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    ApsaraVideo VOD:Billing for basic services

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    ApsaraVideo VOD:Billing for basic services

    Last Updated:Feb 25, 2025

    ApsaraVideo VOD's basic service billing includes charges for media asset storage, outbound traffic, acceleration service, and media asset transcoding. The default billing method is pay-as-you-go, which calculates fees based on actual usage of each billable item. This topic provides insights into the pricing and billing examples for each billable item.

    Billable items

    Note

    The price information in this topic is for reference only. Actual prices are subject to the official website pricing. For more information, see VOD pricing details.

    Classification

    Section

    Media asset storage billing

    The fees incurred when you upload audio and video files to ApsaraVideo VOD through the upload service.

    Outbound traffic billing

    If you do not use the content delivery network (CDN) architecture for acceleration, which means that you do not configure an accelerated domain name in ApsaraVideo VOD, outbound traffic fees are incurred when you download or play files directly from the storage address over the Internet.

    Acceleration service billing

    The acceleration fees incurred when you use the CDN architecture for acceleration to play videos.

    Media asset transcoding billing

    When you perform regular transcoding or Narrowband HD transcoding on resource files stored in ApsaraVideo VOD, you are charged based on the specifications and duration of the transcoded output files in different regions. You are charged each time a transcoding job is processed. You are not charged for failed transcoding jobs.

    For example, when you transcode and play resource files stored in ApsaraVideo VOD and configure an accelerated domain name, the fees incurred consist of media asset storage billing, acceleration service billing, and media asset transcoding billing.

    Media asset storage billing

    Data storage

    ApsaraVideo VOD offers media asset storage services. Charges are based on the type, size, and duration of the stored files. Unit prices vary by the region where media files are stored.

    Note

    Currently, tiered storage is supported only in the Chinese mainland (Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen) and Singapore regions. You can store media files as Infrequent Access (IA), Archive, or Cold Archive objects in ApsaraVideo VOD.

    Billable Items

    Billing Rules

    Billing Cycle and Price

    Billing Method

    Storage usage of Standard objects

    Charges are based on the total sizes and storage durations of Standard objects. Unit prices vary by the region where media files are stored.

    • Billing Cycle: Hourly billing and real-time deduction (bills are typically generated 4 to 6 hours after the end of the current billing cycle. The actual billing time depends on the system).

    • Price: For specific prices, refer to the media asset storage pricing table.

    • Pay-as-you-go: Hourly fees for Standard storage = storage size (GB) × monthly unit price ÷ 30 (days) ÷ 24 (hours)

      Note

      A month is considered 30 days.

    • Resource Plan: ApsaraVideo VOD storage plan. For detailed information about prices and package usage, see Resource plan.

    Storage usage of IA objects

    Charges are based on the total sizes and storage durations of IA objects. Unit prices vary by the region where media files are stored.

    Important

    1. IA objects have a minimum billable size of 64 KB. If an object is smaller than 64 KB, it is billed as 64 KB.

    2. IA objects have a minimum storage duration of 30 days (720 hours). If an object is overwritten or deleted before 30 days (720 hours), it is billed as if it were stored for 30 days (720 hours).

    • Pay-as-you-go: Hourly fees for IA storage = storage size (GB) × monthly unit price ÷ 30 (days) ÷ 24 (hours)

      Note

      A month is considered 30 days.

    • Resource Plan: Not supported

    Storage usage of Archive objects

    Charges are based on the total sizes and storage durations of Archive objects. Unit prices vary by the region where media files are stored.

    Important

    1. Archive objects have a minimum billable size of 64 KB. If an object is smaller than 64 KB, it is billed as 64 KB.

    2. Archive objects have a minimum storage duration of 60 days (1,440 hours). If an object is overwritten or deleted before 60 days (1,440 hours), it is billed as if it were stored for 60 days (1,440 hours).

    • Pay-as-you-go: Hourly fees for Archive storage = storage size (GB) × monthly unit price ÷ 30 (days) ÷ 24 (hours)

      Note

      A month is considered 30 days.

    • Resource Plan: Not supported

    Storage usage of Cold Archive objects

    Charges are based on the total sizes and storage durations of Cold Archive objects. Unit prices vary by the region where media files are stored.

    Important

    1. Cold Archive objects have a minimum billable size of 64 KB. If an object is smaller than 64 KB, it is billed as 64 KB.

