrade refund, and subscription-to-pay-as-you-go refund.
Partial refunds
Refund amount = Amount paid for the order - Amount consumed
The amount paid for the order refers to the cash portion you paid. The amount consumed = Daily price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration × Refund coefficient. The calculation rules for common cloud products are as follows:
Product type and usage time | Calculation rule | |
ECS (subscription) Cloud Firewall | Usage duration < 30 days | (Daily price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration) × 1.5 |
Usage duration ≥ 30 days | Daily price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration | |
Edge Node Service | Usage duration < 28 days | (Daily price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration) × 1.5 |
Usage duration ≥ 28 days | (Daily price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration) | |
Web Application Firewall | (Daily price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration) × 1.5 | |
Other (refer to product documentation for details) | Daily price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration | |
Calculation example
Scenario 1: A customer purchases a Simple Application Server for 3 years. The official list price is USD 140/month or USD 5,040/3 years. The customer receives a 45% discount for a 3-year purchase, paying a total of USD 2,736. The customer unsubscribes after 1 year (365 days).
Days used: 365 days.
Applicable discount: Based on a 1-year purchase duration, the customer is eligible for a 15% discount (pays 85% of the price).
Daily price:
USD 5,040 / (365 days × 3) = USD 4.6027/day.Amount consumed:
USD 4.6027/day × 365 days × 0.85 = USD 1,428.Final refund amount:
USD 2,736 - USD 1,428 = USD 1,308.
Downgrade refund
When you downgrade the specifications of a subscription instance, a portion of the fee is automatically refunded. However, if the calculated refund amount is zero or less, no refund is issued.
A downgrade is equivalent to canceling the original order and creating a new one (the downgrade order). The downgrade order is used to calculate the used duration and consumed amount. The refund formula is:
Downgrade refund amount = Online refund amount × Price difference ratio of old and new configurations (calculated and summed for multiple orders)
Online refund amount = Amount paid for the order - Amount consumed
"Amount paid for the order" refers to the cash portion that you paid.
The amount consumed is calculated as follows:
Product type and usage time
Calculation rule
Elastic Compute Service
Usage duration < 30 days
Amount consumed = (Daily price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration) × 1.5
Usage duration >=30 days
Amount consumed = Daily price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration
Other cloud products that support downgrades
Amount consumed = Daily price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration.
Price difference ratio between new and old configurations = (Daily price of original configuration - Daily price of new downgraded configuration) / Price difference of original configuration
Price difference of original configuration:
If no upgrade was performed before the downgrade, the price difference of the original configuration is equal to the daily price of the original configuration.
If an upgrade was performed before the downgrade, Price difference of original configuration = Daily price of original configuration - Daily price of the configuration before the upgrade.
Daily price = Order's original price / Actual subscription duration of the order.
Parameter descriptions:
Parameter | Description |
Usage duration | The actual consumption duration of the order before the downgrade. Usage duration = Downgrade time - Order start time. The usage duration is calculated in days, and any partial day is counted as a full day. Example:
|
Applicable discount for the usage duration | The best discount you are eligible for is recalculated based on the resource configuration and the actual consumed duration of the order at the time of the refund. |
Daily price |
|
Subscription to pay-as-you-go refund
If a cloud product supports converting from subscription to pay-as-you-go, the remaining subscription fee is automatically refunded according to the conversion rules. If the calculated refund amount is less than 0, no refund is issued. The refund amount is calculated as follows:
Refund amount = Amount paid for the order - Amount consumed. In this formula:
Amount paid for the order refers to the cash portion that you paid.
Amount consumed = Daily price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration × Refund coefficient.
The amount consumed is calculated as follows:
Product type and usage time | Calculation rule | |
Elastic Compute Service | Usage duration < 30 days | Amount consumed = (Daily price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration) × 1.5 |
Usage duration >=30 days | Amount consumed = Daily price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration | |
Other cloud products that support conversion | Amount consumed = Daily price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration. | |
Parameter descriptions:
Parameter | Description |
Usage duration | The actual consumption duration of the order. Usage duration = Conversion time - Order start time. The duration is measured in days. A period of less than one day is counted as one day. For example:
|
Applicable discount for used duration | The best discount you are eligible for is recalculated based on the resource configuration and the actual consumed duration of the order at the time of the refund. |
Daily price |
|
Understand the impact of unsubscription
Unsubscribing deletes the resource or instance, and its data is not retained. Back up your data beforehand.
After unsubscribing, you forfeit eligibility for the original promotions. Any benefits included with the order (such as coupons) are forfeited.
After you unsubscribe from a resource plan, any associated products still running will automatically switch to the pay-as-you-go billing method. Ensure your account has a sufficient balance.
If you unsubscribe from a pending renewal, the resource's expiration date will revert to the date before the renewal. Back up or migrate your data before the original expiration date.
Check the refund destination
Refund processing takes time. Funds typically arrive within 30 business days and are returned to the original payment method.
Payment method | Refund destination |
Credit card payment | If you unsubscribe within 5 months (150 days) of payment, the refund is returned to the original credit card. If you unsubscribe after 5 months, the refund is credited to your Alibaba Cloud account balance. |
PayPal payment | If you unsubscribe within 6 months (180 days) of payment, the refund is returned to the original PayPal account. If you unsubscribe after 6 months, the refund is credited to your Alibaba Cloud account balance. |
Alibaba Cloud account balance | The refund is directly returned to your Alibaba Cloud account balance. |
If the refund to the original payment method fails due to issues such as a canceled credit card or channel restrictions, the funds will be credited to your Alibaba Cloud account balance.
Request an unsubscription
For products that support self-service unsubscription, follow these steps:
Log on to the Alibaba Cloud console, and go to the Resource Unsubscription page under User Center.
Find the order that you want to unsubscribe from and click Unsubscribe Resource in the Actions column.
The estimated refund amount, calculation details, and refund destination are displayed. Carefully review this information.
After confirming the details are correct, check the box to agree to the unsubscription terms and submit the unsubscription request.
For detailed instructions, see Request an unsubscription.
FAQ
Why is my refund amount 0?
The coupon used at the time of purchase was large, causing the cash payment portion to be fully consumed.
When downgrading, the calculated value difference between the old and new specifications is less than or equal to 0.
The product was purchased as part of a special promotion that does not support refunds.
Why did my costs increase after I unsubscribed from a resource plan?
After a resource plan is unsubscribed, products that previously used the plan for usage deduction immediately switch to the pay-as-you-go billing method. If these products are still running, they will start to generate pay-as-you-go bills.
How do I stop billing for pay-as-you-go products?
Pay-as-you-go products do not require unsubscription. Log on to the product console, find the corresponding instance or service, and perform the "release", "delete", or "shutdown" operation to stop billing immediately. Be sure to back up your data before performing this operation.
If you encounter problems during unsubscription, first check the Unsubscription FAQ. If you still have questions, you can contact us through customer service.