Performance Testing (PTS) charges based on Virtual User Minutes (VUM) consumed by each completed stress testing task. PTS generates bills daily and deducts fees from your Alibaba Cloud account balance.
Pricing
| Billable metric | Unit price |
|---|---|
| VUM consumption (Public Cloud) | USD 0.00046 per VUM |
The actual prices on the PTS buy page prevail.
VUM calculation
VUM measures resource consumption for each stress testing task:
VUM = Number of IP addresses x 500 x Stress testing duration (minutes)
The value 500 (concurrent) is a fixed multiplier in the formula.
IP address count
The IP address count depends on the test mode and whether IP extension is enabled.
Without IP extension:
| Mode | Formula |
|---|---|
| Concurrency mode | Max concurrent users / 500 (rounded up) |
| Requests per second (RPS) mode | Max RPS / 4,000 (rounded up) |
With IP extension: The IP address count equals the number you specify in the stress testing scenario configuration.
Stress testing duration
PTS measures the duration in minutes. Sub-minute values convert proportionally. For example, 5 minutes and 40 seconds becomes 5.67 minutes (40 seconds = 0.67 minutes).
Log sampling rate
Stress testing logs use a default sampling rate of 1%, configured on the Advanced Settings page. Log sampling generates additional VUM:
Total VUM = (1 + Log sampling rate) x Original VUM
| Log sampling rate | VUM multiplier |
|---|---|
| 1% (default) | 1.01x |
| 20% | 1.2x |
| 100% (maximum) | 2x |
Free VUM quota
Since May 11, 2023, first-time pay-as-you-go users receive a free quota of 5,000 VUM with a maximum concurrency of 1,000.
The quota expires 30 days after PTS activation.
Tasks with up to 1,000 concurrent users are not charged while the quota is active.
Tasks exceeding 1,000 concurrent users are billed at the standard pay-as-you-go rate.
PTS deducts VUM consumption from the free quota first. After the quota runs out, standard billing applies.
Billing examples
Example 1: Small-scale test (concurrency mode)
Scenario: 1,000 concurrent users, 5-minute duration, default log sampling rate (1%), IP extension disabled.
Step 1 -- Calculate IP addresses:
1,000 concurrent users / 500 = 2 IP addresses
Step 2 -- Calculate VUM:
2 IP addresses x 500 x 5 minutes = 5,000 VUM
Step 3 -- Calculate cost:
5,000 VUM x USD 0.00046 = USD 2.30
Example 2: Large-scale test (concurrency mode)
Scenario: 10,000 concurrent users, 30-minute duration, 20% log sampling rate, IP extension disabled.
Step 1 -- Calculate IP addresses:
10,000 concurrent users / 500 = 20 IP addresses
Step 2 -- Calculate base VUM:
20 IP addresses x 500 x 30 minutes = 300,000 VUM
Step 3 -- Apply log sampling multiplier:
300,000 VUM x 1.2 = 360,000 VUM
Step 4 -- Calculate cost:
360,000 VUM x USD 0.00046 = USD 165.60
These examples are for reference only. The actual prices on the PTS buy page prevail.
Enterprise and individual account limits
Since January 4, 2024, PTS provides different stress testing capabilities based on your Alibaba Cloud account type.
| Capability | Enterprise | Individual |
|---|---|---|
| Max concurrent users | 200,000 | 1,000 |
| Max RPS | 1,600,000 | 8,000 |
| Simultaneous scenarios | 10 | 10 |
| APIs per scenario | 50 | 50 |
| Parameter file size | 2 GB | 2 GB |
| Max IP addresses | 400 | 2 |
| IPv6 | Supported | Supported |
| Stress testing within Alibaba Cloud regions | Supported | Supported |
| Max duration per task | 24 hours | 30 minutes |
| After-sales support | Submit a ticket | Submit a ticket |
Bandwidth per stress tester
Each stress tester has a maximum bandwidth of 100 Mb/s (approximately 12.5 MB/s). When bandwidth reaches saturation, stress testing exceptions increase and response time (RT) rises significantly, so results no longer reflect real system performance.
Before starting a test, estimate the maximum theoretical bandwidth and configure enough stress testers to avoid saturation. Additional stress testers increase your bill.
Billing cycle
PTS generates a daily VUM consumption bill for the previous day and deducts the amount from your Alibaba Cloud account balance.
Activate PTS
Go to the Activate PTS page.
Read and select the Terms of Service.
Click Activate Now.
After activation, log in to the PTS console. The default billing method is pay-as-you-go.
View bills
View PTS consumption on the Expenses and Costs page. For details, see View consumption details.
Overdue payments
If your account has insufficient balance when PTS generates a bill, the payment becomes overdue. For details, see Overdue payments of the pay-as-you-go billing method.