    2. Cold Archive objects have a minimum storage duration of 180 days (4,320 hours). If an object is overwritten or deleted before 180 days (4,320 hours), it is billed as if it were stored for 180 days (4,320 hours).

    • Pay-as-you-go: Hourly fees for Cold Archive storage = storage size (GB) × monthly unit price ÷ 30 (days) ÷ 24 (hours)

      Note

      A month is considered 30 days.

    • Resource Plan: Not supported

    Media Asset Storage Pricing

    Storage class (USD/GB/month)

    Storage space specification (GB)

    Chinese mainland

    Hong Kong (China)

    Singapore

    Germany

    United States

    Japan

    Indonesia

    Standard LRS

    0 GB-50 GB (inclusive)

    Free

    0.02

    Free

    Free

    Free

    Free

    Free

    >50 GB

    0.0173

    0.02

    0.02

    0.02

    0.02

    0.0209

    0.02

    Standard ZRS

    Note

    Storage plans are not supported

    >0 GB

    0.0185

    0.022

    0.022

    0.022

    0.022

    0.022

    0.022

    IA storage

    0.0126

    0.0147

    0.01575

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0168

    0.01575

    Archive Storage

    0.005355

    0.004725

    0.004725

    0.004305

    0.004305

    0.004725

    0.004725

    Cold Archive

    0.00231

    0.0021

    0.0021

    0.00189

    0.00189

    0.0021

    0.0021

    Data retrieval

    Accessing media resources stored as Standard objects in ApsaraVideo VOD does not incur data retrieval fees. However, accessing IA, Archive, or Cold Archive objects incurs data retrieval charges. Archive and Cold Archive objects must be restored before access.

    Billable items

    Billing rules

    Billing cycle and price

    Billing rules

    Retrieval of IA objects

    Fees are billed based on retrieved IA objects. Fees are billed based on the size of retrieved data.

    • Billing Cycle: Hourly billing and real-time deduction (bills are usually generated 4 to 6 hours after the end of the current billing cycle. The actual billing time is subject to the system).

    • Price: For specific prices, see the following data retrieval pricing table.

    • Pay-as-you-go: Fees for retrieval of IA objects = size of retrieved data (GB) × unit price for retrieval of IA objects

    • Resource Plan: Not supported

    Retrieval of Archive objects

    When you restore Archive objects, you are charged data retrieval fees based on the size of the restored Archive objects.

    Note

    You are not charged object restoration fees if an Archive object that is in the restored state is accessed.

    • Pay-as-you-go: Fees for retrieval of Archive objects = size of restored Archive objects (GB) × unit price for retrieval of Archive objects

    • Resource Plan: Not supported

    Retrieval of Cold Archive objects

    When you restore Cold Archive objects, you are charged data retrieval fees based on the corresponding priority of data retrieval and the size of the retrieved data. You are not charged object restoration fees if a Cold Archive object that is in the restored state is accessed.

    You are charged based on one of the following restore priorities for Cold Archive objects:

    • Standard

    • Expedited

    • Bulk

    • Pay-as-you-go: Fees for retrieval of Cold Archive objects = size of restored data (GB) × unit price for the corresponding priority of data retrieval

    • Resource Plan: Not supported

    Data Retrieval Pricing

    Data retrieval type (USD/GB)

    Chinese mainland

    Hong Kong (China)

    Singapore

    Germany

    United States

    Japan

    Indonesia

    Retrieval of IA objects

    0.00525

    0.0105

    0.007875

    0.007875

    0.007875

    0.007875

    0.007875

    Retrieval of Archive objects

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    Data retrieval of Cold Archive objects based on the standard priority

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    Data retrieval of Cold Archive objects based on the expedited priority

    0.0315

    0.0315

    0.0315

    0.0315

    0.0315

    0.0315

    0.0315

    Data retrieval of Cold Archive objects based on the bulk priority

    0.00525

    0.00525

    0.00525

    0.00525

    0.00525

    0.00525

    0.00525

    Billing examples

    On November 1, 2022, Steve stored 100 GB of IA objects, including 10,000 30 KB files, in a bucket in the Singapore region. On November 20, 2022, Steve downloaded a 1 GB file to a local device, updated the file content, and then uploaded the file to ApsaraVideo VOD. The size of the updated file is still 1 GB and no accelerated domain name is configured in ApsaraVideo VOD. The billing details are as follows:

    Billable items

    Section

    Data storage fees

    100.32 GB×0.01575 USD/GB/month+1 GB×0.01575 USD/GB/month/30 days×10 days=1.58529 USD

    Note

    IA objects have a minimum billable size of 64 KB. If an object is smaller than 64 KB, it is billed as 64 KB. Therefore, the actual size of 10,000 30 KB files is approximately 0.29 GB. In ApsaraVideo VOD, the storage size is calculated based on 10,000 64 KB files, which is approximately 0.61 GB. Therefore, the actual storage size is calculated as 100.32 GB.

