Billable items of OSS storage usage-Object Storage Service(OSS)-阿里云帮助中心

OSS charges storage fees based on the storage class, size, and duration of objects in a bucket, regardless of access or operations performed.

Unit price

For unit prices of each billable item, see .OSS product pricing

The OSS product pricing page specifies storage unit prices in CNY per GB-month, but billing items are calculated hourly using the formula: Actual resource usage × Hourly unit price. Therefore, to calculate actual storage fees, you need to convert the storage unit price to CNY per GB-hour. For example, the Standard (LRS) unit price is 0.12 CNY/GB/month, so the hourly unit price is approximately 0.000167 CNY/GB/hour (0.12 ÷ 30 ÷ 24).

Billable items

Storage fees for a specified storage duration
Storage fees are based on the storage class, redundancy type, size, and duration of each object.
Storage fees for early deletion (less than minimum duration)
Some storage classes have a minimum storage duration: 30 days for Infrequent Access (IA), 60 days for Archive, and 180 days for Cold Archive and Deep Cold Archive. If an object is converted or deleted before meeting the minimum duration, you are charged for the remaining duration.
Example: If an IA LRS object is deleted after less than 30 days (720 hours), you are charged for the remainder (720 hours - actual duration). The same calculation applies to Archive, Cold Archive, and Deep Cold Archive objects with their respective minimum durations.

Storage usage of LRS objects that are stored for a specific period of time

Billable item	Code	Minimum billable size
Storage usage of Standard LRS objects	Storage	N/A (billed by actual size)
Storage usage of IA LRS objects	ChargedDatasize	64 KB (Objects smaller than 64 KB are billed as 64 KB. Objects 64 KB or larger are billed by actual size.)
Storage usage of Archive LRS objects	ChargedDatasize
Storage usage of Cold Archive LRS objects	ChargedDatasizeCA
Storage usage of Deep Cold Archive LRS objects	ChargedDatasizeDeepCA
Anywhere Reserved Capacity	AnywhereReservedCapacityLRS	N/A (billed by actual size)

The billed storage usage of IA, Archive, Cold Archive, or Deep Cold Archive objects is larger than the metered storage usage of these objects because each object has a minimum billable size of 64 KB. For more information about the metered storage usage and billed storage usage of these objects, see Query the storage capacity of a bucket (OSS SDK for Java 1.0).

Storage usage of ZRS objects that are stored for a specific period of time

Billable item	Code	Minimum billable size
Storage usage of Standard zone-redundant storage (ZRS) objects	StorageZRS	N/A (billed by actual size)
Storage usage of IA ZRS objects	ChargedDatasizeZRS	64 KB (Objects smaller than 64 KB are billed as 64 KB. Objects 64 KB or larger are billed by actual size.)
Storage usage of Archive ZRS objects	ChargedDataSizeArcZRS

Storage usage of LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration

Billable item	Code	Calculation method of the minimum storage duration
Storage usage of IA LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration	LessthanMonthDatasize	The minimum storage duration is calculated based on the last modified time of the objects.
Storage usage of Archive LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration	LessthanMonthDatasize
Storage usage of Cold Archive LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration	EarlyDeletionCA	The minimum storage duration is calculated based on the time when the storage class of the object is converted to Cold Archive or Deep Cold Archive.
Storage usage of Deep Cold Archive LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration	EarlyDeletionDeepCA

To avoid unnecessary fees, ensure objects meet the minimum storage duration before converting or deleting them. For information, see How can I avoid being charged for the storage usage of objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration?

Storage usage of ZRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration

Billable item	Code	Calculation method of the minimum storage duration
Storage usage of IA ZRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration	LessthanMonthDatasizeZRS	The minimum storage duration is calculated based on the last modified time of the objects.
Storage usage of Archive ZRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration	LessthanMonthDatasizeArcZRS

Billing methods

The following 5 billing methods are supported: pay-as-you-go, resource plans, reserved capacity, Anywhere Reserved Capacity, and storage capacity units (SCUs).

Instructions on selecting a billing method

The following table compares billing methods to help you select the most cost-effective option.

