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Billing FAQs

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This topic answers frequently asked questions about ApsaraDB RDS billing.

Cost savings

Daily charges for subscription instances

The subscription fee covers only the instance specification and storage space. You incur extra charges if you use features such as read-only instances, SQL audit, or paid performance monitoring, or if your backup storage usage exceeds the free quota. For more information, see Billable items. ApsaraDB RDS offers savings plans to offset your pay-as-you-go charges. For more information, see General-purpose Savings Plan.

Log on to the Alibaba Cloud Management Console. In the Fee > Expenses and Costs console, choose Bills >Bill Details to view your billable items.

You can use the following methods to avoid or reduce pay-as-you-go costs:

  • Backup usage exceeds the free quota: For more information, see Reduce backup size and costs.

  • Database Proxy: The database proxy feature implements automatic read/write splitting and is charged on a pay-as-you-go basis. Evaluate if you need this feature. For more information, see What is a database proxy?

  • Cross-region Backup and SQL Audit: To offset these costs, purchase an ApsaraDB RDS savings plan. For more information, see General-purpose Savings Plan.

    Note

    RDS has launched storage packages that can offset the usage of SQL audit (insight) for RDS to help you save costs. For more information, see Storage package. If you upgrade to the SQL Explorer and Audit feature of DAS Enterprise Edition, you can no longer use storage packages to offset costs.

  • Read-only Instance, Clone Instance: These instance types support the subscription billing method. We recommend that you selectSubscription .

  • Performance Monitoring: Use the free monitoring frequencies, which collect data every 60 seconds or 300 seconds.

Higher than expected bills

A subscription fee covers only the instance specification and storage space for that specific instance. If you have other pay-as-you-go ApsaraDB RDS instances under the same account, they are billed hourly for both their specifications and storage. This may cause your total bill to be much higher than the subscription price.

To troubleshoot this issue, go to the Bill Details page in Billing Management and view the billing method and cost details for each instance to check if any pay-as-you-go instances are incurring extra charges.

If you no longer need a pay-as-you-go instance, release it to stop billing. If you still need the instance, convert its billing method to subscription to reduce long-term costs.

Charges for idle pay-as-you-go instances

Yes. A pay-as-you-go instance reserves compute and storage resources even when idle, so it continues to incur hourly charges. If you do not plan to use an instance for a long time, back up its data and then release it. For an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL or ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance, you can pause the instance if it will be idle for a long time. When an instance is paused, its compute resources are released, and you are no longer charged for its specifications. You are charged only for data storage. For more information, see Pause an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance or Pause an ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance.

Billing for configuration changes

For more information, see Change instance specifications.

Charges for public endpoints

Currently, inbound and outbound internet traffic for both pay-as-you-go and subscription instances is free, and bandwidth is not limited.

Reduce pay-as-you-go costs

  • Purchase a General-purpose Savings Plan to offset all pay-as-you-go items for ApsaraDB RDS. These items include instance specifications, data storage, backup storage, cross-region disaster recovery, SQL audit, second-level monitoring, and dedicated database proxy.

  • Purchase a storage package to offset the usage costs of instance storage space, backup space (for long-term and cross-region backups), and SQL audit.

Check for backup charges

  • You can check whether you are incurring backup fees in the Usage Statistics section on the Basic Information page of the instance. If your backup usage exceeds the free quota, backup fees are incurred. In the Backup Usage section of the instance, you can view the current usage of data backups and log backups and the free quota (for example, backups are free of charge if the total size is 81920 MB or less). Click View Details to view a detailed breakdown of your backup usage.

  • To check for past backup costs, go to the Bill Details page and check for bills where the Billable Item is instance backup.

Reduce backup size and costs

Release an instance

For more information, see Release an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance, Release an ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance, Release an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance, and Release an ApsaraDB RDS for MariaDB instance.

You cannot directly release a subscription instance, but you can unsubscribe from it and receive a refund. Three refund scenarios are available: five-day unconditional refund, non-unconditional refund, and refund for a renewal order that has not yet taken effect. For detailed rules, see Refund policy.

Impact of releasing read-only instances

Yes, releasing a read-only instance affects your services. Before releasing it, set its read weight to 0.

Note

Cached connections will still be routed to this read-only instance. You must re-establish the connections to route requests to other read-only instances.

Check feature activation time

  • On the Orders page, check the Paid/Activated At time for the feature.

  • You can use ActionTrail to view the operation history of an instance. You can also find the feature activation time on the View Event Details page in the ActionTrail console. The event details include fields such as Event Time (for example, 2023-04-10 16:15:18), Event Name (for example, CreateDBInstance), Event Source (for example, rds-inc-share.aliyuncs.com), Region, Operator (Alibaba Cloud account), and Source IP Address. The Related Resources section contains the resource type and resource name. The Event Time field indicates when the feature was created or enabled.

