Downgrade refunds apply when you downgrade the specifications of a subscription instance. The system refunds a portion of the fee based on a defined calculation. If the calculated refund amount is less than 0, no refund is issued.
Preview of rule upgrades
Note: An upgrade to the downgrade refund rules is in planning. The international site canary release schedule will be announced separately. Until then, follow the current rules below. Once your account is included in the new rules canary release, this section will be updated with the complete new rules, including the new formula, proportional voucher refund mechanism, and examples.
The new rules align with the Alibaba Cloud China site and will include:
The downgrade refund formula will change from "Online refundable amount × Price difference ratio between new and original configurations" to "Remaining value of original configuration − Purchase fee for new configuration".
Calculation granularity will change from entire-order to per-billing-item and then summed.
Vouchers will be refunded proportionally based on the order's payment composition.
Order details will show the itemized fee breakdown and payment composition.
Refund rules
When the specifications of a subscription instance exceed your business needs, you can downgrade the instance specifications in real time if your account has the real-time downgrade privilege.
A downgrade cancels the original order and creates a new order (downgrade order). Subsequent refunds or downgrades are calculated based on this downgrade order to determine the usage duration and consumed amount.
For resources purchased through promotions, the remaining value may be insufficient when you downgrade, which can result in a refund of 0. Confirm this before you proceed. No refund is issued when the downgrade refund amount ≤ 0.
Usage duration refers to the actual consumed duration of the order. For example, if you purchase a server for 1 year and initiate a refund after 10 days of use, the usage duration is 10 days. Any partial day is counted as a full day.
Refund calculation
Downgrade refund amount = Online refundable amount × Price difference ratio between new and original configurations (If there are multiple orders, calculate separately and then sum.)
Online refundable amount = Paid amount − Consumed amount
Paid amount, also known as the "cash amount payable for the order", refers only to the amount the user paid in cash. It does not include amounts deducted by vouchers or discount coupons.
The consumed amount is calculated as follows:
Type
Calculation rule
Elastic Compute Service (ECS) (subscription)
Usage duration < 30 days
(Daily unit price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration) × 1.5
Usage duration ≥ 30 days
Daily unit price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration
Other cloud products
Daily unit price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration
Price difference ratio between new and original configurations = (Daily unit price of the original order configuration − Daily unit price of the new configuration after downgrade) / Price difference between daily unit prices of the original order configuration
Price difference between daily unit prices of the original order configuration:
Scenario
Calculation rule
No upgrade was performed before the downgrade
= Daily unit price of the original order configuration
An upgrade was performed before the downgrade
= Daily unit price of the original order configuration − Daily unit price of the pre-upgrade original order configuration
Daily unit price = Original price of the order / Actual purchase duration of the order
NoteIf the calculated price difference ratio between new and original configurations is greater than 1, it is automatically set to 1.
Parameter descriptions:
Parameter | Description |
Usage duration | The actual consumed duration of the order. Usage duration = Downgrade time − Order start time. The usage duration is precise to days, and any partial day is counted as a full day. For example:
|
Applicable discount for the usage duration | The system recalculates the best discount available to you based on the "resource configuration and the actual consumed duration of the order at the time of refund". |
Daily unit price |
|
Examples
Examples
Example | Order A (new purchase order) | Order B (upgrade order) | Total downgrade refund | ||||
Online refundable amount | Price difference ratio between new and original configurations | Downgrade refund amount | Online refundable amount | Price difference ratio between new and original configurations | Downgrade refund amount | ||
Example 1: A customer newly purchases a configuration with 4 vCPUs and 8 GiB of memory for 1 year (365 days) at a list price of USD 100/month, or USD 1,200/year. The customer receives a 15% discount for a 1-year subscription (no discount for less than 1 year) and pays USD 1,020 for 1 year. This is Order A. After 6 months of use, the customer downgrades to a configuration with 2 vCPUs and 4 GiB of memory at a list price of USD 50/month.