Billing method	Description	Feature	Scenario
Pay-as-you-go	Default billing method. You pay for actual storage usage after consumption.	Unpredictable storage usage.	Startups or early-stage projects with unstable storage needs.
Storage plans	Prepaid plans that offset fees for specific billable items at discounted rates.	Stable, predictable storage capacity.	Large enterprises or long-running projects with stable storage volumes. Storage plan specifications range from 40 GB to 20 PB.
Reserved Capacity	Prepaid product for region-specific storage billable items. Purchase first, then deduct.	Offsets only Standard LRS storage fees from region-specific buckets and ECS snapshot storage fees.	For stable, large-scale Standard LRS and ECS snapshot storage in region-specific buckets. Capacity ranges from 500 GB to 1 PB.
Anywhere Reserved Capacity	Prepaid product for region-independent storage billable items. Purchase first, then deduct.	Offsets only Standard LRS storage fees from region-independent buckets.	For stable, large-scale Standard LRS storage in region-independent buckets. Capacity ranges from 10 TB to 1 PB.
SCU (Storage Capacity Unit)	Prepaid SCUs offset storage fees for multiple OSS billable items. Purchase SCUs in advance to apply discounts.	SCUs offset storage fees for multiple OSS billable items and other Alibaba Cloud storage services.	The storage fees of multiple billable items are generated when you use OSS. Services such as File Storage NAS (NAS), snapshot service, and Cloud Backup are used.

Billing methods supported by different billable items

The following table lists the billing methods supported by each billable item.

Billable item	Pay-as-you-go	Storage plan	Reserved Capacity	Anywhere Reserved Capacity	SCU
Standard (ZRS) storage	√	Standard (ZRS) Storage Plan	×	×	√
Standard (LRS) storage	√	Standard (LRS) Storage Plan	√	×	√
IA (ZRS) storage	√	IA (ZRS) Storage Plan	×	×	√
IA (LRS) storage	√	IA (LRS) Storage Plan	×	×	√
Archive (LRS) storage	√	Archive (LRS) Storage Plan	×	×	√
Cold Archive (LRS) storage	√	Cold Archive (LRS) Storage Plan	×	×	×
Deep Cold Archive (LRS) storage	√	×	×	×	×
Anywhere Reserved Capacity	√	×	×	√	×
Archive (ZRS) storage	√	Archive (ZRS) Storage Plan	×	×	×
IA (LRS) early deletion	√	IA (LRS) Storage Plan	×	×	×
Archive (LRS) early deletion	√	Archive (LRS) Storage Plan	×	×	×
Cold Archive (LRS) early deletion	√	Cold Archive (LRS) Storage Plan	×	×	×
Deep Cold Archive (LRS) early deletion	√	×	×	×	×
IA (ZRS) early deletion	√	IA (ZRS) Storage Plan	×	×	×
Archive (ZRS) early deletion	√	×	×	×	×

Billing examples

Troubleshooting Abnormal Storage Capacity

If you notice that your OSS storage capacity has increased unexpectedly, you can troubleshoot the issue using the following steps:

Check parts from incomplete multipart uploads: On the Bucket Overview page, view the number of parts from incomplete multipart uploads. Parts from incomplete multipart uploads consume storage space and are not automatically deleted by the ossutil sync command. To automatically clean up outdated parts, configure a lifecycle rule with the AbortIncompleteMultipartUpload action.
Check the minimum billable size for your storage class: Objects stored in Infrequent Access (IA), Archive, Cold Archive, or Deep Cold Archive storage classes are billed at a minimum size of 64 KB per object. If you store a large number of objects smaller than 64 KB, your billed storage usage may be significantly higher than the actual object sizes.
Check the minimum storage duration for Archive objects: Archive objects have a minimum storage duration of 60 days. Cold Archive and Deep Cold Archive objects have a minimum storage duration of 180 days. If an object is deleted or converted to a different storage class before the minimum storage duration ends, you are still charged for the remaining duration.
Account for statistics latency: Storage capacity statistics in the OSS console are updated with an average delay of 1 to 2 hours. After you make changes to your storage, wait for the statistics to update before verifying the results.

For comprehensive troubleshooting, combine approaches such as cleaning up parts, converting storage classes, and configuring lifecycle rules.

FAQ

After I purchase an IA (LRS) storage plan, why do I receive a large bill for the storage usage of IA LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration in a specific billing cycle?

OSS calculates the storage usage of IA LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration (LessthanMonthDatasize) at a time. If the storage duration is far less than 720 hours, the purchased storage plan offsets only a portion of the usage. A large bill is generated in the next billing cycle after the objects are converted or deleted.

