Function Compute bills all resource consumption — function invocations, vCPU time, memory, disk, and GPU usage — as compute units (CUs). Each resource type converts to CUs through a fixed factor, and you pay based on total monthly CU consumption.
Function Compute supports three billing methods:
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Trial quotas -- A complimentary CU allowance for first-time users.
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Pay-as-you-go -- Pay only for the computing resources you consume.
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Resource plans -- Pre-purchase CU bundles at a discounted rate.
View your resource consumption on the Overview > Global Statistics page in the Function Compute console. Use the price calculator to estimate your total CU cost.
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The resource usage of all Resource Access Management (RAM) users is aggregated and billed to your Alibaba Cloud account.
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Since January 5, 2024, Cloud Data Transfer (CDT) handles outbound Internet traffic billing for Function Compute. Billing follows Services and metering methods supported by CDT. [Product changes] Change of free Internet traffic quota.
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Starting August 27, 2024, individual resource items are no longer billed directly. All usage is converted into CU usage through conversion factors and charged at CU unit prices.
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Resources consumed from other Alibaba Cloud services are billed separately.
CU pricing and conversion
CU tiered pricing
CU usage is billed monthly on a tiered basis. Higher consumption tiers have lower unit prices.
| Tier | Monthly CU usage | Unit price | Discounted unit price (Aug 27, 2024 - Aug 27, 2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 - 100 million | USD 0.000020/CU | USD 0.0000160/CU |
| 2 | 100 million - 500 million | USD 0.000017/CU | USD 0.0000136/CU |
| 3 | Over 500 million | USD 0.000014/CU | USD 0.0000112/CU |
CU conversion factors
All resource usage is converted to CU usage using the formula:
CU usage = Resource usage x Conversion factor
Conversion factors by billable item:
| Billable item | Unit | Conversion factor |
|---|---|---|
| Number of function invocations | CU / 10,000 invocations | 75 |
| Active vCPU usage | CU / vCPU-second | 1 |
| Idle vCPU usage | CU / vCPU-second | 0 |
| Memory usage | CU / GB-second | 0.15 |
| Disk usage | CU / GB-second | 0.05 |
| Tesla series - Active GPU usage | CU / GB-second | 2.1 |
| Tesla series - Idle GPU usage | CU / GB-second | 0.5 |
| Ada series - Active GPU usage | CU / GB-second | 1.5 |
| Ada series - Idle GPU usage | CU / GB-second | 0.25 |
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The first 512 MB of disk size is free. You are only charged for disk capacity exceeding 512 MB.
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Idle vCPU usage has a conversion factor of 0, which means idle vCPUs do not incur charges.
Billing methods
Trial quotas
Function Compute offers a complimentary CU allowance for first-time users. Usage exceeding the trial quota is billed pay-as-you-go. Trial quotas.
Pay-as-you-go
You pay only for the resources you consume, with no upfront commitment. Pay-as-you-go.
Resource plans
Function Compute offers five tiers of CU resource plans at discounted rates. Purchased plans offset your usage first; any excess is billed pay-as-you-go. Resource plans.
Key billing concepts
How resource usage is calculated
vCPU, memory, disk, and GPU usage are calculated based on your configured function specifications and usage duration — not actual resources consumed during execution.
Active and idle instances
With idle mode enabled, instances are classified as active or idle based on whether they are processing requests:
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Active instances: Instances that are currently processing requests.
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Idle instances: Instances that are not processing requests.
Active and idle instances are billed at different rates, as shown in the CU conversion factors table.
On-demand and provisioned modes
Function Compute instances run in either on-demand or provisioned mode, which differ in how execution duration is measured. Instance types and usage modes.
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On-demand mode: Function Compute automatically allocates and releases instances. Billing starts when an instance begins executing a request and ends when the request completes.
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Provisioned mode: You allocate, release, and manage function instances yourself. Billing starts when Function Compute allocates the instance and ends when you release it.
In provisioned mode, you are charged for instances regardless of request activity. Release unneeded provisioned instances promptly to avoid unnecessary charges. Configure auto scaling rules.
