Find answers to common questions about purchasing, using, and managing savings plans.
|
Category |
Question |
|
Before you buy |
|
|
How do savings plans work when the number of covered instances is not an integer? |
|
|
Usage rules |
|
|
Can I purchase storage capacity units (SCUs) after buying a savings plan? |
|
|
Can I purchase reserved instances after buying a savings plan? |
|
|
Purchase a savings plan |
|
|
Can coupons be used for the installment payments of a savings plan? |
|
|
Post-purchase management |
|
|
Do savings plans support notifications for usage exhaustion? |
|
|
Impact after expiration |
Before you buy
What is the hourly commitment?
When you purchase a savings plan, you commit to spending a specific amount per hour (in USD) for a fixed term. Hourly bills for usage up to this commitment receive the savings plan discount and are covered by the plan. If you select a partial upfront or no upfront payment option and your actual usage in a given hour is less than your hourly commitment, you are still billed for 50% (for partial upfront) or 100% (for no upfront) of your hourly commitment.
The hourly commitment defines the maximum pay-as-you-go spending that your savings plan covers per hour. Within this limit, the plan first discounts eligible pay-as-you-go bills and then covers the remaining amount.
These prices are for illustrative purposes only. The prices displayed at the time of purchase are final.
Example:
The pay-as-you-go price for an ECS ecs.ic5.large instance type in the China (Shanghai) region is USD 0.09 per instance per hour. With a 1-year, all-upfront, and general-purpose savings plan, the discounted rate for the ecs.ic5 instance family is 42.2% of the pay-as-you-go price. If you select an hourly commitment of USD 1, the number of ecs.ic5.large instances that this savings plan can cover per hour is: 1/(0.09 × 0.422) = 26.33 instances.
Do savings plans provide a capacity reservation?
No. Savings plans do not reserve resources. No specific resources are allocated when you purchase a savings plan.
Discounts for preemptible instances?
No. Savings plans cannot be applied to preemptible instances.
How are non-integer instance counts handled?
For example, if your savings plan covers 38.22 instances per hour and 39 instances are running, the hourly fees of 38 instances are fully offset by the plan. For the additional instance, 22% of the hourly fee is offset by the plan and the remaining 78% is charged at the regular pay-as-you-go price. If only 38 instances are running, the offset for the remaining 0.22 instances is unused.
Usage rules
Can I use multiple savings plans?
Yes. You can have multiple active savings plans at the same time. The system automatically applies the optimal plan.
Can I use savings plans with SCUs?
Yes. However, Alibaba Cloud applies discounts from storage capacity units (SCUs) before applying savings plan discounts.
Can I use savings plans with reserved instances?
Yes. However, reserved instances take precedence over savings plans when offsetting pay-as-you-go instance bills.
Purchase a savings plan
How do I purchase a savings plan?
You can purchase a savings plan on the Savings Plans buy page, or get recommendations on the Recommended page. On the Recommended page, specify your historical consumption data, savings plan type, and payment option, and the system recommends a suitable plan for you.
Can I use coupons for installment payments?
Yes. For partial upfront and no upfront savings plans, the system can automatically apply coupons to your hourly installment bills. For more information, see Changes to installment bills of savings plans and support for coupons.
When are installment bills generated?
The system generates installment bills at the beginning of each hour. For example, the bill for the 10:00 to 11:00 period is generated at 10:00.
Post-purchase management
How to configure the deduction scope?
On the savings plan overview page, click Set Deduction Rules in the Actions column to specify which billable items the plan covers.
How to find savings plan discounts?
Visit the savings plan price and discount details page and specify the plan attributes to view the corresponding pay-as-you-go discount rates.
How to track cost savings?
Visit the savings plan overview page to view your cost savings, including total accumulated savings and savings for the current year and month.
Are usage exhaustion notifications supported?
Savings plans do not support usage exhaustion notifications. To monitor your savings plan usage, use the utilization and coverage budget feature in budget management to set up alerts. When the utilization or coverage of your savings plan falls below a threshold you define, the system sends a notification through Message Center, helping you make timely adjustments.
Impact after expiration
What happens when a savings plan expires?
After your savings plans expire, the associated discounts no longer apply. Eligible pay-as-you-go instances are billed at regular pay-as-you-go prices. Your pay-as-you-go instances are not released and your business is not affected.