| Online refundable amount = Paid amount − Consumed amount = USD 1,020 − USD 600 = USD 420 Where:
| Price difference ratio between new and original configurations = (Daily unit price of the original order configuration − Daily unit price of the new configuration after downgrade) / Price difference between daily unit prices of the original order configuration = [(USD 1,200/365) − (USD 50/30)] / (USD 1,200/365) = 0.50694444 Where: Daily unit price of the original order configuration = (Monthly price × Total purchase months of the order) / Total purchase days of the order = USD 1,200/365 Daily unit price of the new configuration after downgrade = Monthly price / 30 = USD 50/30 Price difference between daily unit prices of the original order configuration = Daily unit price of the original order configuration = USD 1,200/365 | Downgrade refund amount = Online refundable amount × Price difference ratio between new and original configurations = USD 420 × 0.50694444 ≈ USD 212.92 | No Order B | Total downgrade refund = Refund for Order A + Refund for Order B = USD 212.92 + USD 0 = USD 212.92 | ||
Example 2: A customer newly purchases a configuration with 4 vCPUs and 8 GiB of memory for 1 year (365 days) at a list price of USD 100/month, or USD 1,200/year. The customer receives a 50% discount for a 1-year subscription (no discount for less than 1 year) and pays USD 600 for 1 year. This is Order A. After 6 months of use, the customer upgrades to a configuration with 8 vCPUs and 16 GiB of memory at a list price of USD 200/month and pays an additional USD 600. This is Order B. After an additional 3 months of use, the customer downgrades to a configuration with 4 vCPUs and 8 GiB of memory at a list price of USD 100/month.
| No refund for Order A | Online refundable amount = Paid amount − Consumed amount = USD 600 − USD 300 = USD 300 Where:
| Price difference ratio between new and original configurations = (Daily unit price of the original order configuration − Daily unit price of the new configuration after downgrade) / Price difference between daily unit prices of the original order configuration = [(USD 200/30) − (USD 100/30)] / [(USD 200/30) − (USD 1,200/365)] = 0.98648649 Where: Daily unit price of the original order configuration = Monthly price / 30 = USD 200/30 Daily unit price of the new configuration after downgrade = USD 100/30 Price difference between daily unit prices of the original order configuration = Daily unit price of the original order configuration − Daily unit price of the pre-upgrade original order configuration = Daily unit price of the original order configuration − (Monthly price × Total purchase months of the order) / Total purchase days of the order = (USD 200/30) − (USD 1,200/365) | Downgrade refund amount = Online refundable amount × Price difference ratio between new and original configurations = USD 300 × 0.98648649 ≈ USD 295.95 | Total downgrade refund = Refund for Order A + Refund for Order B = USD 0 + USD 295.95 = USD 295.95 | ||
Example 3: A customer newly purchases a configuration with 4 vCPUs and 8 GiB of memory for 1 year (365 days) at a list price of USD 100/month, or USD 1,200/year. The customer receives a 15% discount for a 1-year subscription (no discount for less than 1 year) and pays USD 1,020 for 1 year. This is Order A. After 6 months of use, the customer upgrades to a configuration with 8 vCPUs and 16 GiB of memory at a list price of USD 200/month and pays an additional USD 600. This is Order B. After an additional 3 months of use, the customer downgrades to a configuration with 2 vCPUs and 4 GiB of memory at a list price of USD 50/month.
