Search index billing

Billing covers data storage, compute (VCU mode or CU mode), and outbound public traffic.

Search index is billed independently of the data table. For unit prices, see Tablestore pricing page.

Data storage fee

Search index stores data independently. Billing is based on the compressed index size in GB, calculated hourly.

Note

Search index data is stored on high-performance storage media to ensure performance. Even if your instance or storage is capacity-type — a storage-optimized instance in CU mode, or capacity-type storage in VCU mode — the search index storage is still billed at the high-performance storage price.
Different index types consume system resources at very different rates, so storage is not billed by the source table's raw data size.

Billing method

Pay-as-you-go or resource plan.

Formula

$f (S i ze) = \frac{S i ze}{1 G B} * R M B 0.0015/ G B / h o u r$

Size is the compressed index size.

Compute fee

VCU mode

In VCU mode, compute is measured in Virtual Compute Units (VCUs). One VCU provides 4 vCPU cores and 16 GB of memory. Search index queries consume VCUs.

Billing method

Subscription. When elastic capacity is enabled, the elastic portion is billed pay-as-you-go. For details, see VCU mode (formerly Reserved mode).

Billing examples

Note

Prices in the following table are examples. For current rates, see the Tablestore pricing page.
Actual reserved VCU and elastic VCU consumption is reflected in the bill. No elastic VCU charges are incurred when compute usage stays within the reserved VCU or when elastic capacity is disabled.

Index size

Index row count

Cost calculation

8 GB

9 million rows

Storage fee: 8 × 0.0015 RMB/GB/hour = 0.012 RMB/hour
Monthly storage fee = 0.012 RMB/hour × 24 hours × 30 days = 8.64 RMB/month
Compute fee: reserved VCU count × 480 RMB/month + elastic VCU portion × 1 RMB/VCU/hour × 24 hours × 30 days

Monthly total = 8.64 RMB/month + reserved VCU count × 480 RMB/month + elastic VCU portion × 1 RMB/VCU/hour × 24 hours × 30 days

100 GB

300 million rows

Storage fee: 100 × 0.0015 RMB/GB/hour = 0.15 RMB/hour
Monthly storage fee = 0.15 RMB/hour × 24 hours × 30 days = 108 RMB/month
Compute fee: reserved VCU count × 480 RMB/month + elastic VCU portion × 1 RMB/VCU/hour × 24 hours × 30 days

Monthly total = 108 RMB/month + reserved VCU count × 480 RMB/month + elastic VCU portion × 1 RMB/VCU/hour × 24 hours × 30 days

CU mode

Search index queries are billed by read throughput, which has two components: reserved read throughput and pay-as-you-go read throughput. Read throughput is measured in Capacity Units (CUs).

Reserved read throughput

Tablestore automatically sets reserved read throughput based on the index size and row count, measured in CUs. The reserved read throughput fee covers the following resource usage:

Reading data from the source table during index creation, which consumes read throughput.
Write throughput consumed by index creation, including tokenization. This is included in the reserved read throughput fee.
Memory used to keep parts of the index resident for query performance. This memory usage is included in the reserved read throughput.

Queries that consume read throughput within the reserved amount are billed at the reserved rate. For example, with reserved read throughput of 10,000 CUs and each query returning 10 rows under 4 KB, sustained traffic below 1,000 QPS stays within the reserved quota and incurs no extra charge.

Reserved read throughput scales with both index size and row count: 1 GB requires 10 CUs, and 2 million rows also require 10 CUs. When the two calculations differ, the larger value applies.

Note

Reserved read throughput is recalculated hourly and does not update in real time.
When the index size is less than 200 MB and the row count is less than 400,000, the reserved read throughput is 20 CUs.
When the index size is at least 200 MB or the row count is at least 400,000, the minimum reserved read throughput is 100 CUs.

Pay-as-you-go read throughput

When actual read throughput exceeds the reserved amount, the excess is billed as pay-as-you-go read throughput, measured in CUs.

Billing method

Pay-as-you-go or resource plan.

