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    ApsaraVideo VOD:Billing for basic services

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    ApsaraVideo VOD:Billing for basic services

    Last Updated:Jan 16, 2026

    ApsaraVideo VOD charges for basic services such as media asset storage, outbound traffic from storage, acceleration, and media transcoding. The default billing method is pay-as-you-go, which means you are charged based on your actual usage of each billable item. This topic describes the pricing and provides billing examples for each item.

    Billable items

    Note

    The pricing information in this topic is for reference only. For the latest pricing, see VOD Pricing Details.

    Category

    Description

    Media asset storage billing

    This fee is incurred when you upload audio and video files to ApsaraVideo VOD.

    Media transcoding billing

    This fee is charged for standard or Narrowband HD transcoding of resource files stored in ApsaraVideo VOD. Billing is based on the specifications and duration of the output file in different regions. You are charged for each successful transcoding job. No fees are charged for failed jobs.

    Outbound traffic from storage billing

    If you do not use a content delivery network (CDN) for acceleration, meaning you have not configured an accelerated domain name in ApsaraVideo VOD, you are charged for the downstream traffic generated when you download or play media from the storage address over the Internet.

    Acceleration service billing

    If you use a CDN for acceleration, you are charged an acceleration fee for video playback.

    For example, if you upload an audio or video file to ApsaraVideo VOD, transcode it, and then configure an accelerated domain name for playback, your total cost is the sum of the media asset storage, media transcoding, and acceleration service fees.

    Media asset storage billing

    Data storage

    ApsaraVideo VOD charges storage fees based on the type, size, and storage duration of your files. The unit price varies by storage region.

    Note

    Currently, tiered storage is available only in the Chinese mainland (Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen) and Singapore regions. You can change the storage class of media assets to Infrequent Access, Archive Storage, or Cold Archive.

    Billable item

    Billing rule

    Billing cycle and price

    Billing method

    Standard storage capacity

    Billed based on the size and storage duration of files in the Standard storage class. The unit price varies by storage region.

    • Billing Cycle: This service is billed hourly. Fees are deducted in real time. Bills are typically generated 4 to 6 hours after a billing cycle ends.

    • Price: For pricing details, see the Media asset storage pricing table below.

    • Pay-as-you-go: The hourly fee for Standard storage is calculated as follows: Storage usage (GB) × Monthly unit price ÷ 30 (days) ÷ 24 (hours)

      Note

      A month is calculated as 30 days.

    • Resource Plan: An ApsaraVideo VOD storage plan. For more information, see Resource plans.

    Infrequent Access storage capacity

    Billed based on the size and storage duration of files in the Infrequent Access storage class. The unit price varies by storage region.

    Important

    1. Infrequent Access files have a minimum billable size of 64 KB. Files smaller than 64 KB are billed as 64 KB.

    2. Infrequent Access files have a minimum storage duration of 30 days (720 hours). If a file is overwritten or deleted before it has been stored for 30 days, you are still charged for 30 days of storage.

    • Pay-as-you-go: Hourly Infrequent Access storage fee = Storage usage (GB) × Unit price per month ÷ 30 days ÷ 24 hours

      Note

      A month is calculated as 30 days.

    • Resource Plan: Not supported.

    Archive Storage capacity

    Billed based on the size and storage duration of files in the Archive Storage class. The unit price varies by storage region.

    Important

    1. Archive Storage files have a minimum billable size of 64 KB. Files smaller than 64 KB are billed as 64 KB.

    2. Archive Storage files have a minimum storage duration of 60 days (1,440 hours). If a file is overwritten or deleted before it has been stored for 60 days, you are still charged for 60 days of storage.

    • Pay-as-you-go: Hourly Archive Storage fee = Storage usage (GB) × Monthly unit price / 30 / 24

      Note

      A month is calculated as 30 days.

    • Resource Plan: Not supported.

    Cold Archive storage capacity

    Billed based on the size and storage duration of files in the Cold Archive storage class. The unit price varies by storage region.

    Important

    1. Cold Archive files have a minimum billable size of 64 KB. Files smaller than 64 KB are billed as 64 KB.

    2. Cold Archive files have a minimum storage duration of 180 days (4,320 hours). If a file is overwritten or deleted before it has been stored for 180 days, you are still charged for 180 days of storage.

