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Object Storage Service:Storage fees

Last Updated:Dec 20, 2024

When you store objects in an Object Storage Service (OSS) bucket, you are charged storage fees based on the storage class, size, and storage duration of the objects. The storage fees are independent of whether the objects are accessed or the operations that are performed on the objects.

Unit price

This topic describes the billable items and billing methods of OSS storage usage. For more information about the unit price of the billable items, see Object Storage Service pricing.

Storage fees are calculated in USD per GB-month, as indicated on the OSS pricing page. When you use the pay-as-you-go billing method, storage fees are calculated based on the following formula: Storage fees = Actual storage usage (GB) × Unit price per hour. Therefore, when you calculate storage fees charged based on the actual storage usage, you must convert GB-month to GB-hour to calculate the storage fees based on the following formula: Unit price in USD per GB-hour = Unit price in USD per GB-month/30/24. For example, the unit price for the storage usage of Standard locally redundant storage (LRS) objects is USD 0.0173 per GB-month, and the unit price in GB-hour is USD 0.000024 per GB-hour (0.0173/30/24).

Billable items

Note

You are billed on an hourly basis for the following billable items. Bills are generally generated after a billing cycle ends. The time when bills are generated is determined by the system.

  • Storage fees of an object that is stored for a specific period of time

    You are charged storage fees for an object stored in a bucket based on the storage class, redundancy type, size, and storage duration of the object.

  • Storage fees of an object that is stored for less than the minimum storage duration

    Objects of specific storage classes have a minimum storage duration. The minimum storage duration is 30 days for Infrequent Access (IA) objects, 60 days for Archive objects, and 180 days for Cold Archive and Deep Cold Archive objects. If an IA, Archive, Cold Archive, or Deep Cold Archive object stored in a bucket is converted to an object of another storage class or deleted before it is stored for the minimum storage duration, you are charged for the storage usage of the object that is stored for less than the minimum storage duration.

    Example: If an IA LRS object is overwritten or deleted after it is stored for less than 30 days (720 hours), you are charged for the remainder (720 hours - Actual storage duration) of the minimum storage duration. Archive, Cold Archive, and Deep Cold Archive objects share the computing rules with IA objects and you just need to change the minimum storage duration.

Storage usage of LRS objects that are stored for a specific period of time)

Billable item

Code

Minimum billable size

Storage usage of Standard LRS objects

Storage

N/A

(actual size of objects)

Storage usage of IA LRS objects

ChargedDatasize

64 KB

(Objects that are smaller than 64 KB in size are charged as 64 KB. Objects that are larger than or equal to 64 KB in size are charged based on their actual sizes.)

Storage usage of Archive LRS objects

ChargedDatasize

Storage usage of Cold Archive LRS objects

ChargedDatasizeCA

Storage usage of Deep Cold Archive LRS objects

ChargedDatasizeDeepCA

The billed storage usage of IA, Archive, Cold Archive, or Deep Cold Archive objects is larger than the metered storage usage of these objects because each object has a minimum billable size of 64 KB. For more information about the metered storage usage and billed storage usage of these objects, see Query the storage usage of a bucket.

Storage usage of ZRS objects that are stored for a specific period of time)

Billable item

Code

Minimum billable size

Storage usage of Standard zone-redundant storage (ZRS) objects

StorageZRS

N/A

(actual size of objects)

Storage usage of IA ZRS objects

ChargedDatasizeZRS

64 KB

(Objects that are smaller than 64 KB in size are charged as 64 KB. Objects that are larger than or equal to 64 KB in size are charged based on their actual sizes.)

Storage usage of Archive ZRS objects

ChargedDataSizeArcZRS

Storage usage of LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration

Billable item

Code

Calculation method of the minimum storage duration

Storage usage of IA LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration

LessthanMonthDatasize

The minimum storage duration is calculated based on the last modified time of the objects.