    The original 1 GB file that was updated is billed as if it were stored for the minimum storage duration of 30 days. The updated 1 GB file is billed based on the storage duration of 10 days in the current month.

    Outbound traffic fees

    1 GB×0.08 USD/GB=0.08 USD

    Note

    Steve has not configured an accelerated domain name in ApsaraVideo VOD. Therefore, outbound traffic fees are incurred when files are downloaded from ApsaraVideo VOD. For more information, see Outbound traffic billing.

    Data retrieval fees

    1 GB×0.007875 USD/GB=0.007875 USD

    Total fees

    1.58529+0.08+0.007875=1.673165 USD

    Outbound traffic billing

    Note

    This fee applies when no accelerated domain name is configured in ApsaraVideo VOD. Once an accelerated domain name is configured, acceleration service billing applies. Fees for outbound traffic can be offset by using ApsaraVideo VOD data transfer plans after configuring an accelerated domain name.

    Billable items

    Billing section

    Billing method

    Outbound traffic

    • Billing Rules: Fees are billed based on the cumulative traffic generated when video source files are downloaded directly from the storage address over the Internet in different storage regions (without CDN acceleration).

    • Billing Cycle: Hourly billing and real-time deduction (bills are usually generated after the end of the current billing cycle. The actual billing time is subject to the system).

    • Price: For specific prices, see the following outbound traffic pricing table.

    • Pay-as-you-go: Fees for outbound traffic = outbound traffic (GB) × unit price per GB

    • Resource Plan: Not supported.

    Price and Examples

    • Outbound Traffic Price: Pay-as-you-go prices are as follows.

      Billable items (USD/GB)

      Chinese mainland

      Hong Kong (China)

      Singapore

      Germany

      United States

      Japan

      Indonesia

      Outbound traffic

      0.077

      0.118

      0.08

      0.07

      0.07

      0.12

      0.08

    • Billing Example: Assume that from 08:00 to 09:00 on a day, three video files are downloaded from the source file address in the Chinese mainland region. The sizes of the files are 1.2 GB, 0.7 GB, and 0.5 GB. The outbound traffic fees are calculated as follows: (1.2 GB + 0.7 GB + 0.5 GB) × 0.077 USD/GB = 0.185 USD.

    Acceleration service billing

    Note

    This fee applies when an accelerated domain name is configured. Otherwise, outbound traffic billing applies.

    Billing Method

    Billing Section

    Billing Method

    Pay-by-data-transfer

    Note

    • To protect users from losses due to malicious traffic, the default maximum bandwidth for the pay-by-data-transfer metering method is 10 Gbit/s.

    • If you want to be billed based on bandwidth, submit a ticket or contact sales.

    • Scenarios: The traffic curve fluctuates greatly, with bandwidth spikes, and the bandwidth utilization rate is less than 30% throughout the day.

    • Billing Rules: Fees are billed based on tiered pricing for traffic in the Chinese mainland and other countries and regions. The traffic is accumulated on a monthly basis (a calendar month is used as an accumulation cycle). The conversion scale for traffic is 1024. For example, 1 GB is equal to 1,024 MB.

    • Billing Cycle: Hourly billing and real-time deduction (bills are typically generated 4 to 6 hours after the end of the current billing cycle. The actual billing time depends on the system).

    • Price: For specific prices, refer to the pay-by-data-transfer pricing table.

    • Pay-as-you-go: Fees for a single tier = traffic within the tier (GB) × unit price for the tier in the region

    • Resource Plan: ApsaraVideo VOD data transfer plan. For detailed information aboutprices and package usage, see Resource plan.

    Price and Examples

    • Pay-by-data-transfer Price: Pay-as-you-go prices are as follows.