    • Pay-as-you-go: Hourly fee for Cold Archive storage = Storage usage (GB) × Monthly unit price / 30 days / 24 hours

      Note

      A month is calculated as 30 days.

    • Resource Plan: Not supported.

    Media asset storage pricing

    Storage class (USD/GB/month)

    Bucket size (GB)

    The Chinese mainland

    China (Hong Kong)

    Singapore

    Germany

    US

    Japan

    Indonesia

    Standard LRS

    0 GB to 50 GB (inclusive)

    Free

    0.02

    Free

    Free

    Free

    Free

    Free

    >50 GB

    0.0173

    0.02

    0.02

    0.02

    0.02

    0.0209

    0.02

    Standard ZRS

    Note

    Storage plans are not supported.

    >0 GB

    0.0185

    0.022

    0.022

    0.022

    0.022

    0.022

    0.022

    Infrequent Access

    0.0126

    0.0147

    0.01575

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0168

    0.01575

    Archive Storage

    0.005355

    0.004725

    0.004725

    0.004305

    0.004305

    0.004725

    0.004725

    Cold Archive

    0.00231

    0.0021

    0.0021

    0.00189

    0.00189

    0.0021

    0.0021

    Data retrieval

    You are not charged data retrieval fees for accessing data in the Standard storage class. However, data retrieval fees are incurred when you access data in the Infrequent Access storage class in real time. Data in the Archive Storage and Cold Archive storage classes must be restored before you can access it, and this process incurs data retrieval fees.

    Billable item

    Billing rule

    Billing cycle and price

    Billing Rules

    Infrequent Access data retrieval capacity

    Fees are incurred for accessing files in the Infrequent Access storage class. Billing is based on the volume of retrieved data.

    • Billing Cycle: Billed hourly. Fees are deducted in real time. Bills are typically generated 4 to 6 hours after a billing cycle ends. The actual time may vary.

    • Price: For specific prices, see the Data retrieval pricing table below.

    • Pay-as-you-go: Infrequent Access data retrieval fee = Volume of retrieved data (GB) × Unit price for Infrequent Access data retrieval

    • Resource Plan: Not supported.

    Archive Storage data retrieval capacity

    Fees are incurred for restoring files from the Archive Storage class. Billing is based on the size of the restored file.

    Note

    No additional restoration fees are charged for accessing the file after it is restored and before it is archived again.

    • Pay-as-you-go: Archive Storage data retrieval fee = Size of restored file (GB) × Unit price for Archive Storage data retrieval

    • Resource Plan: Not supported.

    Cold Archive data retrieval capacity

    Fees are incurred for restoring files from the Cold Archive storage class. Billing is based on the restoration mode and file size. No additional restoration fees are charged for accessing the file after it is restored and before it is archived again.

    Data retrieval fees for Cold Archive vary based on the restoration priority. The following retrieval capacity types are available:

    • Standard retrieval capacity

    • High-priority retrieval capacity

    • Bulk retrieval capacity

    • Pay-as-you-go: Cold Archive data retrieval fee = Size of restored file (GB) × Unit price for the corresponding retrieval mode

    • Resource Plan: Not supported.

    Data retrieval pricing

    Data retrieval type (USD/GB)

    The Chinese mainland

    China (Hong Kong)

    Singapore

    Germany

    US

    Japan

    Indonesia

    Infrequent Access data retrieval capacity

    0.00525

    0.0105

    0.007875

    0.007875

    0.007875

    0.007875

    0.007875

    Archive Storage data retrieval capacity

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    Cold Archive standard retrieval capacity

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    0.0105

    Cold Archive high-priority retrieval capacity

    0.0315

    0.0315

    0.0315

    0.0315

    0.0315

    0.0315

    0.0315

    Cold Archive bulk retrieval capacity

    0.00525

    0.00525

    0.00525

    0.00525

    0.00525

    0.00525

    0.00525

    Billing example

    In November 2022, a user stores 100 GB of files in the Infrequent Access storage class in a bucket in the Singapore region. The files include 10,000 files that are 30 KB each. On November 20, the user downloads a 1 GB file, updates its content, and re-uploads it to ApsaraVideo VOD. The updated file is still 1 GB. No accelerated domain name is configured for ApsaraVideo VOD. The billing details are as follows:

    Billable item

    Description

    Data storage fee

    100.32 GB×0.01575 USD/GB/month+1 GB×0.01575 USD/GB/month/30 days×10 days=1.58529 USD

    Note

    The minimum billable size for files in the Infrequent Access storage class is 64 KB. Files smaller than 64 KB are billed as 64 KB. The 10,000 files of 30 KB each have an actual size of about 0.29 GB, but ApsaraVideo VOD bills them as 0.61 GB. The actual billable storage is calculated as 100.32 GB.

