A PolarDB-X integrated instance consists of multiple logical nodes. You can add nodes as needed. Each node integrates computing and storage resources, facilitating O&M and management. This topic describes information about billing for PolarDB-X instances.
Billing methods
PolarDB-X supports the subscription and pay-as-you-go billing methods.
Subscription
Definition: This billing method requires you to pay an upfront fee before you use the resources. Longer subscription durations offer more savings.
Scenarios: You want to use an instance for a long period of time. Alibaba Cloud provides lower prices for longer subscription durations.
Billing method change: You can change the billing method of instance from subscription to pay-as-you-go.
Specification changes: The price for a subscription instance before and after a specification change may be different. You may need to pay the price difference or receive a refund. For more information, see Change instance specifications.
Renewal: You need to renew an expired subscription instance within a specific period of time if you want to continue using it. After this period of time, instance resources such as CPU cores, memory, and disks are released. For more information, see Renewal policies.
Configuration upgrade or downgrade during renewal is not supported.
Pay-as-you-go
Definition: You are not charged when you create a pay-as-you-go instance. After you run the instance, Alibaba Cloud automatically deducts the relevant fees from the account on an hourly basis based on the resource consumption and usage of the instance.
Scenarios: You want to use an instance for less than one month and release the instance after it is no longer used.
Billing method change: You can change the billing method of an instance from pay-as-you-go to subscription.
Specification changes: Pay-as-you-go instances are billed on an hourly basis. If you change the specifications of a pay-as-you-go instance, you are billed based on the price of the new specifications. For more information, see Change instance specifications.
If your Alibaba Cloud account has overdue payments, instances that do not use the subscription billing method and belong to your Alibaba Cloud account become overdue. For more information, see Overdue payments.
Basic billable items
The basic fees of a PolarDB-X instance consists of the fees for compute node resources, data node resources, and data storage resources. Billing methods for compute node resources and data node resources in the same instance are the same.
Billing of computing resources
Compute node | Description | Billing method |
Instance type (CPU and memory) | You are charged based on the instance type. The instance type determines the number of CPU cores and the memory capacity that are provisioned. Note Compute nodes do not contain data storage. |
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Data node | Description | Billing method |
Instance type (CPU and memory) | You are charged based on the instance type. The instance type determines the number of CPU cores and the memory capacity that are provisioned. |
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Billing of storage resources
Billable item | Description | Billing method |
Storage | User data of a PolarDB-X instance is distributed and stored in data nodes based on specific rules. You are billed for the storage based on the pay-as-you-go billing method, regardless of the billing method for the instance. The bill for the total data storage usage of all data nodes in the instance is generated on an hourly basis. |
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In addition to the preceding types of billable items, PolarDB-X also provides value-added options. For more information, see Billable items.
Billing details
For more information about how to view the billing details of each instance, see View your bills.
Payment and refund
When you purchase a PolarDB-X instance, you can use one of the following payment methods:
Balance in your Alibaba Cloud account
Online payment
You cannot use credit cards to pay for subscription instances that are created by calling the CreateDBInstance operation.
Coupons are used to offset resource usage fees before bills are generated. If the coupon that you use can cover the fees, the system does not deduct the amount from your account balance.
After you purchase a PolarDB-X instance, you can view bills and consumption information. For more information, see View your bills.
If you want to unsubscribe from an instance, make sure that you have read and understand related refund rules. For more information, see Refund policies.