Storage usage of Archive LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration

LessthanMonthDatasize

Storage usage of Cold Archive LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration

EarlyDeletionCA

The minimum storage duration is calculated based on the time when the storage class of the object is converted to Cold Archive or Deep Cold Archive.

Storage usage of Deep Cold Archive LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration

EarlyDeletionDeepCA

To prevent unnecessary fees, you must be familiar with how to determine whether the objects of different storage classes meet the minimum storage duration requirements and make sure that the minimum storage duration requirement is met before you convert the storage class of an object or delete an object. For information, see How can I avoid being charged for the storage usage of objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration?

Storage usage of ZRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration

Billable item

Code

Calculation method of the minimum storage duration

Storage usage of IA ZRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration

LessthanMonthDatasizeZRS

The minimum storage duration is calculated based on the last modified time of the objects.

Storage usage of Archive ZRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration

LessthanMonthDatasizeArcZRS

Billing methods

Objects of different storage classes support different billing methods for storage fees. The following three billing methods are supported: pay-as-you-go, resource plans, and storage capacity units (SCUs).

Instructions on selecting a billing method

We recommend that you refer to the following table to learn about the features and scenarios of different billing methods. This helps you select an appropriate billing method to reduce storage fees.

Billing method

Description

Feature

Scenario

Pay-as-you-go

By default, you are charged for all billable items based on the pay-as-you-go billing method. You are charged for the actual storage usage of each billable item. Pay-as-you-go allows you to use resources first and pay for them afterwards.

The storage usage fluctuates and is difficult to predict.

In the initial stage of a startup or project, the storage usage is unstable. Pay-as-you-go can prevent the waste of resources and flexibly adjust resources based on the actual usage.

Storage plans

You can purchase storage plans to offset the fees for specific billable items. To offset storage fees by using storage plans, you must purchase storage plans in advance. After you purchase a storage plan, the storage plan is a favorable billing method used to offset the storage fees.

The storage capacity of objects of each storage class is relatively stable and predictable.

For large enterprises or long-running projects, the storage capacity of objects of different storage classes is relatively stable. You can reduce storage costs by purchasing a corresponding storage plan. The minimum specification of a storage plan is 40 GB and the maximum specification is 20 PB.

SCUs

You can purchase storage capacity units (SCUs) to offset the storage fees of specific billable items. The SCUs are subscription resources. To offset storage fees by using SCUs, you must purchase SCUs in advance.

The SCUs can be used to offset the storage fees of multiple OSS billable items and other Alibaba Cloud storage services.

  • The storage fees of multiple billable items are generated when you use OSS.

  • Services such as File Storage NAS (NAS), snapshot service, and Cloud Backup are used.

Billing methods supported by different billable items

The following table lists the billing methods supported by each billable item in OSS.

Billable item

Pay-as-you-go

Storage plans

SCUs

Storage usage of Standard LRS objects

Standard (LRS) Storage Plan.

Storage usage of IA LRS objects

IA (LRS) Storage Plan.

Storage usage of Archive LRS objects

×

Storage usage of Cold Archive LRS objects

×

×

Storage usage of Deep Cold Archive LRS objects

×

×

Anywhere Reserved Capacity

×

×

Storage usage of Standard ZRS objects

×

Storage usage of IA ZRS objects

×

Storage usage of Archive ZRS objects

×

×

Storage usage of IA LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration

IA (LRS) Storage Plan.

×

Storage usage of Archive LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration

×

×

Storage usage of Cold Archive LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration

×

×

Storage usage of Deep Cold Archive LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration

×

×

Storage usage of IA ZRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration

×

×

Storage usage of Archive ZRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration

×

×

FAQ

After I purchase an IA (LRS) storage plan, why do I receive a large bill for the storage usage of IA LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration in a specific billing cycle?

OSS calculates the storage usage of IA LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration (LessthanMonthDatasize) at a time. If the storage duration of the IA LRS objects is far less than 720 hours, the purchased storage plan can offset only a portion of the storage usage. In this case, a large bill is generated in the next billing cycle (hour) after the IA LRS objects are converted to objects of another storage class or deleted.