    The original 1 GB file was stored for less than the minimum storage duration for Infrequent Access, so it is billed for the minimum 30-day duration. The new 1 GB file is billed for 10 days of storage in that month.

    Outbound traffic from storage fee

    1 GB×0.08 USD/GB=0.08 USD

    Note

    The user has not configured an accelerated domain name in ApsaraVideo VOD. Downloading files from ApsaraVideo VOD incurs outbound traffic from storage fees. For more information, see Outbound traffic from storage billing.

    Data retrieval fee

    1 GB×0.007875 USD/GB=0.007875 USD

    Total fee

    1.58529+0.08+0.007875=1.673165 USD

    Media transcoding billing

    Audio and video transcoding includes standard video transcoding, audio transcoding, container format conversion, Narrowband HD 1.0 transcoding.

    Audio and video transcoding

    Note

    • Narrowband HDTM 1.0 and Narrowband HDTM 2.0 are supported in all regions. For a list of regions where ApsaraVideo VOD is available, see Service regions.

    • Transcoding fees are not based on the number of transcoding jobs. Instead, they are calculated based on the output resolution, storage region, and duration of the audio or video. ApsaraVideo VOD uses a pay-as-you-go billing method for transcoding.

    • Transcoding duration: The unit price for audio and video transcoding is specified in minutes, but billing is calculated by the second and settled hourly.

    • Animated images: Fees for generating animated images are calculated in the same way as video transcoding fees.

    Billable item

    Billing details

    Billing method

    Audio and video transcoding

    • Billing Rule: The sum of transcoding fees for all formats within the billable scope.

    • Billing Cycle: Billed by the second and settled hourly. Fees are deducted in real time. Bills are typically generated 4 to 6 hours after a billing cycle ends. The actual time may vary.

    • Billing Specifications: The output specification is determined by the range to which the long and short sides of the output video resolution belong. For example, for SD (1280 × 720) and lower specifications, if the long side of the output video resolution is no more than 1280 and the short side is no more than 720, the output belongs to the SD specification. If the long side is greater than 1280 or the short side is greater than 720, the output belongs to a higher specification.

    • Price: For specific prices, see the Audio and video transcoding pricing tables below.

    • Pay-as-you-go: The sum of transcoding fees for all formats. The transcoding fee for a single format = Output file duration (in seconds) × Unit price for the format (USD/minute) ÷ 60 (seconds/minute)

    • Resource Plan: ApsaraVideo VOD transcoding duration plan. For details about pricing and usage, see Resource plans.

    Pricing and examples

    • Audio and video transcoding pricing: The pay-as-you-go prices are as follows.

      Standard transcoding pricing (Unit: USD/minute)

      Output encoding specification

      Output resolution specification

      The Chinese mainland

      China (Hong Kong)

      US (Silicon Valley)

      Germany (Frankfurt)

      Singapore

      Japan (Tokyo)

      Indonesia (Jakarta)

      SAU (Riyadh - Partner Region)

      Video (H.264)

      4K (3840×2160) and lower

      0.0433

      0.0500

      0.0450

      0.0450

      0.0500

      0.0500

      0.0500

      0.0600

      2K (2560×1440) and lower

      0.0217

      0.0375

      0.0338

      0.0338

      0.0375

      0.0375

      0.0375

      0.0450

      HD (1920×1080) and lower

      0.0100

      0.0225

      0.0225

      0.0225

      0.0250

      0.0250

      0.0250

      0.0300

      SD (1280×720) and lower

      0.0050

      0.0125

      0.0113

      0.0113

      0.0125

      0.0125

      0.0125

      0.0150

      LD (640×480) and lower

      0.0034

      0.0094

      0.0084

      0.0084

      0.0094

      0.0094

      0.0094

      0.0113

      Video (H.265)

