This topic describes the pay-as-you-go and resource plan billing methods for OSS violation detection and the Content Moderation API.
Pay-as-you-go (postpaid) billing method
The pay-as-you-go method is ideal for scanning small amounts of content or for irregular scanning schedules, such as one-time scans. This method applies to both the Content Moderation API and OSS violation detection services. Charges are settled daily based on the number of images or text entries scanned.
Daily fee calculation
The following example uses the Content Moderation API. The calculation method for OSS violation detection is the same.
After you submit a detection request according to the API documentation, the system returns an algorithm detection result. The result is pass for normal content or block for a content violation. A result of review indicates that the system cannot determine whether the content contains a violation and that a manual review is required.
When you use the Content Moderation API, billing is based on your scan volume and the detection results. The scan volume is the number of detection requests for a single object in a single detection scenario. The daily fee is calculated using the following formula: Daily fee = (Unit price for confirmed scans × Number of confirmed scans) + (Unit price for scans pending review × Number of scans pending review). The unit prices are determined by the object type, detection scenario, and daily scan volume tier. For more information, see Pricing Details.
Daily scan volume tiers
The basic unit for billing is a scan, which can be one image or one text entry. The billing cycle is daily. A tiered pricing model with six tiers is used based on the total number of images and text entries that you scan per day. The higher your daily scan volume, the lower the unit price.
Video objects are measured by the number of video snapshots.
The following table describes the tier classification.
Scans per day | Tier |
0 to 5,000 | A |
5,001 to 50,000 | B |
50,001 to 130,000 | C |
130,001 to 260,000 | D |
260,001 to 850,000 | E |
> 850,000 | F |
Free quota
A free quota is available for API calls. No free quota is provided for OSS detection or site detection.
Effective August 1, 2017, the free quota policy was adjusted. Each user receives a free daily quota of 3,000 image or text scans for 31 days, starting from the first day of use. The free quota is not affected by whether the scan results are conclusive. After the 31-day period, the free quota is no longer available.
During the 31-day period, any scans that exceed the daily quota of 3,000 are charged. The price is based on the tiered pricing for your total scan volume for that day.
Daily unit price calculation
The daily unit price for scans varies by detection scenario and is divided into two types:
Unit price for confirmed scans (a): The unit price for API calls where the algorithm returns a conclusive result.
Unit price for scans pending review (b): The unit price for API calls where the algorithm returns an inconclusive result.
For more information about tiered pricing, see Content Moderation Pricing.
For some scenarios, such as QR code detection, the results are always conclusive. Therefore, the unit price for scans pending review (b) does not apply and is marked as "-".
Video object detection supports two methods:
You can take snapshots of the video and submit the image sequence for detection.
You can provide a video URL. The service then downloads the video, takes snapshots, and performs the detection.
When daily fees are calculated, video object usage is measured by the number of video snapshots, not the number of videos.
Text object detection is billed based on the number of text entries scanned using the API.
OSS image detection is billed based on the number of images uploaded to the buckets that you select for scanning. OSS video detection is billed based on the number of snapshots taken from videos in the buckets that you select for scanning.
Resource plan (subscription) billing method
To scan a large amount of content or have a regular scanning schedule, such as 5,000 images per month, you can purchase a resource plan (Base Plan or Extra Package). A resource plan provides a specific quota of scans that you can use to offset your service usage.
Offset algorithm
The following example uses the Content Moderation API. The offset algorithm for OSS violation detection is the same.
After you submit a detection request, the service returns the algorithm detection results and deducts traffic based on your call volume and the detection results. The call volume is the number of detection requests for a single detection object in a single detection scenario. For more information about how to submit detection requests, see the API documentation.
Formula: Quota offset = Daily usage in a scenario × Offset factor for that scenario.
The offset factor value is determined by the object type and detection scenario. For more information, see the Pricing page. You can view your usage on the Data Statistics page.
For example, if you purchase a resource plan with a quota of 3 million scans and use the OCR service to scan 1 million images (offset factor = 1.8), the quota offset is 1.8 × 1,000,000 = 1,800,000 scans. Your remaining quota is 1,200,000 scans.
