ApsaraVideo VOD:FAQ about billing

FAQ about resource plans

Why are fees still deducted from my account after I purchase resource plans?

Troubleshoot the problem by performing the following operations:

• Check the time when the resource plan takes effect and its expiration time. In most cases, fees are deducted before the bills are generated. For example, you receive the bill at 10:00, fees are already deducted at 07:00 or 08:00, or even earlier. Check whether fees are deducted from your account after the resource plan that you purchased takes effect.

• Check whether the actual resource usage exceeds the capacity of the resource plan that you purchased or whether resources are consumed after the resource plan expires.

• Check whether the resources that you consumed can be offset by the resource plan that you purchased. For example, you cannot use a transcoding plan to offset storage fees. For more information about the types of resource plans and usage notes, see Overview.

• Check whether an accelerated domain name is configured. OSS outbound traffic is not covered by the data transfer plan when no accelerated domain name is configured.

Why am I still charged traffic fees after I purchase a data transfer plan?

A purchased data transfer plan takes effect only after you configure an accelerated domain name and select the pay-by-data-transfer metering method for the domain name. After the data transfer plan takes effect, you can use the plan to offset only acceleration traffic fees. Data transfer plans cannot be used to offset OSS outbound traffic fees. If your usage exceeds the capacity of the data transfer plan, the overages are billed based on the pay-as-you-go billing method. When traffic fees are incurred, check the following items to identify the reason:

• An accelerated domain name configured

  • Check whether the accelerated domain name is configured properly. If the accelerated domain name is not configured properly, you cannot use data transfer plans to offset acceleration traffic fees. For example, if you do not configure a CNAME record for the domain name that you added to ApsaraVideo VOD, the domain name is not accelerated. Make sure that the accelerated domain name is in the Activated state. For more information about how to configure a domain name, see What is ApsaraVideo VOD?

  • Check whether the accelerated domain name is used to access media assets in ApsaraVideo VOD. If you do not use the accelerated domain name to access media assets, OSS outbound traffic fees are incurred. For more information, see Billing of basic services.

  • Check whether your usage exceeds the capacity of the data transfer plan that you purchased. You can renew your resource plan. For more information, see Renewal.

• No accelerated domain name configured

  If you do not add a domain name to accelerate in ApsaraVideo VOD, OSS URLs are used to play or download media assets from ApsaraVideo VOD. In this case, OSS outbound traffic fees are incurred.

Can I use the resource plans in the ApsaraVideo VOD package that I purchased to offset bills for Alibaba Cloud CDN and OSS?

No. ApsaraVideo VOD is separately billed. When you use ApsaraVideo VOD, you are charged for storage, transcoding, traffic, or bandwidth. An ApsaraVideo VOD package contains resource plans such as data transfer plans, storage plans, and transcoding plans. You can use the resource plans to offset fees only for the resources that are consumed in ApsaraVideo VOD.

Why do resources offset from a transcoding plan not correspond to the actual usage?

Perform the following steps to troubleshoot the problem:

• View the following billing rules of the transcoding feature in ApsaraVideo VOD.

  • You are charged based on the duration and specifications of the transcoded video files.

  • You are charged for each transcoding task that you submitted for a video.

  • You are charged for each transcoding job that you submitted to transcode a video in different specifications.

• Check whether the specifications that you set in the transcoding template are the same as those based on which you are billed. For more information about the billing rules, see Billing of basic services.

  For example, if you set the output specifications in the transcoding template to H.264 and LD (960 × 540), you are charged for transcoding videos to H.264 SD (1280 × 720). In this case, the transcoded video length is collected and added to the SD column in the Consumption Trend section or Usage page.

• The consumed resources are deducted from transcoding plans based on specified offset ratios. The offset ratios vary based on the output specifications. For more information, see Regular transcoding plans.

• The transcoded video length displayed on the Overview or Usage page is the actual length. The length is not calculated based on offset ratios and is not used to generated bills. The transcoded video length displayed in the bill prevails.

FAQ about bills

What do I do if I have questions about a bill?

Troubleshoot the problem by performing the following operations:

1. View the billing details to identify information that you have questions about, such as the billable items and the consumption time.

   • For more information about how to view billing details, see View bills.

   • For more information about billable items, see Billable items.

2. Check the reasons why fees are incurred.

   Unexpected traffic fees incurred and an accelerated domain name configured

   1. Analyze the error cause based on data displayed on the Statistical Analysis page.

      On the Statistical Analysis page, click the Popular URLs or Top Rankings tab and specify a time range to check whether abnormal requests or videos exist. For more information, see Statistical analysis.

