DSW charges based on instance runtime and specifications, supporting pay-as-you-go, resource plans, and subscription.
Billing overview
Billing items
Compute instances
Instances come in two types: public resources and dedicated resource pool (general-purpose compute resources or Lingjun intelligent computing resources), each with different billing methods.
|
Instance type |
Billing method |
Billing basis |
Billing formula |
Stop billing |
|
Public resources |
Pay-as-you-go |
DSW instance service duration (the time the instance occupies public resources) |
For unit prices, see the purchase page in the console. Important
DSW instances are billed per minute, but bills are generated hourly. Due to data aggregation, bills may be delayed by 2–3 hours. The final bill in Billing Center is authoritative. |
Important
Stopping an instance requires manual action or a scheduled shutdown. For details, see Manage DSW instances. |
|
Dedicated resource pool (general-purpose compute resources or Lingjun intelligent computing resources) |
Subscription (monthly or annual) |
Number of nodes purchased and the subscription duration. |
Dedicated resource pool subscriptions are billed by node count and subscription duration. For details, see Billing of AI computing resources. |
Not applicable |
Pay-as-you-go discounts for public resources
New users can claim a free trial. For details, see Claim, use, and release free trial resources.
Savings plans can offset charges. For details, see PAI savings plan.
Resource plans can offset charges. For details, see DSW resource plan.
System disk
|
Billing method |
Billing basis |
Billing formula |
Stop billing |
|
Pay-as-you-go |
System disk capacity and usage duration. |
After expanding the system disk, charges apply to capacity above the free quota, based on usage duration.
|
Delete the DSW instance. Warning
After expanding the system disk, charges for the expanded capacity continue even if the DSW instance is stopped. To stop billing, back up your data and delete the DSW instance. |
Pay-as-you-go discounts
PAI savings plan
Use a PAI savings plan to prepay a committed spend amount and offset DSW pay-as-you-go charges.
|
Resource type |
Billing formula |
Unit price |
Billing period |
Scaling |
Notes |
|
|
Prepay a committed spend of 100–1,000,000 CNY to offset DSW pay-as-you-go charges. For pricing details, see the PAI savings plan page. |
Takes effect immediately after purchase. |
Not applicable |
|
To view offset records, go to the My Subscriptions page. In the upper-right corner, click Subscription offset bill details > View cross-resource offset subscription (savings plan) offset bill details to open the usage details page.
When a savings plan expires, it becomes inactive and doesn't renew automatically. If you continue using DSW public resource group instances after expiration, you're charged at standard pay-as-you-go rates.
DSW resource plan
Use a DSW resource plan to prepay for compute hours that offset DSW instance charges under pay-as-you-go.
After purchasing a resource plan, no manual workspace association or resource quota binding is required. To use the resource plan, select the Public Resources type when creating a DSW instance and choose a specification within the supported offset range. The system automatically applies the resource plan balance first.
|
Resource type |
Billing formula |
Unit price |
Billing period |
Scaling |
Notes |
|
|
For pricing details, see the DSW resource plan page. |
Takes effect immediately after purchase. |
Not applicable |
|
Billing examples
The following examples are for reference only. For actual pricing, see the console or purchase page.
Pay-as-you-go billing example
-
Scenario:
An ecs.g6.13xlarge instance is created in the China (Shanghai) region using public resources. The DSW instance runs for 2 minutes.
-
Cost calculation:
Billing amount = 14.3 ÷ 60 × 2 = 0.4767 CNY
This is an estimate based on usage duration. DSW pay-as-you-go instances are billed per minute. Bills appear in Billing Center hourly. Due to data aggregation, bills may be delayed by 2–3 hours. The final charge is based on the bill in Billing Center.
Subscription billing example
-
Scenario:
Two ecs.g6.13xlarge-52c192g dedicated resource nodes are purchased in the China (Shanghai) region for a 2-month subscription. The unit price is 6,864 CNY/month (actual price may vary; refer to the purchase page).
-
Cost calculation:
Total = 2 × 6,864 × 2 = 27,456 CNY
FAQ
Q: Why am I charged after stopping a DSW instance?
If you're charged after stopping a DSW instance, one of the following is typically the cause:
System disk expansion charges: If the system disk was expanded when the instance was created, charges for the capacity exceeding the free quota continue even after the instance is stopped. To stop these charges, back up your data and delete the instance.
OSS storage charges: If the instance has OSS Standard storage (locally redundant storage) or similar resources mounted, unreleased or non-empty OSS storage continues to incur charges even after the DSW instance is stopped. Check and clean up associated storage resources.
Bill delay: DSW pay-as-you-go bills have a 2–3 hour delay. Charges appearing shortly after stopping an instance are normal and don't indicate ongoing billing.
Troubleshooting tip: Check across all workspaces and regions to make sure all running instances and associated storage resources are stopped or released.
Q: How are the NAT gateway and EIP charges for DSW internet access billed?
The NAT gateway and EIP required for DSW internet access are billed as separate products and are not included in DSW instance charges. NAT gateway pricing varies by region. Refer to the NAT gateway billing documentation for your region to choose a suitable low-cost plan. For more information about internet access configuration, see Access services in an instance over the public network.
Q: Can I use GPU ECS instead of PAI-DSW for AI workloads?
GPU ECS is a viable alternative to PAI-DSW for AI workload deployment.
Key difference: With ECS, you set up the AI development environment yourself (installing drivers, frameworks, and so on). PAI-DSW provides pre-built images and a ready-to-use development environment, reducing environment setup overhead.
Billing structure: With ECS, instance type, public bandwidth, cloud disk storage, and NAT gateway are each billed separately — unlike DSW's integrated billing model. Evaluate the total cost before choosing.
Q: Does a PAI savings plan need to be manually released after it expires?
No. A PAI savings plan is a prepaid product. It expires automatically with no manual release or deletion needed, and no additional charges apply. If you don't plan to renew, no action is required after receiving the expiration notice. If you have DSW instances still running in the PAI console that you no longer need, stop or delete them to avoid ongoing pay-as-you-go charges.
Q: How do I check whether my savings plan or free trial quota is used up?
Log in to the Billing and Cost Management console and go to My Subscriptions to view the remaining balance and expiration date of your savings plan. If the balance is exhausted or the plan has expired, DSW public resource group usage reverts to standard pay-as-you-go rates.
Q: How does DSW charge? Why am I charged even when my instance is running but not executing code?
DSW supports both subscription and pay-as-you-go. For billing details, see Billing of DSW.
Pay-as-you-go charges are based on actual instance runtime. A running instance continuously occupies compute resources, so billing starts when the instance enters the Running state — regardless of whether the browser is open, you're logged in to the console, or you're running code. Closing the browser or logging out doesn't stop the instance. To stop billing, stop or delete the instance in the PAI console.
**Q: How do I view the DSW bill?**
For pay-as-you-go users, go to the Billing and Cost Management page to view bill details. For details, see View PAI billing details.
Q: How do I stop all DSW billing completely?
To stop all DSW instance charges, delete the instance. Back up all data before deleting — data cannot be recovered after deletion.
Check across all workspaces and regions to make sure all instances are deleted.
Q: How are charges calculated for a pay-as-you-go DSW instance used for less than one hour?
Charges are calculated based on actual minutes used: Billing amount = (unit price / 60) × actual service duration (minutes).
Q: Why does the console show insufficient balance when creating a DSW instance?
Enabling pay-as-you-go requires a cash balance reserve of 100 CNY in the account. Actual usage charges are deducted from the managed primary account's quota.