Cloudera on cloud consumption and credits describes how Cloudera charges for Cloudera on cloud, its hosted data and AI services running on Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. Cloudera formerly called this offering CDP Public Cloud.[2] Cloudera on cloud is a Cloudera Online Service. It is governed by the customer’s agreement or, if the agreement has no online-services terms, by the Cloudera Online Services Terms of Service, and in either case by the Cloud Usage Pricing and Billing Terms.[7][8] Usage is measured in Cloudera Compute Units (CCUs), converted to Credits at published Rates, and paid either in advance or monthly in arrears.[1]
Cloudera states that with either buying option “you can use any Cloudera service at any time” and “do not commit to a specific “SKU” or set of SKUs”.[4] An asset manager’s question is therefore less about entitlement and more about consumption against prepaid commitments.
Editions
Each Cloudera on cloud service has its own rate per CCU-hour. The pricing page publishes the following hourly rates, described as estimates that vary with instance types and that exclude infrastructure costs:[2]
| Service | Published rate | Charging granularity[1] | Catalog row |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data Engineering | Core $0.07/CCU; All-Purpose $0.20/CCU | Hourly | Cloudera Data Engineering on cloud (All-Purpose) |
| Data Warehouse | $0.07/CCU | Per minute | Cloudera Data Warehouse on cloud |
| Data Hub | $0.04/CCU (GPU instances may vary) | Per minute | Cloudera Data Hub on cloud |
| Operational Database | $0.08/CCU | Per minute | — |
| AI Workbench | $0.20/CCU (GPU instances may vary) | Hourly | Cloudera AI Workbench on cloud |
| AI Inference | $0.25/CCU | Per minute | — |
| Flow Management on Data Hub | $0.15/CCU | Per minute | — |
| Data Flow deployments and test sessions | $0.30/CCU; Functions from $0.10 per Billable Invocation | Per minute; per invocation | Cloudera Data Flow on cloud (Deployments) |
| Observability Premium | $0.009/CCU | Per minute | — |
| Lakehouse Optimizer | $0.05/CCU | Per minute | — |
| Private Link Network | $0.50/VPC; $5.00/Authorization | Per minute | — |
The service rates page converts these into per-instance prices. For example, an AWS m5.2xlarge instance with 8 cores and 32 GB of RAM is listed at 4.00 CCUs. For Data Engineering it costs $0.28 per hour at the Core rate and $0.80 per hour at the All-Purpose rate.[3] This matches the CCU formula of cores divided by six plus memory in GB divided by 12 (8/6 + 32/12 = 4.0).[6]
Metrics
- Cloudera Compute Unit (CCU). The number of CCUs per instance “is calculated as the sum of the number of cores divided by six plus the amount of memory (in GB) divided by 12”, and “the CCU calculation is the same regardless of on premises or on cloud”.[4] Catalog proof: CCU calculation is the same on premises and on cloud.
- Credits. Cloudera credits used to pay for Cloudera on cloud. Cloud Usage Consumed Credits are the credits consumed by Cloud Usage at the published Rates.[1]
- Billable Invocation. For Data Flow Functions, each invocation counts as one, each second after the first adds one, and a sub-second run counts each fractional second as one. Prices are tiered by volume.[1] Catalog proof: Data Flow Functions are charged per Billable Invocation.
- Taikun Compute Unit (TCU). A combination of CPU and RAM gigabytes for Cloudera Taikun.[6] Taikun on cloud is billed on average TCUs per hour, can be bought only on pay-as-you-go, and cannot use Prepaid Credits.[1] Catalog proof: Taikun on cloud is PayGo only.
Counting / floors
Hourly services. For services charged by the hour, Cloudera charges credits for the instances managed through Cloudera on cloud at the applicable Rates. “Customers are charged for a minimum of one hour for any portion of an hour that each Instance is in active running state”. Two exceptions apply. Active periods separated by less than 30 minutes are merged into one span, and an isolated active period shorter than 10 minutes, with no other activity within 30 minutes, is not charged.[1] Catalog proof: Instances are charged a minimum of one hour.