| Online refundable amount = Paid amount − Consumed amount = 1,020 − 100 × 9 = 120 Where:
| Price difference ratio between new and original configurations = (Daily unit price of the original order configuration − Daily unit price of the new configuration after downgrade) / Price difference between daily unit prices of the original order configuration = [(USD 1,200/365) − (USD 50/30)] / (USD 1,200/365) = 0.50694444 Where: Daily unit price of the original order configuration = (Monthly price × Total purchase months of the order) / Total purchase days of the order = USD 1,200/365 Daily unit price of the new configuration after downgrade = Monthly price / 30 = USD 50/30 Price difference between daily unit prices of the original order configuration = Daily unit price of the original order configuration − 0 = USD 1,200/365 | Downgrade refund amount = Online refundable amount × Price difference ratio between new and original configurations = USD 120 × 0.50694444 = USD 60.83 | Online refundable amount = Paid amount − Consumed amount = USD 600 − USD 300 = USD 300 Where:
| Price difference ratio between new and original configurations = (Daily unit price of the original order configuration − Daily unit price of the new configuration after downgrade) / Price difference between daily unit prices of the original order configuration = [(USD 200/30) − (USD 50/30)] / [(USD 200/30) − (USD 1,200/365)] > 1, so it is set to 1 Where: Daily unit price of the original order configuration = USD 200/30 Daily unit price of the new configuration after downgrade = USD 50/30 Price difference between daily unit prices of the original order configuration = Daily unit price of the original order configuration − Daily unit price of the pre-upgrade original order configuration = (USD 200/30) − (USD 1,200/365) | Downgrade refund amount = Online refundable amount × Price difference ratio between new and original configurations = 300 × 1 = USD 300 | Total downgrade refund = Refund for Order A + Refund for Order B = USD 60.83 + USD 300 = USD 360.83 |
Example 4: A customer newly purchases a configuration with 4 vCPUs and 8 GiB of memory for 1 year (365 days) at a list price of USD 100/month, or USD 1,200/year. The customer receives a 15% discount for a 1-year subscription (no discount for less than 1 year) and pays USD 1,020. This is Order A. After 6 months of use, the customer upgrades to a configuration with 8 vCPUs and 16 GiB of memory at a list price of USD 200/month and pays an additional USD 600. This is Order B. After an additional 3 months of use, the customer downgrades to a configuration with 6 vCPUs and 12 GiB of memory at a list price of USD 150/month.
| No refund for Order A | Online refundable amount = Paid amount − Consumed amount = USD 600 − USD 300 = USD 300 Where:
| Price difference ratio between new and original configurations = (Daily unit price of the original order configuration − Daily unit price of the new configuration after downgrade) / Price difference between daily unit prices of the original order configuration = [(USD 200/30) − (USD 150/30)] / [(USD 200/30) − (USD 1,200/365)] = 0.49324324 Where: Daily unit price of the original order configuration = USD 200/30 Daily unit price of the new configuration after downgrade = USD 150/30 Price difference between daily unit prices of the original order configuration = Daily unit price of the original order configuration − Daily unit price of the pre-upgrade original order configuration = (USD 200/30) − (USD 1,200/365) | Downgrade refund amount = Online refundable amount × Price difference ratio between new and original configurations = USD 300 × 0.49324324 ≈ USD 147.97 | Total downgrade refund = Refund for Order A + Refund for Order B = USD 0 + USD 147.97 = USD 147.97 | ||
FAQ
Why is the refund amount low or 0 when I downgrade or cancel an instance purchased during a promotion or by using a voucher?
When the system calculates the "consumed amount", it uses the official list price as the basis for the daily unit price, instead of the discounted amount actually paid. If the calculated consumed amount exceeds the paid amount, the refund amount is 0.
Why is a refund for a cancellation or downgrade credited to my account balance instead of the original payment method?
Normally, a refund is returned to the original payment method: cash is returned to the original bank card or Alipay account, and the voucher-deducted portion is returned to the voucher balance. In the following scenario, however, the refund is credited to the Alibaba Cloud account balance:
The refund amount exceeds the invoiceable amount: If the refund amount is greater than the current invoiceable amount of the account, the system automatically credits the refund to the Alibaba Cloud account balance to avoid an invoice deficit.
We recommend that you view the refund order details in the Expenses and Costs console to confirm the refund amount and payment composition.