   2. Check whether abnormal users or requests exist based on the operation logs.

      View the logs generated within a specific time range or logs that record access to specific URLs to check whether abnormal users exist based on the request IP address. For more information, see Download logs. If abnormal users exist, configure a Referer blacklist or whitelist or IP address blacklist or whitelist to block specific requests. For more information, see Access limits.

   Unexpected transcoding fees incurred

   1. View the billing rules of the transcoding feature in ApsaraVideo VOD.

      You are charged for each transcoding job that you create for media files that are stored in ApsaraVideo VOD. Transcoding fees vary based on the specification and duration of each output file. You are not charged for failed transcoding jobs. To avoid unexpected costs, we recommend that you submit transcoding jobs as needed and delete transcoding templates that you no longer require.

   2. View the transcoding specification and duration in the bill and check whether the transcoding jobs are submitted as expected within the specified time range.

      For more information about how to delete transcoding template groups, see Message template management.

   Other fee abnormalities

   1. View the billing rules of the billable items in ApsaraVideo VOD.

      For more information, see Billable items.

   2. Check whether the actual resource usage is correct.

      For more information, see Usage statistics.

How do I deactivate ApsaraVideo VOD or stop billing?

To prevent business interruptions, ApsaraVideo VOD does not support one-click deactivation.

You can use one of the following methods to deactivate ApsaraVideo VOD or stop billing.

• If you no longer require ApsaraVideo VOD, perform the following operations to stop billing. Then, no fees are deducted in the next billing cycle.

  • Delete all media files from the VOD bucket

    Important

    Resources cannot be restored after they are deleted. Back up important resources before you delete the media files.

    • For more information about how to manually delete media files, see Delete media files.

    • For more information about how to clear the VOD bucket, see Manage storage buckets.

  • Delete the accelerated domain name

    Important

    Before you disable or remove an accelerated domain name, we recommend that you migrate the workloads of the domain name to another domain name to prevent service interruptions. You can migrate workloads from a domain name to another domain name by using one of the following methods:

    • Add a domain name to replace the one that you want to remove. Then, requests are sent to the new domain name, and workloads are gradually migrated to the new domain name.

    • In the DNS settings of the domain name that you want to remove, map the accelerated domain name to the origin server instead of the CNAME.

    1. Log on to the ApsaraVideo VOD console.

    2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Configuration Management > CDN Configuration > Domain Names.

    3. On the Domain Names page, find the domain name that you want to manage, disable the domain name, and then delete the domain name. Complete identity verification as prompted.

• If you did not used the media files stored in ApsaraVideo VOD within the previous 30 days or more but want to retain the media files, we recommend that you use tiered storage for the media files. You can convert the media files from Standard to IA, Archive, or Cold Archive. This reduces your storage cost by approximately 30% to 80%. For more information, see Change the storage class of a media asset.

FAQ about the billing of ApsaraVideo Player

How do I determine whether my license is affected after I am charged for ApsaraVideo Player SDK?

Player SDK starts to charge fees since February 14, 2025. For more information, see Player SDK billing. If you have an existing license, you can view the impact and suggestions based on the usage of the SDK version in the table.

Is the Standard Edition affected within the validity period?

Standard Edition features are not affected within the validity period. However, if you upgrade to 7.0.0 or later and want to use Professional Edition features, you need to purchase a new license for the Professional Edition.

If I do not need to use Professional Edition features, can I not upgrade to a new version?

The version upgrade of ApsaraVideo Player SDK is not mandatory, but new versions provide latest features and problem fixes, and are more stable than old versions. To provide better services, the Alibaba Cloud technical team only provides technical support for SDK versions that are released in the previous six months. For older versions, we recommend that you upgrade to the latest version to ensure functional compatibility and avoid potential problems.

What are the reasons and solutions for error messages "Pricing plan not found" and "Auto-renewal failed"?

When the pricing of the service is adjusted, you may receive an error message indicating auto-renewal failure. Solution:

1. Go to the SDK Management > My License page in the ApsaraVideo VOD console, and click the Instance tab. Click the License Purchase button.

   

2. On the page that appears, purchase a new SDK.

3. After you place the order, click the Activate License button on the Instance page.

   

   Important

   • Refresh the console after you purchase the SDK.

   • Ensure that the application information does not change. Otherwise, the activation fails.

   

   Verify that the application information is correct and click Confirm to complete the license renewal.

4. After you associate the license, the validity period of the SDK is renewed. You can view the value in the Expiration Date column.

   

   Important

   • The expiration time of the instance is still displayed in the ApsaraVideo VOD console. You only need to check the value in the Expiration Date column, as shown in the preceding screenshot.

   • The license of the application is not affected. However, we recommend that you update the license in the next release.

Are there any rules that can deduct the fees of ApsaraVideo Player SDK?

Yes, you can apply for free redemption of Player SDKs of different specifications based on the gift rules. For more information, see Gift upon reaching the threshold.