# Underutilized OCI Autonomous Database ECPUs Canonical: https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/underutilized-oci-autonomous-database-ecpus OCI Autonomous AI Database (Serverless) bills every running hour for the base ECPU count set on the database, whatever the workload actually uses. By: PointFive Updated: 2026-09-28 [Cloud Efficiency Hub](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub) The short version OCI Autonomous AI Database (Serverless) bills every running hour for the base ECPU count set on the database, whatever the workload actually uses. PointFive Research Cloud cost research at PointFive OCI service [OCI Autonomous Database](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/cloud-services/oci-autonomous-database) Category [Databases](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/service-category/databases) Reference CER-0552 Type Overprovisioned Resource ## Explanation Why the waste happens and who it affects. Base ECPUs are often sized for a peak, a load test or a migration and left there, so Autonomous AI Lakehouse (formerly ADW) and Autonomous AI Transaction Processing (ATP) databases run for months with average CPU far below what is allocated. Oracle's Cloud Advisor flags this case with a dedicated cost management recommendation. Compute auto scaling makes a high base unnecessary for many workloads. With auto scaling enabled, a database can use up to three times its base ECPU count when the workload needs it and is billed for the extra ECPUs only for the time they are used. Compute auto scaling is enabled by default on new databases, so a lower base can still absorb peaks while the base charge drops for every hour. ## Billing model The pricing dimensions that drive this cost. ECPU usage is measured each second in whole ECPUs and averaged across each hour, with a one-minute minimum; storage is billed separately. Base ECPUs The ECPU count selected for the database, billed every hour the database is running whether or not it is used Auto-scaled ECPUs Additional ECPUs used above the base when compute auto scaling is enabled, up to 3x the base, billed only for the time consumed Stopped database A stopped Autonomous AI Database has zero ECPU usage, while storage and backups continue to bill Local standby ECPUs A local Autonomous Data Guard peer adds the primary's base ECPUs again, so an oversized base is paid twice ## How to detect 5 checks to find it in your estate. - Review Cloud Advisor's Downsize Underutilized ADW and ATP Databases recommendation, which flags Lakehouse and Transaction Processing databases whose average CPU utilization over the last 30 days is below 30% of allocated CPUs - Chart CpuUtilization and ECPUsAllocated in the oci\_autonomous\_database metric namespace for each database over a representative period, including month-end or batch peaks - Use the Number of ECPUs allocated graph on the Database Dashboard in Database Actions to see average hourly ECPU use against the base count - List databases with compute auto scaling disabled and a high base ECPU count, since they pay for peak capacity every hour - Check databases with a local Autonomous Data Guard standby, where the base ECPU count is billed on both primary and peer ## How to fix 5 ways to remove the waste. - Lower the base ECPU count from the console (Manage resource allocation) or API, using the Cloud Advisor suggestion as a starting point; the Cloud Advisor fix-it flow reduces cores by 20 percent at a time - Enable compute auto scaling on databases with bursty load so peaks are served by auto-scaled ECPUs billed per second instead of a permanently high base - Stop Autonomous databases that are not needed for periods of time, since stopped databases have zero ECPU usage - Tradeoff: the tp and tpurgent service concurrency limits scale with the ECPU count (75 x number of ECPUs), and the high and medium limits depend on whether auto scaling is enabled, so check peak concurrent sessions before lowering the base - Re-check CpuUtilization after each change and repeat in steps rather than cutting the base in one move ## Documentation Vendor references for pricing and configuration. - [Autonomous AI Database Pricing oracle.com](https://www.oracle.com/autonomous-database/pricing/) - [Oracle Autonomous AI Database Serverless Features Billing docs.oracle.com](https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/paas/autonomous-database/serverless/adbsb/autonomous-features-billing.html) - [Use Auto Scaling docs.oracle.com](https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/paas/autonomous-database/serverless/adbsb/autonomous-auto-scale.html) - [Cost Management Recommendations docs.oracle.com](https://docs.oracle.com/en-us/iaas/Content/CloudAdvisor/Concepts/recommendations-costmanagement.htm) - [Available Metrics: oci\_autonomous\_database docs.oracle.com](https://docs.oracle.com/en-us/iaas/autonomous-database-serverless/doc/autonomous-monitor-metrics-list.html) - [Service Concurrency docs.oracle.com](https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/paas/autonomous-database/serverless/adbsb/manage-service-concurrency.html) ## Related inefficiencies [Browse the library](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub) - OCI Autonomous Database CER-0553 ### [Non-Production OCI Autonomous Databases Left Running 24/7](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/non-production-oci-autonomous-databases-left-running-24-7) Development, test, training and demo Autonomous AI Databases are often used only during working hours but left running around the clock. A running Autonomous AI Database bills its base ECPU count every hour whether or not any session is... Databases - OCI Base Database CER-0554 ### [Overprovisioned CPU on OCI Base Database Systems](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/overprovisioned-cpu-on-oci-base-database-systems) OCI Base Database Service virtual machine DB systems are billed for every enabled OCPU or ECPU on each node, whether the database uses them or not. DB systems sized for an expected peak, a migration or a vendor sizing guide and then left... Databases - Azure Cache for Redis CER-0310 ### [Overprovisioned Azure Cache for Redis Instance](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/overprovisioned-azure-cache-for-redis-instance) Azure Cache for Redis is billed at a fixed rate determined entirely by the provisioned tier and cache size - not by actual utilization. A cache instance that consumes only a fraction of its available memory and throughput incurs the same... Databases --- Source: the public page above. Product screenshots and illustrative interfaces are examples, not live customer data.