Offset order
If you have both a Base Plan and an Extra Package, the offset order is Base Plan, Extra Package, and then pay-as-you-go. If your resource plan quota is insufficient, the overage is billed using the pay-as-you-go tiered pricing. The system first uses the Base Plan. After the Base Plan is depleted, the system uses the Extra Package. If the Extra Package is also depleted, billing switches to the pay-as-you-go method.
For more information about daily billed fees for pay-as-you-go, see Daily bill details.
For example, assume that your Base Plan has a remaining quota of 200,000 scans and you do not have an Extra Package. Today, you use the OCR service to scan 1 million images (offset factor = 1.8). The required offset is 1.8 × 1,000,000 = 1,800,000 scans. After your plan's quota is used, you still need to account for 1,600,000 scans. This offset amount is converted back to usage for pay-as-you-go billing: 1,600,000 / 1.8 = 888,888 images. You are billed for a daily usage of 888,888 images.
Billing cycle
The billing cycle for the Content Moderation API and OSS violation detection services is 24 hours.
Each day, Alibaba Cloud generates a bill for your usage from the previous day and deducts the amount from your Alibaba Cloud account. If you have a resource plan (Base Plan or Extra Package), the usage is first offset against your plan's quota. Any usage that exceeds the quota is deducted from your account balance. Bills are typically issued within 10 to 12 hours after the end of each day.
Billing examples
Use case 1: Social networking for strangers (images, text, and voice)
Consider a social media application with image, text, and audio chat features. The content to be reviewed, daily usage, and billing scenarios are as follows:
Content to review | Daily usage | Billing scenario (scene) |
Images | 200,000 images | Pornography detection (porn), terrorist content detection (terrorism), ad violation detection (ad) |
Text | 300,000 entries | Spam detection (antispam) |
Short audio | 100,000 clips | Spam detection (antispam) |
Pay-as-you-go (postpaid) calculation
With the pay-as-you-go method, billing is based on the tiered pricing that corresponds to the total daily scan volume for each billing scenario. Assume that all scans in this example are confirmed by the algorithm. The daily bill is calculated using the following formula: Daily bill (CNY) = Total daily scans × Tiered unit price. The daily bill details are as follows:
Content to review
Billing scenario (scene)
Total daily scans
Tier (scan volume range)
Unit Price (CNY per 1,000 sheets or items)
Daily bill (CNY)
Images
Pornography detection (porn)
200,000 images
D
1.44
288
Terrorism-related content in images
200,000 images
D
1.44
288
Image and text advertising violation
200,000 images
D
2.60
520
Text
Spam detection (antispam)
300,000 entries
E
1.35
405
Audio
Spam detection (antispam)
100,000 clips
C
2.77
277
In summary, the total daily bill for the pay-as-you-go method is the sum of the daily bills for each scenario: 288 + 288 + 520 + 405 + 277 = 1,778 (CNY). For more information about billing scenario tiers and unit prices, see Pricing.
Resource plan offset calculation
With a resource plan, daily usage is first offset against the plan's quota. Different billing scenarios have different offset factors. The daily quota offset is calculated using the following formula: Daily quota offset (scans) = Total daily scans × Offset factor. The specific offset usage is as follows:
Content to review
Billing scenario (scene)
Total daily scans
Resource Plan Deduction Count
Daily quota offset (10,000s of scans)
Images
Pornography detection (porn)
200,000 images
1
20
Terrorist imagery
200,000 images
1
20
Ad violations (Image and text)
200,000 images
1.8
36
Text
Spam detection (antispam)
300,000 entries
1
30
Audio
Spam detection (antispam)
100,000 clips
1.8 (sync short audio detection)
18
In summary, the total daily quota offset is the sum of the offsets for each billing scenario: 20 + 20 + 36 + 30 + 18 = 124 (in 10,000s of scans), which is 1.24 million scans. You can purchase a resource plan that fits your business needs. For more information about billing scenarios and offset factors, see Pricing.