      4K (3840×2160) and lower

      0.2167

      0.2500

      0.2250

      0.2250

      0.2500

      0.2500

      0.2500

      0.3000

      2K (2560×1440) and lower

      0.1083

      0.1875

      0.1688

      0.1688

      0.1875

      0.1875

      0.1875

      0.2250

      HD (1920×1080) and lower

      0.0504

      0.1250

      0.1125

      0.1125

      0.1250

      0.1250

      0.1250

      0.1500

      SD (1280×720) and lower

      0.0252

      0.0625

      0.0563

      0.0563

      0.0625

      0.0625

      0.0625

      0.0750

      LD (640×480) and lower

      0.0168

      0.0469

      0.0422

      0.0422

      0.0469

      0.0469

      0.0469

      0.0563

      Audio transcoding

      -

      0.0009

      0.0031

      0.0028

      0.0028

      0.0031

      0.0031

      0.0031

      0.0037

      Container format conversion

      -

      0.0011

      0.0021

      0.0019

      0.0019

      0.0021

      0.0021

      0.0021

      0.0025

      Narrowband HDTM 1.0 transcoding pricing (Unit: USD/minute)

      Output encoding specification

      Output resolution specification

      The Chinese mainland

      China (Hong Kong)

      US (Silicon Valley)

      Germany (Frankfurt)

      Singapore

      Japan (Tokyo)

      Indonesia (Jakarta)

      SAU (Riyadh - Partner Region)

      Video (H.264)

      4K (3840×2160) and lower

      0.1300

      0.1500

      0.1350

      0.1350

      0.1500

      0.1500

      0.1500

      0.1800

      2K (2560×1440) and lower

      0.0650

      0.1125

      0.1014

      0.1014

      0.1125

      0.1125

      0.1125

      0.1350

      HD (1920×1080) and lower

      0.0300

      0.0750

      0.0675

      0.0675

      0.0750

      0.0750

      0.0750

      0.0900

      SD (1280×720) and lower

      0.0150

      0.0375

      0.0338

      0.0338

      0.0375

      0.0375

      0.0375

      0.0450

      LD (640×480) and lower

      0.0100

      0.0282

      0.0253

      0.0253

      0.0282

      0.0282

      0.0282

      0.0338

      Video (H.265)

      4K (3840×2160) and lower

      0.6500

      0.7500

      0.6750

      0.6750

      0.7500

      0.7500

      0.7500

      0.9000

      2K (2560×1440) and lower

      0.3250

      0.5625

      0.5063

      0.5063

      0.5625

      0.5625

      0.5625

      0.6750

      HD (1920×1080) and lower

      0.1510

      0.3750

      0.3375

      0.3375

      0.3750

      0.3750

      0.3750

      0.4500

      SD (1280×720) and lower

      0.0757

      0.1875

      0.1688

      0.1688

      0.1875

      0.1875

      0.1875

      0.2250

      LD (640×480) and lower

      0.0504

      0.1407

      0.1266

      0.1266

      0.1407

      0.1407

      0.1407

      0.1688

      Narrowband HDTM 2.0 transcoding pricing (Unit: USD/minute)

      Output encoding specification

      Output resolution specification

      The Chinese mainland

      Singapore

      SAU (Riyadh - Partner Region)

      Video (H.264)

      4K (3840×2160) and lower

      0.6495

      0.7500

      0.8735

      2K (2560×1440) and lower

      0.3255

      0.5625

      0.6551

      HD (1920×1080) and lower

      0.1515

      0.3750

      0.4367

      SD (1280×720) and lower

      0.0750

      0.1875

      0.2184

      LD (640×480) and lower

      0.0510

      0.1410

      0.1638

      Video (H.265)

      4K (3840×2160) and lower

      0.9752

      1.1250

      1.3103

      2K (2560×1440) and lower

      0.4874

      0.8438

      0.9827

      HD (1920×1080) and lower

      0.2268

      0.5625

      0.6551

      SD (1280×720) and lower

      0.1134

      0.2813

      0.3279

      LD (640×480) and lower

      0.0756

      0.2111

      0.2457

    • Billing example: Assume that between 08:00 and 09:00 on a given day, you transcode a video in the Chinese mainland region. The source video is encoded in H.264 and is 200 minutes long. You perform both standard transcoding and Narrowband HD 1.0 transcoding. The output resolution for standard transcoding is LD (640 × 480), and the output resolution for Narrowband HD 1.0 transcoding is SD (1280 × 720). The transcoding fee for the period from 08:00 to 09:00 is calculated as follows: 200 minutes × USD 0.0034/minute + 200 minutes × USD 0.015/minute = USD 3.68.

