# rds-billing

Part of **RDS**

# ApsaraDB RDS Billing and Cost Management Console Guide

## Operations Overview

| Operation | Console Navigation Path | Prerequisites | Description |
|----------|------------------------|---------------|-------------|
| Purchase Savings Plan | Console > ApsaraDB RDS > Savings Plan > Purchase Savings Plan | RDS instances with pay-as-you-go billing, Access to the Alibaba Cloud console | Buy a General-purpose or Elastic Savings Plan to reduce costs through commitment discounts |
| View RDS Billing Details | Console > Bills > Bill Details | None | Access and analyze detailed billing statements for RDS instances, including charges for storage, SQL Audit, backups, and performance monitoring |

## Step-by-Step Instructions

### Purchase Savings Plan

**Navigation**: Console > ApsaraDB RDS > Savings Plan > Purchase Savings Plan

**Prerequisites**:
- RDS instances with pay-as-you-go billing
- Access to the Alibaba Cloud console

1. Navigate to the RDS instance list page in the Alibaba Cloud console  
   - Element: **Elastic Savings Plan (Special Offer)** (button) — upper-right corner of the RDS instance list page

2. On the Database Savings Plan page, select the Elastic (Special Offer) plan type  
   - Element: **Elastic (Special Offer)** (radio) — on the Database Savings Plan page

3. Set the committed hourly spend amount  
   - Element: **Committed Spend (CNY)** (text_input) — on the Database Savings Plan page  
   - Notes: You cannot change the committed spend during the lifecycle of the savings plan.

4. Select a payment type: All Upfront, Partial Upfront, or No Upfront  
   - Element: **All Upfront** (radio) — on the Database Savings Plan page

5. Choose a subscription duration  
   - Element: **1 Year** (radio) — on the Database Savings Plan page  
   - Notes: Options are "1 Year" or "3 Year"; longer durations offer greater discounts.

6. Review the Total Configuration Fee, Hourly Payment, and Upfront Payment, then confirm purchase  
   - Element: **Buy Now** (button) — on the Database Savings Plan page  
   - Notes: The total configuration fee is the sum of all payments over the subscription duration. After clicking, a payment confirmation may appear.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Options/Values | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|----------------|-------------|
| Committed Spend (CNY) | number_input | Yes | — | The hourly amount you commit to spend, used to offset your pay-as-you-go bills with a discount. |
| Payment Type | radio | Yes | All Upfront, Partial Upfront, No Upfront | Determines how much of the savings plan cost is paid upfront and how much is billed hourly. |
| Duration | radio | Yes | 1 Year, 3 Year | The subscription duration for the savings plan; longer durations offer greater discounts. |

### View RDS Billing Details

**Navigation**: Console > Bills > Bill Details

1. Log on to the Alibaba Cloud Management Console  
   - Element: **Alibaba Cloud Management Console** (link) — upper-right corner of the page

2. Open the billing menu from the top navigation bar  
   - Element: **Bills** (menu) — upper-right corner of the page

3. Navigate to the Bill Details page using the left-side menu  
   - Element: **Bill Details** (menu) — left-side navigation pane

4. Switch to the instance-level billing view  
   - Element: **By Instance** (tab) — main content area

5. Apply filters to query billing data  
   - Element: **filters** (text_input) — main content area  
   - Notes: You can query data only within a single calendar month. For example, you cannot select a time range spanning two months (e.g., January 10 to February 10).

## FAQ

Q: Can I modify the Committed Spend after purchasing a Savings Plan?  
A: No. The committed spend, payment type, and duration cannot be changed after purchase.

Q: Can I unsubscribe from or renew a Savings Plan?  
A: No. Savings Plans cannot be unsubscribed or renewed once purchased.

Q: Why can’t I select a date range that spans two calendar months in Bill Details?  
A: The billing system only allows queries within a single calendar month due to monthly billing cycles.

Q: What additional charges might appear on my RDS bill beyond the base instance cost?  
A: Additional charges may include SQL Audit, backup storage exceeding the free quota, read-only instances, performance monitoring, and database proxy usage.

Q: Where do I find offset details for my Savings Plan?  
A: After purchase, you can view Savings Plan offset details and balance on the Savings Plan overview page in the console.

## Pricing & Billing

### Billing Model
- **Savings Plans**: Subscription-based commitment model offering discounted rates on pay-as-you-go usage.
- **RDS Instances**: Billed either as subscription (prepaid) or pay-as-you-go (postpaid), with additional charges for optional services.

### Price Reference
- **General-purpose Savings Plan**: Pricing varies by committed spend and payment type.
- **Elastic Savings Plan (Special Offer)**: Pricing varies by committed spend.
- **Pay-as-you-go instance**: Fees include instance type and storage; additional charges apply for SQL Audit, backup storage beyond free quota, read-only instances, performance monitoring, and database proxy.
- **Subscription instance**: Base fees cover instance and storage; extra services incur separate charges.

### Free Tier
Free quota is provided for backup storage and Internet traffic.

### Billing Notes
- Savings Plans only offset pay-as-you-go bills generated **after** purchase.
- Backup storage for Cloud Disk Edition instances will be billed under DMS starting June 25, 2025; this is a billing attribution change, not a duplicate charge.
- Querying billing data is limited to a single calendar month.