Formula

Index reserved read CU:

$R eser v e d C u P er I n d e x (S i ze, R o w s) = ma x (\frac{S i ze}{0.2 G B}, \frac{R o w s}{0.4 m}, 10) * 2$

Query read CU:

$C u P er Q u ery = C e i l (\frac{R e t u r n R o wS i ze}{4 K B}) * R e t u r n R o wC o u n t$

Size: compressed index size.
Rows: total row count in the index, excluding child rows of nested types.
ReturnRowSize: size of each returned row.
ReturnRowCount: number of returned rows.

Billing examples

Note

Prices in the following table are examples. For current rates, see the Tablestore pricing page.
When actual read throughput exceeds the reserved amount, the excess is billed as pay-as-you-go read throughput.

Index size

Index row count

Cost calculation

8 GB

9 million rows

Storage fee: 8 × 0.0015 RMB/GB/hour = 0.012 RMB/hour
Reserved read throughput calculation: 8 GB maps to 80 CUs; 9 million rows maps to 45 CUs. The index size exceeds 200 MB and the row count exceeds 400,000, so the 100 CU minimum applies. The reserved read throughput is 100 CUs.
Reserved read throughput fee: 100 × 0.00056 RMB/CU/hour = 0.056 RMB/hour
Hourly total: 0.012 RMB/hour + 0.056 RMB/hour = 0.068 RMB/hour

Monthly total = 0.068 RMB/hour × 24 hours × 30 days = 48.96 RMB/month

Note

To simplify the calculation, the monthly total is derived from the hourly fee. Actual charges are based on actual usage.

100 GB

300 million rows

Storage fee: 100 × 0.0015 RMB/GB/hour = 0.15 RMB/hour
Reserved read throughput calculation: 100 GB maps to 1,000 CUs; 300 million rows maps to 1,500 CUs. The larger value applies, so the reserved read throughput is 1,500 CUs.
Reserved read throughput fee: 1,500 × 0.00056 RMB/CU/hour = 0.84 RMB/hour
Hourly total: 0.15 RMB/hour + 0.84 RMB/hour = 0.99 RMB/hour

Monthly total = 0.99 RMB/hour × 24 hours × 30 days = 712.8 RMB/month

Note

To simplify the calculation, the monthly total is derived from the hourly fee. Actual charges are based on actual usage.

Outbound public traffic fee

Reading search index data over the public network incurs outbound public traffic charges, measured in GB. VCU mode and CU mode are billed identically for outbound public traffic.

Billing method

Pay-as-you-go.

Formula

Outbound public traffic (GB) × unit price per GB.

FAQ

How do I view search index usage data?

View the storage size, row count, and other usage data of a search index in the Tablestore console. For details, see Monitoring and alerts.

In CU mode, why does using a search index incur reserved read CUs?

Tablestore automatically sets reserved read throughput based on index size and row count to cover resource usage from index building, tokenization, and memory residency. For details, see the reserved read throughput description under CU mode.

In CU mode, can the reserved read CUs of a search index be adjusted?

No. Reserved read CUs scale with index size and row count and cover index building and memory residency. To reduce this cost, shrink the index size or trim the row count.

In CU mode, can search index reserved read throughput be offset by a reserved CU plan?

Yes. A reserved CU plan offsets reserved read and write throughput, including the reserved read throughput generated by a search index.

Does the reserved read throughput update in real time?

No. Tablestore recalculates the reserved read throughput hourly based on the index size.

In VCU mode, how is search index compute capacity estimated?

Search index compute capacity is measured in VCUs. Total VCU is the sum of scalar query VCU and vector search VCU. For estimating scalar query VCU, see VCU mode (formerly Reserved mode). For estimating vector search VCU, contact Tablestore technical support.

In VCU mode, can a search index be used when reserved VCU is set to 0?

Yes. A search index remains available when reserved VCU is set to 0, provided elastic capacity is enabled. All compute is then billed as elastic VCU on a pay-as-you-go basis.