Alibaba Cloud International Plan 2.0: Singapore VPS Starting at $2.5/Month

Cloud hosting in Asia has become increasingly competitive, and Alibaba Cloud's latest international offering brings compelling pricing to the table. If you've been looking for affordable cloud servers in Singapore or Hong Kong, the newly launched Plan 2.0 series might catch your attention.

What's New in the 2.0 Series

Alibaba Cloud International launched back in 2017, targeting users outside mainland China. While the platform has offered various services over the years, the starter plans (previously version 1.0) gained popularity among international users. The 2.0 refresh brings more aggressive pricing - Singapore instances now start at just $2.5 per month, while Hong Kong options begin at $7 monthly.

For those unfamiliar with Alibaba Cloud's international platform, it operates separately from the China domestic version. The key difference? No ICP filing requirements, international payment methods accepted, and generally better international bandwidth allocation.

Regional Performance and Pricing

The two most relevant locations for most users are Singapore and Hong Kong. Here's what you need to know:

Singapore: Starting at $2.5/month, this region typically offers solid connectivity across Asia. The test IP (47.74.241.1) shows consistent performance for users in Southeast Asia and beyond.

Hong Kong: Starting at $7/month, closer proximity to mainland China makes this a popular choice despite the higher price point. Test IP: 47.52.46.171

One important note - while many users report decent connectivity to mainland China from these regions, Alibaba Cloud International doesn't explicitly guarantee China network performance. The platform focuses on international routing, which actually works in your favor for global projects since bandwidth costs remain significantly lower than domestic alternatives.

👉 Explore Alibaba Cloud's current promotional offers for new international users

Understanding T5 Instances

Here's where you need to pay attention: the 2.0 series uses T5 burstable instances with a 10% CPU baseline. This means your instance can burst above baseline when needed, but sustained high CPU usage will throttle back to 10% of the allocated cores.

What this means practically:

• Perfect for web servers with moderate traffic

• Suitable for development and testing environments

• Works well for applications with variable workloads

• Not ideal for CPU-intensive applications or high-traffic production sites

Think of it like this - if your application occasionally needs power but sits idle most of the time, T5 instances are economical. If you're running video encoding, heavy databases, or sustained processing tasks, you'll want standard instances instead.

Account Registration Reality Check

Full transparency: getting started with Alibaba Cloud International isn't as simple as signing up with an email. The platform requires:

• Valid international phone number verification

• Payment method verification (international credit card or PayPal)

• Identity documentation in some cases

Earlier workarounds (virtual numbers, proxy addresses) no longer work reliably. If you're serious about using the platform, having a legitimate international phone number makes the process much smoother. Some users have reported success with Hong Kong SIM cards for verification purposes.

Who Should Consider These Plans

The 2.0 series makes sense if you need:

• Affordable cloud hosting in Asia-Pacific regions

• Servers without mainland China filing requirements

• Better international bandwidth without premium pricing

• Flexible instances for development or light production use

However, if you need guaranteed performance to mainland China or plan to run CPU-intensive applications, you might want to explore standard instance types or consider whether 👉 Alibaba Cloud's enterprise-grade solutions better match your requirements.

Getting Started

Before jumping in, test the network performance from your location. The provided test IPs let you check latency and routing:

• Singapore: 47.74.241.1

• Hong Kong: 47.52.46.171

Run ping tests, traceroutes, and speed tests to ensure the network paths work for your use case. Cloud hosting is only as good as the network connecting you to it.

The pricing is certainly attractive, especially for Singapore instances at $2.5 monthly. Just make sure the T5 instance limitations align with your workload requirements, and be prepared for the account verification process. For the right use cases, these plans offer solid value in the competitive Asian cloud market.