With the subscription billing method, you pay for compute nodes upfront when you create a database cluster. Storage is always billed separately on a pay-as-you-go basis, regardless of your subscription status.
When to use subscription
Subscription is cost-effective for large, stable workloads that do not require scaling for at least a year. Paying upfront for compute nodes costs less over the long term than running the same workload on pay-as-you-go.
Combination with storage plans
The storage capacity of a PolarDB cluster is automatically scaled based on the amount of stored data. You do not need to specify the storage capacity. You are charged for the storage capacity that you use. The storage fee for each PolarDB cluster is charged based on the data volume and retention period. If you require a larger storage capacity, such as 1,000 GB or more, we recommend that you purchase storage plans to reduce costs.
A storage plan is a subscription-based resource plan provided by PolarDB. Storage plans can be used to offset various storage costs in PolarDB, including basic data storage, level-1 backup storage that exceeds the free quota, level-2 backup storage, log backup storage, cold data storage, and serverless storage. Storage plans help reduce costs. A storage plan that has a larger capacity and longer duration provides a higher discount.
For example, a monthly storage plan provides 10% to 45% savings when compared with the price of a comparable pay-as-you-go cluster. The longer the duration of the plan, the more savings you get. If you purchase annual storage plans, you can save an additional 15% off the monthly price.
Storage plans can be applied to all PolarDB clusters in the regions that are specified by the Resource Plan Type parameter. You can select Chinese Mainland or Outside Chinese Mainland for the parameter.
If the capacity of your storage plan is insufficient, you can purchase an additional storage plan or upgrade the storage plan. You cannot downgrade storage plans. For information about how to upgrade a storage plan, see the "Upgrade a storage plan" section of the Renew or upgrade a storage plan topic.
If the amount of the storage that is used exceeds the capacity of your storage plan, you are charged for the additional storage resources based on the pay-as-you-go billing method.
For example, if you create three PolarDB clusters each of which requires 400 GB of storage, you can purchase a storage plan with 1,000 GB of capacity for the clusters. The excess 200 GB of storage usage is billed based on the pay-as-you-go billing method. For more information, see View the database storage usage.
Price calculation
PolarDB provides the price calculator and resource plan calculator. You can use the calculators to obtain information about the product pricing, estimate costs, and select a product type that meets your business requirements.
Price calculator: allows you to estimate the overall cost based on the details and storage capacity of the cluster that you select.
Resource plan calculator: allows you to estimate required compute capacity and storage capacity based on your business requirements and usage duration. The calculator can also provide recommendations on the specifications of storage plans and compute plans for clusters with defined specifications.
Billing coverage
Component | Billing method | Notes |
Compute nodes | Subscription (upfront) | Covered by the subscription term |
Storage | Pay-as-you-go (hourly) | Billed separately, even with an active subscription |
Storage costs are not covered by subscription. Pay-as-you-go storage charges accrue hourly whether or not you have an active subscription plan.
Purchase a subscription cluster
To create a new subscription cluster, see Purchase a subscription cluster.
Switch from pay-as-you-go to subscription
To convert an existing pay-as-you-go cluster to subscription, see Convert the billing method for compute resources: Pay-as-you-go to subscription.