Per-minute services. Data Warehouse, Data Hub, Operational Database, Flow Management on Data Hub, Observability Premium, Lakehouse Optimizer and AI Inference are charged per minute. A full minute is charged at the start of each minute that metering detects a running instance.[1] Data Flow is charged per minute on the CCUs used by NiFi containers that run flow definitions.[1] Catalog proof: Per-minute services charge a full minute at the start of each minute.
Uncertified instances. Instance types that are not on the service rates page are “not recommended”, but all their usage is charged at standard rates and at CCUs that Cloudera assigns. The support service-level objectives and SLA do not apply to them.[1] Catalog proof: Uncertified instances are still charged.
System of record. “Cloudera’s systems are the systems of record” for Cloud Usage, which customers can view in the MyCloudera portal.[1] The usage cycle runs from the 26th of one month to the 25th of the next.[1] Reconciling a cloud bill means comparing the customer’s own instance records with Cloudera’s monthly usage report for the same cycle. Catalog proof: Cloudera's metering is the system of record for cloud usage.
Prepaid Credits and pay-as-you-go
Prepaid Credits. Credits are bought in advance under a purchase order and invoiced in full up front. They are valid for 12 months from purchase and expire if the subscription is not renewed. Cloudera issues monthly usage reports and deducts consumed credits each month.[1] Cloudera’s summary is that “the more Cloud Credits you purchase, the more that you will save”.[4] Catalog proof: Prepaid Credits are valid for 12 months.
Overage. When Prepaid Credits run out and no Additional Prepaid Credits have been bought, usage automatically moves to pay-as-you-go. Cloudera then invoices monthly at its “then-standard Rates”, whether or not a purchase order covers the overage. This also applies to customers who bought credits through a partner, who then pay Cloudera directly.[1] The ESMA likewise charges usage beyond prepay credits from the date the credits were exhausted.[9] Catalog proof: Usage after credits run out is billed at standard Rates.
Rollover Credits. The customer may renew before the Prepaid Credit Term expires, for another 12 months and at least the same quantity. If it does, up to 25% of the unused credits roll over, usable during the first 90 days of the renewal term. Unused rollover credits then expire without refund. Free Credits cannot roll over.[1] Catalog proof: Up to 25% of unused credits roll over for 90 days on renewal.
Pull forward. Under a multi-year Prepaid Credit subscription invoiced annually, a customer that uses up a year’s credits can pull forward the next year’s credits on 30 days’ notice. Every later annual period moves forward with it, and Cloudera invoices the unpaid fees for the pulled-forward period.[1]
Pay-As-You-Go. Cloudera invoices monthly for the Cloud Usage of the period. A blanket purchase order may be required, but Cloudera invoices all usage regardless.[1] The Cloudera on cloud PayGo Entitlement offering enables this option on an Order Form.[7]
Currency. From 2024-02-26 the Prepaid Credit program is “based solely on US Dollars (USD)”. Credits bought in other currencies are converted at the published exchange rates of AUD 1.45, CAD 1.35, EUR 0.95 and GBP 0.80 to the dollar. There is a single USD rate card for all public cloud use.[5] Catalog proof: Prepaid Credits are denominated in US dollars from 2024-02-26.
Virtualization & partitioning
Cloudera on cloud measures cloud instances, not physical hosts. The CCU value of each certified instance type is fixed in the rate tables, and GPU instances carry their own derived rates.[3][4] No partitioning rule applies.
Cloud / BYOL
There is no bring-your-own-licence path from an on premises subscription to Cloudera on cloud in the retrieved documents. Cloudera describes the two models’ rates as aligned for hybrid and multi-cloud use, but they are separate purchases.[2] Cloud provider infrastructure is billed separately by the provider.[2] Cloudera on cloud runtimes have their own support periods. Cloudera on cloud 7.2.18 has a planned End of Support of September 2026, and Data Services on cloud versions are supported for six months.[10]
Programs
The cloud programs are Prepaid Credits, Pay-As-You-Go, Rollover Credits and Prepaid Credit pull forward, all defined in the Cloud Billing Terms.[1] Observability Premium on cloud is invoiced under the same terms.[7]
Out of scope
- Infrastructure, networking and storage charges from AWS, Azure or Google Cloud.[2]
- Volume discounts on credit purchases and negotiated rates, which are not published.
- Cloudera on premises subscriptions, covered in Cloudera on premises licensing.