Object Storage Service (OSS) uses a pay-as-you-go billing method, where you are charged based on your actual usage.
Storing data in OSS incurs storage fees based on the storage duration. You also incur request fees for uploading, downloading, or accessing data, and outbound traffic fees for distributing data over the internet. In addition, enabling value-added services such as CDN acceleration, image processing, transfer acceleration, and Anti-DDoS incurs the corresponding fees for value-added services.
If your business has a stable access pattern with predictable storage amounts, request volumes, and outbound internet traffic, you can purchase resource plans to offset specific billable items and reduce costs. Resource plans must correspond exactly to the billable items. For example, an outbound data transfer plan can only offset outbound traffic fees. If you purchase a plan for the wrong billable item, you cannot use it to offset fees.
Billing components
OSS billable items consist of the following two types:
Basic billable items: These are the fees that most users incur when using OSS. They include storage fees for data storage, traffic fees for downloading files from OSS or distributing files through CDN, and request fees for each read or write request.
Value-added billable items: These are fees that you incur when you enable and use value-added services. Value-added services, such as image processing, transfer acceleration, and Anti-DDoS, are designed to improve data processing efficiency or user experience. For more information, see Value-added billable items.
OSS billing diagram
The following figure shows all possible OSS billable items:
Billing methods
OSS supports the following two common billing methods.
Pay-as-you-go: With this billing method, you use resources first and pay for them later. You are charged based on the actual usage of each billable item. This method is suitable for scenarios where your business usage often changes.
Resource plans: This is a subscription billing method where you pay upfront for a discounted resource plan that covers specific billable items, such as storage and traffic fees. During settlement, usage is first deducted from your resource plan. Any usage that exceeds the plan's quota is billed on a pay-as-you-go basis. This method is suitable for scenarios with stable business usage.
Unit prices
For more information about the pricing of OSS billable items, see OSS Pricing.
Billing cycle
OSS calculates usage for all resources hourly and generates bills based on this usage.
Take storage fee billing as an example. The OSS Pricing page specifies the unit price for storage fees in USD/GB/month, but you are billed hourly. The pay-as-you-go calculation is Actual resource usage × Hourly unit price. Therefore, to calculate the actual storage fees, you must first convert the monthly unit price to an hourly unit price (USD/GB/hour). For example, if the unit price for Standard (LRS) is USD 0.0173/GB/month, the approximate hourly unit price is USD 0.000024/GB/hour (0.0173 ÷ 30 ÷ 24).