For example, you stored 10 TB of data as IA LRS data at 06:00 on September 7, 2023. At 06:00 on September 8, 2023, 1 TB of the IA LRS data was automatically or manually moved to another storage class or deleted. In this case, the metering data of this billable item (LessthanMonthDatasize) is 1 TB × (720 - 24) = 696 TB. If you purchase an IA (LRS) storage plan that has a capacity of 10 TB, the following rules take effect:

  • If the bill for the storage usage of IA LRS objects is generated first, the purchased IA (LRS) storage plan can be used to offset the storage fees of 9 TB of IA LRS objects and 1 TB of LessthanMonthDatasize. The excess part of LessthanMonthDatasize (696 TB - 1 TB) is billed based on the pay-as-you-go billing method.

  • If the bill for LessthanMonthDatasize is generated first, the purchased IA (LRS) storage plan can be used to offset the storage fees of 10 TB of LessthanMonthDatasize. The excess part of LessthanMonthDatasize (696 TB - 10 TB) and the storage usage of 9 TB of IA LRS objects are billed based on the pay-as-you-go billing method.

After I purchase an Archive (LRS) storage plan, why do I receive a large bill for the storage usage of Archive LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration in a specific billing cycle?

OSS calculates the storage usage of Archive LRS objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration (LessthanMonthDatasize) at a time. If the storage duration of the Archive LRS objects is far less than 1440 hours, the purchased storage plan can offset only a portion of the storage usage. In this case, a large bill is generated in the next billing cycle (hour) after the Archive LRS objects are converted to objects of another storage class or deleted.

For example, you stored 10 TB of data as Archive LRS data at 06:00 on September 7, 2023. At 06:00 on September 8, 2023, 1 TB of the Archive LRS data was automatically or manually converted to objects of another storage class or deleted. In this case, the metering data of this billable item (LessthanMonthDatasize) is 1 TB × (1440 - 24) = 1416 TB. If you purchase an Archive (LRS) storage plan that has a capacity of 10 TB, the following rules take effect:

  • If the bill for the storage usage of Archive LRS objects is generated first, the purchased Archive (LRS) storage plan can be used to offset the storage fees of 9 TB of Archive LRS objects and 1 TB of LessthanMonthDatasize. The excess part of LessthanMonthDatasize (1416 TB - 1 TB) is billed based on the pay-as-you-go billing method.

  • If the bill for LessthanMonthDatasize is generated first, the purchased Archive (LRS) storage plan can be used to offset the storage fees of 10 TB of LessthanMonthDatasize. The excess part of LessthanMonthDatasize (1416 TB - 10 TB) and the storage usage of 9 TB of Archive LRS objects are billed based on the pay-as-you-go billing method.

Why am I continuously charged for the storage usage of objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration?

For the objects whose storage class is IA, Archive, Cold Archive, or Deep Cold Archive, and the objects that are deleted before their minimum storage duration ends, you are charged for the storage usage of the objects that are stored for less than the minimum storage duration.

  • If you delete an object in this scenario, you are charged only once for the storage usage of the object that is stored for less than the minimum storage duration.

  • If you overwrite an object in this scenario, you may be continuously charged for the storage usage of the object that is stored for less than the minimum storage duration. For example, if you upload an object to a bucket and set the storage class of the object to IA, the minimum storage duration of the IA object is 30 days. If you upload an object that has the same name as the existing IA object (overwrite the existing IA object) after 1 day, you are charged for the storage usage of the IA object that is stored for less than the minimum storage duration (30 - 1 = 29 days). If you reupload an object that has the same name as the existing IA object or delete the existing IA object after three days, you are charged for the storage usage of the IA object that is stored for less than the minimum storage duration (30 - 3 = 27 days).

References

  • For more information about the billing details of the billable items, see Query bills.