Savings plan FAQ
If you have questions about purchasing or using savings plans, refer to the following frequently asked questions and recommendations.
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Before you buy |
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How do savings plans work when the number of covered instances is not an integer? |
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Usage rules |
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Can I purchase storage capacity units (SCUs) after buying a savings plan? |
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Can I purchase reserved instances after buying a savings plan? |
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Purchase a savings plan |
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Can coupons be used for the installment payments of a savings plan? |
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Post-purchase management |
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Do savings plans support notifications for usage exhaustion? |
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Impact after expiration |
Before you buy
What is the hourly commitment?
When you purchase a savings plan, you commit to spending a specific amount per hour (in CNY) for a fixed term. This is your hourly commitment. Hourly bills for usage up to this commitment receive the savings plan discount and are covered by the plan. If you select a partial upfront or no upfront payment option and your actual usage in a given hour is less than your hourly commitment, you are still billed for 50% (for partial upfront) or 100% (for no upfront) of your hourly commitment.
The hourly commitment defines the maximum pay-as-you-go spending that your savings plan can cover per hour. Within this limit, the plan first discounts eligible pay-as-you-go bills and then covers the remaining amount.
These prices are for illustrative purposes only. The prices displayed at the time of purchase are final.
Example:
The pay-as-you-go price for an ECS ecs.c5.large instance type in the China (Shanghai) region is CNY 0.62 per instance per hour. With a 1-year, all-upfront, and general-purpose savings plan, the discounted rate for the ecs.c5 instance family is 42.2% of the pay-as-you-go price. If you select an hourly commitment of CNY 10, the number of ecs.c5.large instances that this savings plan can cover per hour is: 10/(0.62 × 0.422) = 38.22 instances.
Do savings plans provide a capacity reservation?
No, savings plans do not provide reserved resources. No resources are specified when you purchase savings plans.
Discounts for preemptible instances?
No, savings plans cannot be applied to preemptible instances.
How are non-integer instance counts handled?
For example, if your savings plan can be applied to 38.22 instances per hour and 39 instances are running, the hourly fees of 38 instances are fully offset by your savings plan. For the additional instance, 22% of the hourly fees are offset by your savings plan, and the remaining 78% of the hourly fees are paid at the regular pay-as-you-go unit price. If 38 instances are running, the offset for 0.22 instances per hour is wasted in this savings plan.
Usage rules
Can I use multiple savings plans?
Yes, you can apply multiple savings plans at the same time. The system automatically applies the optimal savings plan.
Can I use savings plans with SCUs?
Yes, you can purchase both. However, Alibaba Cloud applies discounts from storage capacity units (SCUs) before applying savings plan discounts.
Can I use savings plans with reserved instances?
Yes, you can purchase reserved instances and savings plans at the same time. However, reserved instances take precedence over savings plans to offset the bills of pay-as-you-go instances.
Purchase a savings plan
How do I purchase a savings plan?
You can purchase a savings plan on the 节省计划购买页面 or obtain savings plan recommendations on the 节省计划购买推荐页面. After you specify the information such as historical consumption data, savings plan type, and payment option on the Recommended page, the system automatically recommends a savings plan for you.
Can I use coupons for installment payments?
Yes, you can use coupons for installment payments. For partial upfront and no upfront savings plans, the system can automatically apply coupons to your hourly installment bills. For more information, see Changes to installment bills of savings plans and support for coupons.
When are installment bills generated?
The system generates installment bills at the beginning of each hour. For example, the bill for the 10:00 to 11:00 period is generated at 10:00.
Post-purchase management
How to configure the deduction scope?
On the savings plan overview page, click Set Deduction Rules in the Actions column to specify which billable items the plan should cover.
How to find savings plan discounts?
Visit the savings plan price and discount details page and specify the plan attributes to view the corresponding pay-as-you-go discounts.
How to track cost savings?
Visit the savings plan overview page to view your cost savings. The page shows your total accumulated savings, as well as savings for the current year and month.
Are usage exhaustion notifications supported?
Savings plans do not support notifications for usage exhaustion. To monitor your savings plan usage, we recommend that you use the utilization and coverage budget feature in budget management to set up alerts. When the utilization or coverage of your savings plan falls below a threshold that you define, the system sends you a notification through Message Center. These alerts help you monitor your plan's performance and make timely adjustments.
Impact after expiration
What happens when a savings plan expires?
After your savings plans expire, the discounts provided by your savings plans are no longer applicable. Your eligible pay-as-you-go instances are billed at the regular pay-as-you-go unit prices. The pay-as-you-go instances to which your savings plans are applied are not released. The expiration of savings plans does not affect your business.