      Traffic tier (USD/GB)

      Chinese mainland-CN

      North America-NA

      Europe-EU

      Asia Pacific 1-AP1

      Asia Pacific 2-AP2

      Asia Pacific 3-AP3

      Middle East and Africa-MEAA

      South America-SA

      0 GB-50 TB (inclusive)

      0.04

      0.07

      0.07

      0.081

      0.108

      0.096

      0.2

      0.2

      50 TB-100 TB (inclusive)

      0.03

      0.06

      0.06

      0.062

      0.094

      0.083

      0.18

      0.18

      100 TB-1 PB (inclusive)

      0.03

      0.03

      0.03

      0.053

      0.079

      0.07

      0.15

      0.14

      More than 1 PB

      0.02

      0.025

      0.025

      0.048

      0.072

      0.064

      0.14

      0.13

    • Pay-by-data-transfer Example: Assume that from 10:00 to 11:00, the cumulative traffic consumption in the Chinese mainland region is 102,410 GB. The traffic fees are calculated as follows: (51,200 GB × 0.04 USD/GB) + [(102,400 GB - 51,200 GB) × 0.03 USD/GB] + [(102,410 GB - 102,400 GB) × 0.03 USD/GB] = 3,584.3 USD.

    Media asset transcoding billing

    Audio and video transcoding includes regular video transcoding, audio transcoding, container format conversion, and Narrowband HD 1.0 transcoding.

    Audio and video transcoding

    Note

    • Transcoding fees are not related to the number of transcoding jobs. Instead, they are calculated based on the resolution, storage region, and duration of audio and video (pay-as-you-go is used instead of billing based on the number of transcoding jobs).

    • Transcoding duration: The unit price for audio and video transcoding is calculated based on minutes, but the actual fees for audio and video transcoding are calculated based on seconds and settled on an hourly basis.

    • Frame animation: The fees for frame animation are included in the transcoding fees and are calculated based on the same billing standards as video transcoding.

    Billable items

    Billing section

    Billing method

    Audio and video transcoding

    • Billing Rules: The sum of the transcoding fees for various formats within the billing range.

    • Billing Cycle: Fees are calculated based on seconds and settled on an hourly basis. Real-time deduction (bills are usually generated 4 to 6 hours after the end of the current billing cycle. The actual billing time is subject to the system).

    • Billing Specifications: The transcoding output specifications are determined based on the range of output specifications to which the long side and short side of the output video resolution belong. For example, if the output video resolution is SD (1280 x 720) or lower, the output specifications are SD. If the long side of the output video resolution is greater than 1280 or the short side is greater than 720, the output specifications are higher.

    • Price: For specific prices, see the following audio and video transcoding pricing table.

    • Pay-as-you-go: The sum of the transcoding fees for various formats. The transcoding fee for a single format = duration of the output file (accurate to seconds) × unit price for transcoding in the format (USD/minute) ÷ 60 (seconds/minute)

    • Resource Plan: ApsaraVideo VOD transcoding duration plan. For detailed information about prices and package usage, see Resource plan.

    Price and Examples

    • Audio and Video Transcoding Price: Pay-as-you-go prices are as follows.

      Regular transcoding pricing (unit: USD/minute)

      Output encoding specifications

      Output resolution specifications

      Chinese mainland

      Hong Kong (China)

      United States (Silicon Valley)

      Germany (Frankfurt)

      Singapore

      Japan (Tokyo)

      Indonesia (Jakarta)

      SAU (Riyadh - Partner Region)

      H.264 video

      ≤ 4K (3840×2160)

      0.0427

      0.0450

      0.0450

      0.0450

      0.0500

      0.0500

      0.0500

      0.0600

      ≤ 2K (2560×1440)

      0.0213

      0.0338

      0.0338

      0.0338

      0.0375

      0.0375

      0.0375

      0.0450

      ≤ HD (1920×1080)

      0.0099

      0.0225

      0.0225

      0.0225

      0.0250

      0.0250

      0.0250

      0.0300

      ≤ SD (1280×720)

      0.0050

      0.0113

      0.0113

      0.0113

      0.0125

      0.0125

      0.0125

      0.0150

      ≤ LD (640×480)

      0.0033

      0.0033

      0.0033

      0.0033

      0.0094

      0.0094

      0.0094

      0.0113

      H.265 video

      ≤ 4K (3840×2160)

      0.2134

      0.2250

      0.2250

      0.2250

      0.2500

      0.2500

      0.2500

      0.3000

      ≤ 2K (2560×1440)

      0.1083

      0.1688

      0.1688

      0.1688

      0.1875

      0.1875

      0.1875

      0.2250

      ≤ HD (1920×1080)

