Updated on 2025-07-04 GMT+08:00

Billing Modes

Description

  • Yearly/Monthly (cloud mode)

    Yearly/monthly is a prepaid billing mode. You are billed based on the subscription duration you specify. This mode is ideal when the resource use duration is predictable. A longer subscription often means a lower cost.

  • Pay-per-use billing
    Pay-per-use billing is a postpaid payment method. This billing mode allows you to make or cancel subscriptions at any time.
    • For a pay-per-use cloud WAF instance, you are billed for the number of added domain names, number of customized rules, and number of used requests.
    • For a pay-per-use dedicated WAF instance, you are billed for the required duration (accurate to second), which starts when the instance is created and ends when the instance is deleted.

Differences Between the Two Billing Modes

Table 1 Differences between billing modes

Billing Mode

Yearly/Monthly billing

Pay-per-use billing

Payment Method

Prepaid

Postpaid

Billing Period

Billed by the required duration specified in your order

  • Cloud mode: The domain name fee is settled hourly, the custom rule fee is settled every 24 hours, and the request fee is settled by the month.
  • Dedicated mode: A dedicated instance is billed by the second and the fee is settled hourly.

Billed Item

Cloud mode: service edition, domain expansion package, QPS expansion package, and rule expansion package

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  • Cloud mode: Number of domain names, number of custom rules, and number of requests
  • Dedicated mode: Number of instances

Changing the Billing Mode

Direct switching to pay-per-use billing mode is not supported.

You can buy pay-per-use cloud WAF after your yearly/monthly WAF expires or you unsubscribe from it.

Directly switch to the yearly/monthly billing mode is not supported.

You can disable the pay-per-use billing first and then purchase a yearly/monthly-billed WAF instance.

Application Scenario

A cost-effective option for scenarios where the resource usage duration is predictable. This mode is recommended for long-term users.

This mode is suitable when you want more flexibility and control over WAF resource usage.

FAQs