Instance purchasing and billing

Instance not appearing after creation

This issue may occur for the following two reasons:

  • Incorrect region

    The region displayed on the page may be different from the region that you selected when you created the instance. You can switch regions in the upper-left corner of the page.

  • Insufficient resources in the zone

    Zone resources are dynamically allocated. An instance may fail to be created if the resources in the selected zone are insufficient after you place an order. As a result, the instance does not appear in the instance list. We recommend that you select a different zone and try again. A refund is issued for the failed creation. You can view the details in the Order List.

Performance differences: entry-level vs. enterprise-level

This is because entry-level instances belong to the shared/general-purpose instance family, whereas enterprise-level instances belong to the dedicated instance family. In practice, enterprise-level instances are more stable because they use dedicated CPU and memory resources. For more information about the differences, see Instance families.

Billing for resource plan overages

The overage is automatically billed on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Storage price differences: Cluster vs. Basic Edition

1. The Cluster Edition and Basic Edition have different billing methods for storage resources.

The Basic Edition uses a single-node architecture with no secondary nodes, and its data reliability depends on the multi-replica mechanism of the underlying cloud disk. The Cluster Edition uses a primary-secondary node architecture that enhances data reliability and system availability by using a high-availability architecture on top of the multi-replica mechanism of high-performance cloud disks. This means that secondary nodes in the Cluster Edition also have one or more sets of cloud disks. This architectural difference leads to different resource scheduling and cost allocation between the editions. Specifically, storage costs are calculated as follows:

Storage cost for a Basic Edition instance = Unit price of instance storage × Storage capacity of the instance × Duration

Storage cost for a Cluster Edition instance = Unit price of single-node storage × Storage capacity of a single node × Number of nodes × Duration

2. Alibaba Cloud's storage pricing for different product series takes into account factors such as features, availability, and O&M costs.

Take high-performance cloud disks as an example. The Cluster Edition may have a lower unit price due to bulk purchasing or resource pool optimization. In contrast, the storage cost for a single-node Basic Edition instance is relatively higher, leading to a difference in the storage unit price.

Expired and overdue instances

  • Causes and impacts of expiration or overdue payments

    Impact of expiration or overdue payments

    For more information, see Overdue payments and Renewal.

    Impact of overdue payments on other services

    The subscription instance and its pay-as-you-go billable items are not affected. However, all pay-as-you-go instances under the account will become overdue.

    Serverless instance billing and expiration

    For information about how serverless ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instances are billed, see ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL Serverless pricing. Serverless instances are billed on a pay-as-you-go basis and do not have an expiration date.

    Handling expired subscription instances

    No. After a subscription instance expires, it enters the following states. If you no longer use it, no action is required and no additional charges are generated.

    • For 1 to 7 days after expiration, the instance is locked and cannot be accessed.

    • For 8 to 15 days after expiration, the compute resources of the instance are released, but its data backups are retained.

    • On the 16th day after expiration, the data of the instance is released.

    Charges during instance lock period

    No other charges are generated while the instance is locked. For more information about the impacts of overdue payments, see Overdue payments.

    Data recovery for released instances

    No. On the 16th day after expiration, the instance data is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. To continue using the service, you must purchase a new instance and redeploy your data.

    Impact of overdue payments on instances

    An overdue account payment will cause all pay-as-you-go instances under the account to become overdue. For more information, see Overdue payments.

    What does the RDS instance error The MySQL server is running with the LOCK_WRITE option so it cannot execute this statement mean?

    This error message indicates that the instance is locked. For information about how to unlock the instance, see What do I do if the status of an ApsaraDB RDS instance is Locked?

  • Operations for expired or overdue instances

    Configuration changes for locked instances

    No. You must unlock the instance before you can change its configuration. For instructions, see Overdue payments and Renewal.

    Instance still locked after renewal

    Unlocking an instance after renewal takes some time, typically up to 5 minutes.

    Renewal discounts

    The renewal price displayed in the console prevails.

    Refunds for downgrading after renewal

    Yes, you will receive a refund for the price difference. For information about the specific refund rules, see Refund rules for configuration downgrades.

    Backups for locked instances

    No. You cannot back up a locked instance or export its backup files. The instance must be in the Running state. We recommend that you first top up your account balance or renew the instance to unlock it, and then perform the backup and export.

    Switching expired instances to pay-as-you-go

    You cannot directly change the billing method of an expired subscription instance to pay-as-you-go. You must first renew the instance for a short period to unlock it, then change its billing method. When you switch from subscription to pay-as-you-go, the system refunds the price difference. For more information, see Refund rules for changing the billing method from subscription to pay-as-you-go.

