This topic describes the main billing information for ACK managed clusters and ACK dedicated clusters, including billable items and billing methods.
Billing overview
ACK managed clusters and ACK dedicated clusters incur fees for cluster management, cloud product resources, and Lingjun node management. The following table describes the billable items for each cluster type:
Cluster type | Cluster management fees | Associated resource fees | |
Cloud resource fees | Lingjun node management fees | ||
ACK managed Pro cluster | Involved | Involves | Included only when a Lingjun node pool is configured |
ACK managed Basic cluster | Not included | Involves | Not applicable |
ACK dedicated cluster | Not included | involve | Not included |
Cluster management fees
Only ACK managed Pro clusters incur cluster management fees. Fees are calculated per cluster and per hour of usage.
Billing method
Pay-as-you-go: The fee for managing one cluster is USD 0.09 per hour. Prices may vary by region. Your actual bill reflects the final charge.
Billing cycle
Billing occurs hourly, aligned to the top of the hour (for example, 10:00–11:00). The first billing cycle after cluster creation and the last cycle before cluster release are not charged. Bills usually appear 10–30 minutes after the end of each cycle.
For a detailed billing example, see Billing cycle for cluster management fees.
You are charged cluster management fees when your cluster is in the Running, Upgrading, Draining, Removing, or configuring state.
Cloud resource fees
Using ACK clusters requires other Alibaba Cloud services. You pay for those services based on their individual billing rules. For details, see Cloud resource fees.
Resource type | Purpose | Billing details |
Elastic Compute Service (ECS) | Serves as cluster nodes (only worker nodes are charged for managed clusters; both master and worker nodes are charged for dedicated clusters) | |
Server Load Balancer (SLB) | Associates a Classic Load Balancer (CLB) instance with the API server (required; deleting it makes the cluster unavailable); uses CLB or Network Load Balancer (NLB) when creating a LoadBalancer-type Service; associates an Application Load Balancer (ALB) instance when using ALB Ingress | |
NAT Gateway | Provides Internet access for the cluster (for example, pulling public container images) | |
Elastic IP Address (EIP) | Associates with the API server or NAT gateway to enable public network access | |
Storage | Cloud disks, File Storage NAS, and Object Storage Service (OSS) provide persistent storage | |
Observability | Simple Log Service (SLS) collects logs. Managed Service for Prometheus monitors the cluster | |
Container Registry | Manages and distributes container images |
The list above includes common cloud services. Actual charges depend on the services you enable and use. Use the pricing calculator to estimate costs.
View billing details
Use the Cost Insights feature in the cost management suite to view associated costs for your cluster. This helps you optimize costs. For more detailed billing information, go to Expenses and Costs to view your bill. For steps, see Query bills.
Overdue payments and refunds
Impact of overdue payments
Your account is considered overdue when your available balance—including your Alibaba Cloud account balance and vouchers—is less than the amount due. Overdue payments affect your services as follows:
ACK managed Pro cluster: If payment is overdue, the cluster enters the Inactive state for 15 days. During this time, you cannot access the API server. Pay-as-you-go cloud resources may be stopped or released. After 15 days, the cluster is deleted.
ACK managed Basic cluster and ACK dedicated cluster: Cluster status remains unchanged. However, pay-as-you-go cloud resources may be stopped or released. After 15 days, the cluster is deleted.
Recharge your account and settle overdue bills as soon as possible on the Expenses and Costs page. For more information, see Overdue payments.
Unsubscribing and refunds
If you no longer need ACK, delete the cluster and its associated cloud resources to stop billing.
Cluster management fees: Not refunded (charged based on actual usage).
Cloud resource fees: Refund policies vary by service. See the billing documentation for each service.
For more information, see Unsubscription and refund policies.