Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Pricing: OCI Costs, Calculator & Cost Estimator
Before transferring workloads to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), it is necessary to understand what oracle cloud infrastructure pricing involves. Pricing depends on the specific services used, their configuration, resource utilization, and billing model.
Oracle releases all service prices and a Cost Estimator which will enable companies to calculate their approximate monthly usage.
The idea of oracle cloud pricing is because the charges depend on the customer’s services and resources.
In accordance with the chosen services and agreements, the calculations are provided according to some parameters, such as processing capacity, storage, databases, and data transmission. Therefore, there is no single fixed price for OCI.
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How Does OCI Pricing Work?
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure pricing is the total costs incurred when using OCI (Oracle Cloud Infrastructure). You pay for services such as computing power, storage space, networks, databases, container services, and analytic services.
OCI provides the pricing list for all available services, while Oracle has a cloud costing service, called Oracle Cost Estimator, which helps configure OCI and forecast spendings. Oracle explains that the Cost Estimator is not intended for generating actual price quotes.
Businesses that determine whether Oracle Cloud pricing meets their needs should not only look at the exact hourly or monthly rates. They should keep in mind such factors as:
Exact services from OCI that they need:
- Amount of resources
- Anticipated usage of services
- Required performance and space of storage
- The expected loads on the network and how much data should be moved
- The database variant used
- Payment method as well as subscription type
- The conditions of use
Therefore, because some factors vary depending on the workload, it is impossible to make one cost model for all OCI environments.
OCI Costs Overview: What Determines Your Cloud Bill?
The first thing you need to consider when doing an OCI Costs Overview is the amount and types of resources you plan to use. These include compute power, storage capacity, networking, databases, and other services linked with your application. Each service you choose will come with its pricing metric.
The compute costs will vary depending on the chosen architecture, the number of OCPUs, memory, and the duration of resources usage. According to Oracle’s pricing guide indicates that OCI charges for compute-based products are calculated by both OCPUs and vCPUs, however where applicable, services and the billing methods still depend on the OCPU units.
As for storage costs, they will depend on the storage capacity required by your applications’ workload and, in some cases, the performance characteristics that you expect during the workload process.
Finally, networking costs will depend on the service as well as the volume of the data that will be transferred.
What are the OCI Pricing Models?
Key factor in understanding OCI pricing models is the different billing options made available. According to the latest documentation from oracle, three Universal Credit billing options exist:
1. Pay As You Go
The Pay as You Go (PAYG) option provides customers with the ability to access the platform without paying any advance payment. Instead, customers are changed based on their usage of services. That will be performed according to the terms and agreements between oracle and the clients. According to oracle, there are no upfront fees where the PAYG option is concerned.
This option is useful when clients are still deciding on which services to use from oracle cloud.
2. Annual Universal Credits
Annual Universal Credits refer to the commitment to a fund annually, which could be utilized in eligible OCI services and platforms. The consumption of Annual Universal Credits is based on the services utilized during the period.
This methodology results in a predictable budgetary system while using the commitment in the appropriate services and areas.
3. Monthly Universal Credits
The Monthly Universal Credits of Oracle are also documented with the consent of Oracle. In the framework of this model, the clients must commit to the pool of monthly credits and then pay for the service in advance according to the terms of their agreement. Usage is reported against the committed amount; usage that exceeds this amount is charged according to the regulative card conditions and the specific agreement.
In the previously described models, there is no confusion with the so-called Monthly Flex. The publications from Oracle point to Monthly Flex being the billing method as per which certain services can still make use of the previous methods.
Need Assistance with Planning Oracle Cloud Expenses?
Selecting appropriate OCI services and the billing model depends on the workload and resource requirements. With Evolvous Oracle consulting services, you can evaluate your requirements and organize your OCI setup.
How to Use the OCI Pricing Calculator?
The oracle cloud pricing calculator, commonly referred to by Oracle as the Cloud Cost Estimator, can help organizations estimate monthly OCI costs before deploying workloads.
Oracle’s Cost Estimator calculates an estimate based on the selected cloud service category, service configuration, and expected resource usage. Oracle also states that the estimator is updated with current offerings and prices.
A typical estimation process involves:
- Identify the OCI services required for the workload.
- Select the relevant service configurations.
- Enter expected resource quantities and usage.
- Review the estimated monthly cost.
- Adjust the configuration to compare different workload scenarios.
- Review the OCI price list and applicable commercial terms before making a purchasing decision.
The oracle cloud pricing calculator should therefore be treated as a planning tool rather than a final quotation. Actual charges can depend on the customer’s agreement, usage, service configuration, and other applicable terms.
How to Estimate OCI Costs More Precisely?
An effective cost estimator often begins with thorough knowledge of the work to be undertaken. Understanding the specific requirements and usage of OCI services not only helps in computing costs accurately but also allows companies to focus on their future investments.
For Example, migrating an application could involve the following typical tasks:
- Acquiring computation capabilities
- Fetching the block or object storage service
- Obtaining Database services
- Implementing Load balancing
- Developing Networking services
- Transferring data
- Utilizing the required backup services
After making an estimation, you can enter the service configuration in the OCI Cost Estimator. Oracle also offers tools for monitoring its clients’ use of the services after the launch of OCI via Cost Analysis and costing reports. It gathers information about the actual consumption of resources.
It becomes possible to compare the initial estimation with information on resource consumption.
Use this checklist to review compute, storage, databases, networking, data transfer, backups, licensing, workload usage, and expected growth before estimating your OCI costs.
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Pricing: What Must Companies Consider?
Before using OCI, companies should evaluate their expected workload requirements and understand how each of them impacts OCI Pricing.
Some critical areas to be evaluated are:
- Total number of needed processors
- Type and configuration of the database
- Storage requirements
- Network configuration
- Expected data transfer
- Patterns of workload
- Required regions and services
- Pricing structure
- Existing Oracle licenses if applicable
- Expected growth in resource consumption
Companies with existing licenses for Oracle should determine whether available to Bring Your Own License (BYOL). oracle defines BYOL as a form of billing for certain Oracle PaaS services.
Read our blog for detailed OCI migration cost: OCI Migration Cost: US & Canadian Enterprises Guide
Estimate Your OCI Costs with Evolvous
Have you started planning an OCI migration or creating a new Oracle Cloud environment? Evolvous offers Oracle Cloud consulting and migration services that enable companies to plan their workloads, design OCI architecture, determine capacity requirements, and get ready for the cloud.
The right assessment will help you create a cloud environment that meets your technological and business needs, from OCI migration planning through cloud infrastructure, database, security, and managed services.
FAQs on OCI Pricing
1. Which 3 Pricing Models Are Available for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure?
Three Universal Credit models have been listed by Oracle: Pay as You Go, Annual Universal Credit, and Monthly Universal Credit. To use this model, you must obtain Oracle’s approval.
2. What Pricing Model Is Not Supported by Oracle Cloud Infrastructure?
Monthly Flex isn’t in the list of currently available Universal Credit models. However, Oracle previously used it as a billing model, and it still applies in some cases.
3. Which Pricing Model Is Not Available for Oracle Cloud?
There is no specific pricing model that cannot be accessed through any of the Oracle Cloud services. The available Oracle Cloud pricing models will depend on the service and the user account.
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