    Outbound traffic from storage billing

    Note

    This fee is incurred if you have not configured an accelerated domain name in ApsaraVideo VOD. If you configure an accelerated domain name, you are charged an acceleration service fee instead. After you configure an accelerated domain name, you can use an ApsaraVideo VOD data transfer plan to offset downstream traffic fees.

    Billable item

    Billing details

    Billing method

    Outbound traffic from storage

    • Billing Rule: Billed based on the total traffic generated from downloading source video files directly from the ApsaraVideo VOD storage address over the Internet (without CDN acceleration). The price varies by storage region.

    • Billing Cycle: Billed hourly. Fees are deducted in real time. Bills are typically generated after a billing cycle ends. The actual time may vary.

    • Price: For specific prices, see the Outbound traffic from storage pricing table below.

    • Pay-as-you-go: Outbound traffic from storage fee = Outbound traffic from storage (GB) × Unit price per GB

    • Resource Plan: Not supported.

    Pricing and examples

    • Outbound Traffic From Storage Pricing: The pay-as-you-go prices are as follows.

      Billable item (USD/GB)

      The Chinese mainland

      China (Hong Kong)

      Singapore

      Germany

      US

      Japan

      Indonesia

      Outbound traffic from storage

      0.077

      0.118

      0.08

      0.07

      0.07

      0.12

      0.08

    • Billing Example: Assume that between 08:00 and 09:00 on a given day, you download three video files (1.2 GB, 0.7 GB, and 0.5 GB) from the Chinese mainland region. The fee for outbound traffic from storage is: (1.2 GB + 0.7 GB + 0.5 GB) × USD 0.077/GB = USD 0.185.

    Acceleration service billing

    Note

    This fee is incurred if you configure an accelerated domain name. Otherwise, you are charged an outbound traffic from storage fee.

    Billing method

    Billing details

    Billing method

    Pay-by-data-transfer

    Note

    • To prevent losses from abnormal malicious traffic, the default bandwidth cap for pay-by-data-transfer is 10 Gbps.

    • To use a bandwidth-based billing method, you can submit a ticket or contact our sales team.

    • Scenarios: Ideal for businesses with large traffic fluctuations, high bandwidth peaks, and a daily bandwidth utilization rate of less than 30%.

    • Billing Rule: Billing is based on tiered pricing for traffic in the Chinese mainland and regions outside the Chinese mainland. Usage is aggregated monthly. A calendar month is one billing cycle. The conversion rate is 1 GB = 1,024 MB.

    • Billing Cycle: The service is billed hourly. Fees are deducted in real time. A bill is generated 4 to 6 hours after a billing cycle ends. The actual time that a bill is generated may vary.

    • Price: For more information, see the pay-by-data-transfer pricing table below.

    • Pay-as-you-go: Traffic cost for a tier = Traffic in the tier (GB) × Unit price of the tier in the region

    • Resource Plan: An ApsaraVideo VOD data transfer plan. For more information, see Resource plans.

    Pricing and examples

    • Pay-by-data-transfer Pricing: The pay-as-you-go prices are listed below.

      Data transfer tier (USD/GB)

      The Chinese mainland - CN

      North America - NA

      Europe - EU

      Asia-Pacific 1 - AP1

      Asia-Pacific 2 - AP2

      Asia-Pacific 3 - AP3

      Middle East and Africa - MEAA

      South America - SA

      0 GB to 50 TB (inclusive)

      0.04

      0.07

      0.07

      0.081

      0.108

      0.096

      0.2

      0.2

      50 TB to 100 TB (inclusive)

      0.03

      0.06

      0.06

      0.062

      0.094

      0.083

      0.18

      0.18

      100 TB to 1 PB (inclusive)

      0.03

      0.03

      0.03

      0.053

      0.079

      0.07

      0.15

      0.14

      >1 PB

      0.02

      0.025

      0.025

      0.048

      0.072

      0.064

      0.14

      0.13

    • Pay-by-data-transfer Billing Example: If you use 102,410 GB of traffic in the Chinese mainland region between 10:00 and 11:00, your data transfer fee is calculated as follows: (51,200 GB × USD 0.04/GB) + [(102,400 GB - 51,200 GB) × USD 0.03/GB] + [(102,410 GB - 102,400 GB) × USD 0.03/GB] = USD 3,584.30.