PolarDB allows you to purchase compute nodes by using the two billing methods for compute nodes: pay-as-you-go and subscription. The pricing of clusters varies based on the billing method used. You can apply storage plans to compute nodes that use one of the two billing methods.
Comparison
The following table describes differences between the two billing methods.
| Billing method | Description | Benefit | Scenario |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay-as-you-go | You are charged for the actual computing capacity that you use. Fees are deducted from your account on an hourly basis. | Flexible | Scenarios where the workloads are light, infrequently change, and have small fluctuations. |
| Subscription | You must pay for the computing capacity in advance when you create a cluster. | Cost-effective | Scenarios where the workloads are heavy, infrequently change, and have small fluctuations. |
If you do not purchase a storage plan when you use the preceding two billing methods, you are charged for the amount of storage space consumed by your data and the length of time for which the data is retained. To store a large amount of data, we recommend that you purchase storage plans to offset fees, which are cost-effective. For more information, see Combination with storage plans.