Credit is the unified billing unit for model services in Function Compute. Credit is used exclusively for AI model service invocation — other Function Compute resources such as compute time, memory, and network traffic are billed separately. This document explains how Credit is calculated, priced, and offset through resource packages.
How Credits measure usage
Credit measures your usage of model capabilities provided by Function Compute. You are charged based on the tokens consumed during model invocation, converted to Credit using version-specific coefficients.
Version tiers
Function Compute organizes model capabilities into four version tiers, each containing multiple models with similar functionality and performance. The system automatically routes requests to an available model within your selected version tier. You do not need to manage the specific underlying model being scheduled.
For most use cases, start with the Standard version and adjust based on your task complexity and cost requirements.
Version | Positioning | Use cases |
Lite | Fast response, low resource consumption | Simple Q&A, text classification, lightweight information extraction |
Economy | Cost-effective, balanced capability | Daily conversations, content summarization, medium-complexity tasks |
Standard | Comprehensive capability, covers most business scenarios | Complex reasoning, code generation, multi-turn conversations |
Flagship | Strongest model capability | Deep reasoning, long-text analysis, high-precision generation |
Billing model
When you invoke model services, the system converts your actual token consumption into Credit usage based on the conversion coefficients for the corresponding version.
Credit value and minimum billing unit
1 Credit = ¥ 0.05 (CNY)
Credit is the minimum billing unit. Any amount less than 1 Credit is rounded up to 1 Credit.
Measurement method
The billing formulas are:
Credit usage = Input tokens × Input conversion coefficient + Output tokens × Output conversion coefficient
Cost = Credit usage × ¥ 0.05
Version conversion coefficients
Version | Input token coefficient (per token) | Output token coefficient (per token) |
Lite | 0.0000192 | 0.000048 |
Economy | 0.000048 | 0.000288 |
Standard | 0.000096 | 0.000384 |
Flagship | 0.000168 | 0.000672 |
Different versions have different Token-to-Credit conversion ratios due to varying model capabilities. Generally, the more capable the version, the higher the Credit cost per token.
Billing example
The following example uses the Standard version with 500,000 input tokens and 250,000 output tokens in a single invocation:
Input Credits: 500,000 × 0.000096 = 48 Credits
Output Credits: 250,000 × 0.000384 = 96 Credits
Total: 144 Credits
Cost: 144 × ¥ 0.05 = ¥ 7.20
Important billing rules
Version-specific conversion — Token-to-Credit conversion ratios vary by version. Refer to the platform for precise calculation values.
Resource package validity — Credit resource packages are valid for 1 month from the date of purchase. Unused Credits are cleared upon expiration.
Deduction order — When you hold multiple resource packages, the package expiring soonest is deducted first.
Deduction scope — Credit resource packages apply to all version types: Lite, Economy, Standard, and Flagship.
Credit resource packages
In addition to pay-as-you-go billing, Function Compute offers prepaid Credit resource packages that offset Credit consumption across all version tiers.
Credit resource packages are available through the Function Compute console under the Cost Center tab, or via the direct purchase links below.
China site purchase link: https://common-buy.aliyun.com/?commodityCode=fc_cu_dp_cn
Resource package tiers
Tier | Included Credits | List price (CNY) | Validity | Effective price per Credit |
200 Credits Package | 200 | ¥ 9.90 | 1 month | ¥ 0.0495 |
2,000 Credits Package | 2,000 | ¥ 99.00 | 1 month | ¥ 0.0495 |
20,000 Credits Package | 20,000 | ¥ 999.00 | 1 month | ¥ 0.0500 |
200,000 Credits Package | 200,000 | ¥ 9,999.00 | 1 month | ¥ 0.0500 |
Volume discounts may be available for large-scale usage. Contact Alibaba Cloud sales for details.
Monitoring your Credit usage
You can view your Credit balance, consumption history, and remaining resource package Credits through the usage statistics page in the Function Compute console.