For example, you stored 10 TB of data as IA LRS data at 06:00 on September 7, 2023. At 06:00 on September 8, 2023, 1 TB of the IA LRS data was automatically or manually moved to another storage class or deleted. In this case, the metering data of this billable item (LessthanMonthDatasize) is 1 TB × (720 - 24) = 696 TB. If you purchase an IA (LRS) storage planIA (LRS) storage plan that has a capacity of 10 TB, the following rules take effect:

If the bill for the storage usage of IA LRS objects is generated first, the purchased IA (LRS) storage plan can be used to offset the storage fees of 9 TB of IA LRS objects and 1 TB of LessthanMonthDatasize. The excess part of LessthanMonthDatasize (696 TB - 1 TB) is billed based on the pay-as-you-go billing method.
If the bill for LessthanMonthDatasize is generated first, the purchased IA (LRS) storage plan can be used to offset the storage fees of 10 TB of LessthanMonthDatasize. The excess part of LessthanMonthDatasize (696 TB - 10 TB) and the storage usage of 9 TB of IA LRS objects are billed based on the pay-as-you-go billing method.

After I purchase an Archive (LRS) storage plan, why do I receive a large bill for the storage usage of Archive LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration in a specific billing cycle?

OSS calculates the storage usage of Archive LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration (LessthanMonthDatasize) at a time. If the storage duration is far less than 1440 hours, the purchased storage plan offsets only a portion of the usage. A large bill is generated in the next billing cycle after the objects are converted or deleted.

For example, you stored 10 TB of data as Archive LRS data at 06:00 on September 7, 2023. At 06:00 on September 8, 2023, 1 TB of the Archive LRS data was automatically or manually converted to objects of another storage class or deleted. In this case, the metering data of this billable item (LessthanMonthDatasize) is 1 TB × (1440 - 24) = 1416 TB. If you purchase an Archive (LRS) storage plan that has a capacity of 10 TB, the following rules take effect:

If the bill for the storage usage of Archive LRS objects is generated first, the purchased Archive (LRS) storage plan can be used to offset the storage fees of 9 TB of Archive LRS objects and 1 TB of LessthanMonthDatasize. The excess part of LessthanMonthDatasize (1416 TB - 1 TB) is billed based on the pay-as-you-go billing method.
If the bill for LessthanMonthDatasize is generated first, the purchased Archive (LRS) storage plan can be used to offset the storage fees of 10 TB of LessthanMonthDatasize. The excess part of LessthanMonthDatasize (1416 TB - 10 TB) and the storage usage of 9 TB of Archive LRS objects are billed based on the pay-as-you-go billing method.

Why am I continuously charged for the storage usage of objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration?

For IA, Archive, Cold Archive, or Deep Cold Archive objects deleted before their minimum storage duration ends, you are charged for the remaining duration.

If you delete an object in this scenario, you are charged only once for the remaining duration.
If you overwrite an object in this scenario, you may be continuously charged. For example, if you upload an IA object and overwrite it after 1 day, you are charged for the remaining 29 days. If you overwrite or delete it again after 3 more days, you are charged for the remaining 27 days.

Why am I charged storage fees even though I have not actively uploaded files?

Alibaba Cloud services such as Simple Log Service (SLS) deliver data to your OSS bucket, which occupies storage space and incurs storage fees even if you have not actively uploaded any files.

To identify the source of the writes, enable the real-time log query feature of OSS and check fields such as client_ip, requester_id, and operation in the returned logs. For the detailed procedure, see How to troubleshoot abnormal objects in an OSS bucket.

Does activating OSS without using it incur charges?

No. Activating OSS alone does not incur charges. You are not charged storage fees when no objects are stored in an OSS bucket. Charges may apply only after you use billable OSS resources or services, such as storing objects or making requests.

References

By default, the storage class of an uploaded object is Standard. To reduce costs, convert objects to IA, Archive, Cold Archive, or Deep Cold Archive as needed. Convert the storage class of an object.
For more information about the billing examples of IA, Archive, and Cold Archive and Deep Cold Archive objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration, see How am I charged for objects whose storage duration is less than the minimum storage duration?
You are charged for the parts that are generated during multipart upload based on the storage class, actual size, and storage duration of the parts. For more information, see How am I charged for parts?
For more information about how to query OSS hourly billing data, see Query hourly data of OSS.

To learn about billing details with specific examples, see Billing examples.
For more information about the billing details of the billable items, see Query bills.