Billing examples
General billing example
Assume your monthly resource consumption is as follows:
| Resource type | Usage |
|---|---|
| Active vCPU usage | 800,000,000 vCPU-seconds |
| Memory usage | 2,000,000,000 GB-seconds |
| Disk usage | 0 GB-seconds |
| Tesla series - Active GPU usage | 100,000,000 GB-seconds |
| Tesla series - Idle GPU usage | 400,000,000 GB-seconds |
| Number of function invocations | 12,000,000,000 invocations |
Step 1: Convert resource usage to CU usage
| Resource type | Total usage | Conversion factor | CU usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active vCPU usage | 800,000,000 vCPU-seconds | 1 CU/vCPU-second | 800,000,000 CU |
| Memory usage | 2,000,000,000 GB-seconds | 0.15 CU/GB-second | 300,000,000 CU |
| Disk usage | 0 GB-seconds | 0.05 CU/GB-second | 0 CU |
| Tesla series - Active GPU usage | 100,000,000 GB-seconds | 2.1 CU/GB-second | 210,000,000 CU |
| Tesla series - Idle GPU usage | 400,000,000 GB-seconds | 0.5 CU/GB-second | 200,000,000 CU |
| Number of function invocations | 12,000,000,000 invocations | 0.0075 CU/invocation | 90,000,000 CU |
| Total CU usage | 1,600,000,000 CU |
The first 512 MB of disk size is free. You are charged for disk capacity exceeding 512 MB.
Step 2: Apply tiered pricing
| Tier | CU range | CU usage in tier | Unit price | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 - 100 million | 100,000,000 CU | USD 0.000020/CU | USD 2,000 |
| 2 | 100 million - 500 million | 400,000,000 CU | USD 0.000017/CU | USD 6,800 |
| 3 | Over 500 million | 1,100,000,000 CU | USD 0.000014/CU | USD 15,400 |
| Total | 1,600,000,000 CU | USD 24,200 |
Provisioned CPU instances
In this scenario, you create a function with the following specifications:
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vCPUs: 0.35
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Memory: 512 MB
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Disk: 512 MB
The instances are provisioned for 50 hours (10 active, 40 idle) with 1,000,000 total invocations.
For provisioned CPU instances, memory and disk are billed for the total provisioned duration. Active vCPU usage is billed for active duration only.
Step 1: Convert resource usage to CU usage
| Resource type | Usage | Conversion factor | CU usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active vCPU usage | 12,600 vCPU-seconds | 1 CU/vCPU-second | 12,600 CU |
| Idle vCPU usage | 50,400 vCPU-seconds | 0 CU/vCPU-second | 0 CU |
| Memory usage | 90,000 GB-seconds | 0.15 CU/GB-second | 13,500 CU |
| Disk usage | 0 GB-seconds | 0.05 CU/GB-second | 0 CU |
| Number of function invocations | 1,000,000 invocations | 0.0075 CU/invocation | 7,500 CU |
| Total CU usage | 33,600 CU |
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No fees are incurred for idle vCPUs (conversion factor is 0).
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The first 512 MB of disk is free. You are charged for disk capacity exceeding 512 MB.
Step 2: Apply tiered pricing
All 33,600 CUs fall within Tier 1 (0 - 100 million CU).
Fee = USD 0.000020/CU x 33,600 CU = USD 0.67
Provisioned GPU-accelerated instances
In this scenario, you create a GPU function with the following specifications:
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GPU memory: 16 GB (Tesla series)
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vCPUs: 8
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Memory: 32 GB
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Disk: 512 MB
The instances are provisioned for 50 hours (10 active, 40 idle) with 1,000,000 total invocations.
For provisioned GPU-accelerated instances, memory and disk are billed for the total provisioned duration. Active vCPU and GPU usage are billed for active duration only. vCPUs and GPUs freeze when no requests are being processed.
Step 1: Convert resource usage to CU usage
| Resource type | Usage | Conversion factor | CU usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active vCPU usage | 288,000 vCPU-seconds | 1 CU/vCPU-second | 288,000 CU |
| Idle vCPU usage | 1,152,000 vCPU-seconds | 0 CU/vCPU-second | 0 CU |
| Memory usage | 5,760,000 GB-seconds | 0.15 CU/GB-second | 864,000 CU |
| Disk usage | 0 GB-seconds | 0.05 CU/GB-second | 0 CU |
| Tesla series - Active GPU usage | 576,000 GB-seconds | 2.1 CU/GB-second | 1,209,600 CU |
| Tesla series - Idle GPU usage | 2,304,000 GB-seconds | 0.5 CU/GB-second | 1,152,000 CU |
| Number of function invocations | 1,000,000 invocations | 0.0075 CU/invocation | 7,500 CU |
| Total CU usage | 3,521,100 CU |
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No fees are incurred for idle vCPUs (conversion factor is 0).
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The first 512 MB of disk is free. You are charged for disk capacity exceeding 512 MB.
Step 2: Apply tiered pricing
All 3,521,100 CUs fall within Tier 1 (0 - 100 million CU).
Fee = USD 0.000020/CU x 3,521,100 CU = USD 70.42