ApsaraMQ for RocketMQ billing cycles and overdue payment policies depend on the edition: Standard Edition (pay-as-you-go) or Platinum Edition (subscription).
Standard Edition (pay-as-you-go)
Billing cycle
Standard Edition instances use a 24-hour billing cycle. Each day, Alibaba Cloud measures the previous day's usage, generates a bill, and deducts the fees from your account. Bills are typically generated 8 to 10 hours after each billing cycle ends.
Overdue payments
If your account balance is insufficient to cover the bill, the following actions occur in sequence:
| Stage | Trigger | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Service suspended | Balance insufficient when bill is generated | The messaging service is suspended. You cannot access the ApsaraMQ for RocketMQ console or call API operations. |
| Instance released | 15 days after suspension, payment still outstanding | The instance is released. All data -- including topics and groups -- is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. |
Settle overdue payments promptly to avoid permanent data loss. After an instance is released, its data cannot be recovered.
Platinum Edition (subscription)
Subscription expiration
After a Platinum Edition subscription expires, Alibaba Cloud suspends the service. If you do not renew the subscription within 168 hours (7 days), the system handles the instance based on the configured Post-expiration Action:
| Post-expiration Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Delete Resource | The instance and all its data -- including topics and groups -- are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. |
| Downgrade to Standard Edition | The instance is converted to a Standard Edition instance. Billing switches to pay-as-you-go. For pricing details, see Billing overview. |
If the instance is downgraded and you no longer need it, delete the instance and its associated topic and group resources promptly to avoid unexpected charges.
To configure the Post-expiration Action, see Lifecycle management for Platinum Edition instances.
Overdue payment timeline
| Edition | Event | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Edition | Bill generated, balance insufficient | Service suspended. Console and API access blocked. |
| Standard Edition | 15 days after suspension, payment still outstanding | Instance released. All data permanently deleted. |
| Platinum Edition | Subscription expires | Service suspended. |
| Platinum Edition | 168 hours (7 days) after expiration, subscription not renewed | Post-expiration Action applied: instance deleted or downgraded to Standard Edition. |