Example 2: Online education (VOD and live streaming)
Consider an online education platform that offers live classes and video-on-demand (VOD) courses. The content to be reviewed, daily usage, and billing scenarios are as follows:
Content to review | Daily usage (hours) | Billing scenario (scene) | Scan volume description |
Live video | 600 | Pornography detection (porn) | Live video streams are reviewed in real time. You provide the live stream URL. With a snapshot frequency of one frame every 5 seconds, each minute of live streaming generates 12 image snapshots. |
Video files | 300 | Terrorist content in videos (terrorism) and prohibited advertisements in videos and images (ad) | For video files, the customer sets the snapshot frequency to one frame per second and submits the image sequence for detection. Each minute of video generates 60 image snapshots. |
Video audio | 300 | Spam detection (antispam) | Video audio uses asynchronous audio detection and is billed by the minute. |
Pay-as-you-go (postpaid) calculation
With the pay-as-you-go method, billing is based on the tiered pricing for the total daily scan volume in each scenario. Assume that all scans in this example are confirmed by the algorithm. The daily bill is calculated using the following formula: Daily bill (CNY) = Total daily scans × Tiered unit price. The daily bill details are as follows:
NoteThe unit prices for self-captured snapshots and snapshots from a live stream URL are different.
Content to review
Billing scenario
Scan volume from daily usage
Tier (scan volume range)
Unit price (CNY/1,000 scans or CNY/minute)
Daily bill (CNY)
Live video (URL method)
Pornography detection (porn)
432,000 images
E
2.45
1058.4
Video file (image sequence)
Pornography detection (porn)
1,080,000 images
F
1.26
1360.8
Terrorist video content
1,080,000 images
F
1.26
1360.8
Advertising violations in video, image, and text
1,080,000 images
F
2.28
2462.4
Video audio
Spam detection (antispam)
18,000 minutes
B
0.09
1620
In summary, the total daily bill for the pay-as-you-go method is the sum of the daily bills for each content type: 1,058.4 + 1,360.8 + 1,360.8 + 2,462.4 + 1,620 = 7,862.4 (CNY). For more information about billing scenario tiers and unit prices, see Pricing.
Resource plan offset calculation
With a resource plan, daily usage is first offset against the plan's quota. Different billing scenarios have different offset factors. The specific offset usage is as follows:
Content to review
Billing scenario
Scan volume from daily usage
Resource Plan Deduction Count
Daily quota offset (10,000s of scans)
Live video (URL method)
Pornography detection (porn)
432,000 images
1.8
77.76
Video file (image sequence)
Pornography detection (porn)
1,080,000 images
1
108
Video terrorist content
1,080,000 images
1
108
Ad violation detection (ad)
1,080,000 images
1.8
194.4
Video audio
Spam detection (antispam)
18,000 minutes
55.5 (asynchronous audio detection)
99.9
In summary, the total daily quota offset is the sum of the offsets for each content type: 77.76 + 108 + 108 + 194.4 + 99.9 = 588.06 (in 10,000s of scans), which is 5.8806 million scans. You can purchase a resource plan that fits your business needs. For more information about billing scenarios and offset factors, see Pricing.
Overdue payments
If your account balance is insufficient to cover your bill and your account has an overdue payment for more than 24 hours, your service is suspended. To resume using the Content Moderation service, you must pay the overdue amount. The service is restored within 5 minutes after the payment is complete.
Renewal policy
Renewing a resource plan
Annual Base Plans are paid for yearly. A fixed quota is allocated each calendar month. This quota can be used for offsets within that month. Unused quota from one month does not carry over to the next. You can purchase multiple Extra Packages. They are consumed in the order in which they were purchased. Extra Packages are valid for one year. Unused quota in an expired package cannot be refunded.
Extra Packages do not require renewal. When your quota is depleted, you can purchase a new one from the Content Moderation Extra Package purchase page.
Renewing for the pay-as-you-go method
If a payment is overdue, you must top up your account in the Alibaba Cloud Management Console to cover the fees. For more information, see Top-up instructions.