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Cloud Object Storage (COS)
Tencent Cloud storage — five storage classes decide most of the bill
COS is the storage layer under everything else on Tencent Cloud International: images, video, installers, logs and backups go into buckets, billed by usage, with no disks to manage and nothing to lose when a machine dies. The hard part is not operating it, it is the cost structure — the same bytes can sit in standard, infrequent access, intelligent tiering, archive or deep archive, where unit cost differs by an order of magnitude while retrieval speed changes just as much. This guide covers the three billing dimensions, how to lay out the five storage classes, how to choose a bucket region, and how account opening and payment settlement work.
Specs & pricing
| Storage class | Typical use | Retrieval | Access pattern | Lifecycle advice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STANDARD | Online services, static assets, uploads | Milliseconds | Frequent | Keep, or transition down on a schedule |
| STANDARD_IA | Backups, logs, monitoring data | Milliseconds | A few times a month | Lifecycle rule into archive |
| INTELLIGENT_TIERING | Data whose access is unpredictable | Milliseconds | Mixed hot and cold | Auto-tiering removes the guesswork |
| ARCHIVE | Long retention, compliance backups | Minutes | Quarterly | Lifecycle plus a retrieval job |
| DEEP_ARCHIVE | Regulatory retention, off-site backup | Hours | Yearly | Append-only, rarely read |
What COS is, and what belongs in it
COS uses the familiar bucket-and-object model: a bucket is pinned to a region, objects live under keys, and you reach them through the console, an SDK or a CLI. It suits images and static assets, user uploads, video and installers, logs, and database backups. The decision rule is one question: how often will this be read. Hot data in standard storage, unread data in archive, and the uncertain middle to intelligent tiering — that rule alone usually removes the largest part of the storage bill.
A COS invoice has three parts
- Storage: billed by class and volume, with extra charges for cross-region retrieval and replication.
- Requests: PUT, GET and LIST bill per call. With many small files accessed constantly, requests can exceed storage charges.
- Traffic: public egress is usually the largest line on the invoice. Prepaid traffic packs help when usage is forecastable.
- Lifecycle rules: transitioning idle data down a tier automatically is the most effective cost control in COS.
- All unit prices follow the live official rate and differ by region and storage class.
Bucket region: decide before you create
| Region | Good for | Design note |
|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong | Online services for HK, Taiwan and Southeast Asia | Lowest latency, higher egress unit price |
| Singapore | Backups and cold data for Southeast and South Asia | A cost-first home for archives |
| Tokyo / Seoul | Japan and Korea | Confirm the storage classes you need are available |
| Silicon Valley / Frankfurt | North American or European users, or residency rules | Cross-region retrieval costs traffic |
Five access patterns and what each costs
| Pattern | Structure | Best for | Cost effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct read | Server or client hits the bucket directly | Low, scattered traffic | Egress billed per GB, grows with traffic |
| COS + CDN | COS as origin, CDN serves from the edge | Images, static assets, VOD | Lower delivery rate, plus origin pull traffic |
| COS + global acceleration | COS as origin behind acceleration nodes | Static assets for overseas users | Fewer cross-border origin pulls, steadier path |
| Private read + signed URLs | Server signs short-lived URLs | Paid content, private files | Access expires with the signature |
| Same-region internal | CVM or containers in the same region read COS | Backend reads, scheduled backups | No public egress charge |
How COS differs between the international and China sites
| Aspect | International site | China site |
|---|---|---|
| Site and registration | intl.cloud.tencent.com, email plus company details | cloud.tencent.com, mainland identity verification |
| Bucket regions | Bound to overseas regions such as Hong Kong, Singapore | Mainland regions such as Guangzhou and Shanghai available |
| Payment | International methods and corporate settlement | Mainland methods, settled in CNY |
| Docs | English-first | Complete Chinese documentation |
| ICP filing | Overseas regions generally avoid it | Mainland nodes serving the public need one |
From account to a layered bucket
- Classify the data first: which parts are hot and online, which are cold logs and backups. Separating hot from cold is step one of controlling COS cost.
- We handle official registration and provisioning of the Tencent Cloud International account. No personal credit card binding, no personal identity documents on your side.
- Once live, create buckets in the recommended regions and set up tiering and lifecycle rules.
- If you want us to settle payment, we pay at the discounted rate and issue a statement. Resources stay in your account and usage stays visible.
- A month into production, review the traffic breakdown and decide whether to add a CDN or move cold data down a tier.
The expensive part was never storage
The classic COS mistake is budgeting for storage and forgetting traffic. Storage is usually the small number; public egress is usually the bulk of the invoice. With many small files accessed constantly, request charges can quietly overtake storage. The other frequent error: picking a bucket region far from your users, then finding that changing it means a new bucket and a full migration. Confirm the audience before you create the bucket.
Typical workloads
Open a Tencent Cloud account with us
We handle official provisioning and payment verification — no personal card, no identity documents. Order directly in the vendor console once live.
More Tencent Cloud products
Cloud Virtual Machine (CVM)
Tencent Cloud compute — families, regions and billing
Cloud Streaming Services (CSS) and VOD
Tencent Cloud media — low-latency live, recording, overseas ingest
Tencent Cloud discounts & reseller pricing
Term locks the unit price, channel tier decides the rebate — strongest on live and gaming
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