    Instance recovery after renewal

    For 1 to 7 days after expiration, the instance is locked and cannot be accessed. If you manually renew the instance during this period, it immediately returns to a normal state. No other operations are required.

    Data consistency after rebuilding from recycle bin

    The data is identical to the data in the original instance, but the new instance will have a different connection endpoint and instance ID.

    Cost of rebuilding from the recycle bin

    After an instance is released, you can use the recycle bin to create a new instance and restore the original instance's data to it. When you rebuild an instance from the recycle bin, you cannot select instance specifications, database engine versions, or storage types that are discontinued. Any changes to these parameters for the new instance will affect its price. The price displayed in the console is final.

    RAM user permissions for renewal

    You must grant the RAM user the following permissions in the Billing Management console: AliyunBSSFullAccess, AliyunBSSReadOnlyAccess, AliyunBSSOrderAccess, AliyunBSSRenewFullAccess, and AliyunBSSRenewReadOnlyAccess. You must also grant the RAM user the AliyunRDSFullAccess permission for ApsaraDB RDS.

    DTS migration from locked instances

    You cannot use Data Transmission Service (DTS) to migrate data from a locked instance. You must unlock the instance before starting the migration. For information about how to unlock an instance, see What do I do if the status of an ApsaraDB RDS instance is Locked?

    Restore an expired subscription instance

    The method to restore an expired subscription instance varies based on the time that has elapsed since expiration:

    • For 1 to 7 days after expiration, the instance is locked and cannot be accessed. You can unlock it by renewing it. For more information, see Renewal.

    • For 8 to 15 days after expiration, the compute resources of the instance are released, but its data backups are retained. You can restore the instance from these backups. For more information, see Rebuild an instance.

    • On the 16th day after expiration, the data of the instance is released and cannot be recovered. If you still need to use the service, you must purchase a new instance and deploy your data.

    Downgrade and renew an instance

    You cannot downgrade the configuration while you renew the instance. You must first downgrade the configuration and then renew the instance.

    Cannot write to a locked instance

    You cannot write data to a locked instance. You must first unlock the instance. For information about how to unlock an instance, see What do I do if the status of an ApsaraDB RDS instance is Locked?

    Cannot find instance for renewal

    You can perform the following steps to troubleshoot this issue:

    • Make sure that you are logged on with the Alibaba Cloud account that is used to manage the instance.

    • In the ApsaraDB RDS console, switch to the region where the instance resides.

    • In the left-side navigation pane of the ApsaraDB RDS console, click Recycle Bin to check whether the instance expired more than 8 days ago and has been moved to the recycle bin.

    • If the instance expired more than 16 days ago, it has been released and its data has been cleared. The instance cannot be recovered.

    View expiring instances

    At the top of the ApsaraDB RDS console, select Fee > Renewal Management, where you can view products that are about to expire and renew your instances.

    Apply for a contract before renewal

    When you renew the instance, do not pay immediately. An unpaid order is generated. Then, go to the Contract Management page to apply for an electronic contract and select the unpaid order.

    Change contact for expiration notifications

    Add a contact

    1. Log on to the Alibaba Cloud console, click your profile picture in the upper-right corner, and then click Addresses and Contacts in the left-side navigation pane.

    2. On the Contact tab, click Add Contact.

    3. In the Add Contact dialog box, enter the new contact information, and click OK.

    Modify a message recipient

    1. In the left navigation bar of Message Center, select Message Reception Management> Basic Reception Management.

    2. Select the SMS notification and modify the Message Recipient. By default, the message recipient is the account contact.

    Free trial expiration and fees

    • For subscription-based free trial products

      When the trial expires, the product is automatically stopped and the instance is released. Released instances cannot be recovered. Back up your data beforehand to prevent data loss.

    • For serverless-based free trial products

      After the trial expires, the product continues to run and incurs charges. If you no longer need the instance, manually release it promptly. Released instances cannot be recovered. Be sure to back up your data before releasing the instance.

    You can go to the Free Tier page to view the expiration dates, usage, and other trial information for all your free trial products. For more information about free trials, see Free Trial FAQ.

  • Billing for deleted instances

    My RDS MySQL instance has been released. Why am I still being charged for backups?

    The RDS MySQL instance has been released. However, if you enabled the backup retention policy upon instance release before the instance was released, these backup files will continue to be stored on the Backups page of the RDS console. According to the feature rules, backup storage is free for 7 days after the instance is released. After 7 days, charges will apply.

    Therefore, backup fees may occur because your backup retention period exceeded the 7-day free window. Fees are based on actual storage usage and region. For pricing details, see Billing details. If you no longer need the backups, change the retention policy for the target instance to None on the Backup for Deleted Instances tab to avoid backup storage fees.

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