Dedicated Host (DDH) billing covers two layers: the physical host itself and the Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances you run on it. This page explains what you're charged for, how pricing works, and how to manage the billing lifecycle — including expiration, renewal, and refunds.
Billable items
DDH and ECS instances on a dedicated host are billed separately.
Host billing
When you create a dedicated host, you pay for its physical resources:
vCPU
Memory
Local disks (local SSD type dedicated hosts only)
Two billing methods are available:
| Billing method | Description | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Pay upfront for a fixed term. Resources are available immediately after payment. | Workloads that run 24/7, such as web services |
| Pay-as-you-go | Pay for what you use, billed each cycle. Resources are available before payment. | Variable workloads such as temporary scaling, testing, and scientific computing |
For pricing details and a full breakdown by billing method, see Dedicated host billing.
ECS instance billing
ECS instances deployed on a dedicated host are billed separately from the host. The following ECS resources are charged independently:
Memory
Local disks
Images
Disks
Public bandwidth
Snapshots
For details, see Resource billing for ECS instances on a dedicated host.
Pricing
DDH and ECS resource prices vary by region. The prices shown on your order at checkout take precedence.
DDHs: The price of a DDH resource varies by region. For pricing information, see the Dedicated Host tab in Elastic Compute Service Pricing.
ECS instances: The price of an ECS resource can vary by region. For pricing information, see the Cloud Product Pricing page.
Instance type prices vary by region. Always confirm the price on your order before completing a purchase.
Expiration and overdue payments
Subscription resources stop automatically when they expire or when payments become overdue. After you renew an expired resource or settle an overdue balance, the resource resumes.
DDH notifies you of overdue payments by email, text message, or internal message. Settle overdue payments promptly to avoid service interruption. For more information, see Expiration and overdue payments.
Renewal
Only Subscription resources require renewal. Pay-as-you-go resources continue as long as the bank account or PayPal account associated with your Alibaba Cloud account has a sufficient balance or credit limit.
Enable auto-renewal instead of manual renewal to avoid gaps in service coverage. For details, see Renewal policies.
Refunds
DDHs: You cannot release a subscription DDH before its subscription expires because the fees are prepaid for the entire subscription duration. If you no longer need the DDH, you must submit a ticket to request its release.
ECS instances: For details about the refund rules and procedures, see Refund instructions.
View resource usage and bills
After purchasing a dedicated host or ECS instance, view your resource usage and billing details in the console. For instructions, see View billing details.