      0.0496

      0.1125

      0.1125

      0.1125

      0.1250

      0.1250

      0.1250

      0.1500

      ≤ SD (1280×720)

      0.0248

      0.0563

      0.0563

      0.0563

      0.0625

      0.0625

      0.0625

      0.0750

      ≤ LD (640×480)

      0.0165

      0.0422

      0.0422

      0.0422

      0.0469

      0.0469

      0.0469

      0.0563

      Audio transcoding

      -

      0.0009

      0.0028

      0.0028

      0.0028

      0.0031

      0.0031

      0.0031

      0.0037

      Container format conversion

      -

      0.0011

      0.0019

      0.0019

      0.0019

      0.0021

      0.0021

      0.0021

      0.0025

      Narrowband HDTM 1.0 transcoding pricing (unit: USD/minute)

      Output encoding specifications

      Output resolution specifications

      Chinese mainland

      Hong Kong (China)

      United States (Silicon Valley)

      Germany (Frankfurt)

      Singapore

      Japan (Tokyo)

      Indonesia (Jakarta)

      SAU (Riyadh - Partner Region)

      H.264 video

      ≤ 4K (3840×2160)

      0.1281

      0.1350

      0.1350

      0.1350

      0.1500

      0.1500

      0.1500

      0.1800

      ≤ 2K (2560×1440)

      0.0639

      0.1014

      0.1014

      0.1014

      0.1125

      0.1125

      0.1125

      0.1350

      ≤ HD (1920×1080)

      0.0297

      0.0675

      0.0675

      0.0675

      0.0750

      0.0750

      0.0750

      0.0900

      ≤ SD (1280×720)

      0.0150

      0.0339

      0.0339

      0.0339

      0.0375

      0.0375

      0.0375

      0.0450

      ≤ LD (640×480)

      0.0099

      0.0099

      0.0099

      0.0099

      0.0282

      0.0282

      0.0282

      0.0338

      H.265 video

      ≤ 4K (3840×2160)

      0.6402

      0.6750

      0.6750

      0.6750

      0.7500

      0.7500

      0.7500

      0.9000

      ≤ 2K (2560×1440)

      0.3249

      0.5064

      0.5064

      0.5064

      0.5625

      0.5625

      0.5625

      0.6750

      ≤ HD (1920×1080)

      0.1488

      0.3375

      0.3375

      0.3375

      0.3750

      0.3750

      0.3750

      0.4500

      ≤ SD (1280×720)

      0.0744

      0.1689

      0.1689

      0.1689

      0.1875

      0.1875

      0.1875

      0.2250

      ≤ LD (640×480)

      0.0495

      0.1266

      0.1266

      0.1266

      0.1407

      0.1407

      0.1407

      0.1688

      Narrowband HDTM 2.0 transcoding pricing (unit: USD/minute)

      Output encoding specifications

      Output resolution specifications

      Chinese mainland

      Singapore

      SAU (Riyadh - Partner Region)

      H.264 video

      ≤ 4K (3840×2160)

      0.6212

      0.7279

      0.8735

      ≤ 2K (2560×1440)

      0.3106

      0.5459

      0.6551

      ≤ HD (1920×1080)

      0.1444

      0.3639

      0.4367

      ≤ SD (1280×720)

      0.0722

      0.1820

      0.2184

      ≤ LD (640×480)

      0.0481

      0.1365

      0.1638

      H.265 video

      ≤ 4K (3840×2160)

      0.9318

      1.0919

      1.3103

      ≤ 2K (2560×1440)

      0.4659

      0.8189

      0.9827

      ≤ HD (1920×1080)

      0.2167

      0.5459

      0.6551

      ≤ SD (1280×720)

      0.1085

      0.2733

      0.3279

      ≤ LD (640×480)

      0.0722

      0.2048

      0.2457

    • Billing Example: Suppose that from 08:00 to 09:00 on a day, a video with an encoding specification of H.264 and a duration of 200 minutes is transcoded in the Chinese mainland. The video is transcoded using both regular transcoding and Narrowband HD 1.0 transcoding. The output resolution of the video transcoded using regular transcoding is LD (640x480), and the output resolution of the video transcoded using Narrowband HD 1.0 transcoding is SD (1280x720). The transcoding fees from 08:00 to 09:00 on the day are calculated as follows: 200 minutes × 0.0033 USD/minute + 200 minutes × 0.015 USD/minute = 3.66 USD.