ECI uses pay-as-you-go billing by default. You are charged per second for computing resources, caches, and storage consumed by your instances.
Billable items
ECI resources
| Resource | Description | References |
|---|---|---|
| ECI instance | Billed by vCPU and memory, or by ECS instance type. | ECI instance billing |
| Image cache | Manual creation incurs temporary resource and snapshot fees. Automatic creation is free. Disk or temporary storage space fees apply based on cache type and size. | Image cache billing |
| Data cache | Creation incurs temporary resource and snapshot fees. Usage incurs disk fees. | Data cache billing |
| Temporary storage space | Additional temporary storage space incurs charges when you create an ECI instance. | Temporary storage space billing |
| Virtual node (VNode) | Connects self-managed Kubernetes clusters to ECI. Each VNode includes a resident node equivalent to an ECI instance with 2 vCPUs and 8 GiB of memory, billed at standard ECI instance rates. | VNode billing |
ECI instance and temporary storage space fees appear under Elastic Container Instance in your bill. Disk and snapshot fees appear under Elastic Block Storage. Query bills.
Related Alibaba Cloud services
| Resource | Description | References |
|---|---|---|
| Network | Internet access requires an Elastic IP Address (EIP) or NAT Gateway. This includes pulling images or data from the Internet during cache creation. | EIP billing, NAT Gateway billing |
| Storage | Persistent storage options include Alibaba Cloud disks, NAS file systems, and OSS. | Disk billing, NAS billing, OSS billing |
Pay-as-you-go billing
All ECI resources are billed on a pay-as-you-go basis by default.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Billing cycle | Per second. The per-second price equals the hourly price divided by 3,600. |
| Settlement cycle | Bills are generated and settled every hour. |
Billing example
An ECI instance (2 vCPUs, 4 GiB memory, no image cache) enters Pending at 10:49:30 and is released at 11:20:05. Two bills are generated:
| Bill | Settlement cycle | Billing period | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10:00 - 11:00 | 10:49:30 - 11:00:00 | 630 seconds |
| 2 | 11:00 - 12:00 | 11:00:00 - 11:20:05 | 1,205 seconds |
Cost optimization
You can reduce ECI costs with the following options:
-
Savings plans, reserved instances, and spot instances reduce ECI instance fees.
-
OSS storage plans and Storage Capacity Units (SCUs) offset snapshot fees.
Overdue payments
If your available credit (account balance and vouchers) is insufficient at settlement, your account becomes overdue and ECI instances are released. Maintain sufficient credit to avoid service interruptions.