How can I correctly calculate the excess of the free limit when using the relay service?

Unity Services
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Hi! please help me figure out the topic of payment for using the relay service in my game.
I don’t quite understand under what conditions an additional $0.16 fee will be charged for an additional average CCU in the game.
In my game, there will be 2 players in the game room.
Let’s say 100,000 players played the game in a month, but at the same time there were no more than 50 people in the game at the same time.
Will this be considered exceeding the free limit or not ?
And please explain what is meant by “the first 50 average monthly CCU” ?
And if the “First 50 Average monthly CCU” is an indicator of the allowable load on the relay servers for my game within the free limit, then how will the use of Relay be considered if, in general, the indicator for the month will not exceed the allowable free limit, but will periodically exceed it ?
Let’s say for 10 days no more than 50 players played the game at a time , then within 10 days the load sometimes increased and 100 or more people could play the game at a time , and for the remaining 10 days no more than 50 players also played the game at a time.
How will the payment for the Relay service be calculated in this case?

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Hi, there! thanks for reaching out.

  • Will having 100,000 players in a month but no more than 50 people playing at the same time be considered exceeding the free limit?

  • No, this scenario would not exceed the free limit. The free tier is based on the average monthly CCU (Concurrent Users), not the total number of players in a month. If you always have 50 concurrent players, your average for the month will be 50 and it will stay within the free tier.

  • What is meant by “the first 50 average monthly CCU”?

  • “The first 50 average monthly CCU” refers to the number of concurrent users provided for free within the Relay service. It means that if the average number of simultaneous players in a month is 50 or less, there will be no additional charges. However, if you have 100 average monthly CUU, the first 50 will be in the free tier and the next 50 will be in the paid tier.

  • How will the use of Relay be considered if the average monthly CCU does not exceed the free limit, but periodically exceeds it?

  • In the given example, where the number of concurrent players is below 50 for 20 days and occasionally exceeds 50 (e.g., reaches 100) for 10 days, the Relay service will calculate the average monthly CCU based on the averages. As long as the calculated average monthly CCU remains at or below 50, it will be considered within the free tier. However, if the average monthly CCU exceeds 50, additional charges will apply for the excess concurrent users beyond the free limit.

  • How will the payment for the Relay service be calculated in the given scenario?

  • The payment will be calculated based on the average monthly CCU. Relay takes snapshots of the number of active users throughout each day and calculates a daily average. These daily averages are then used to determine the average monthly CCU. If the average monthly CCU exceeds the free tier of 50, the additional concurrent users beyond 50 will be charged at the standard rate.

I hope that helps clarify things. I should also mention that these examples only take into consideration CCU, not bandwidth. Up-to-date information on pricing can always be found at UGS Pricing.

Please let me know if you need me to expand on anything.

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Ufff, thank you very much! Now I have a clearer picture!
I admit, I used to imagine it differently. It seemed to me that it was like in the wild West, the first 50 cowboys who entered the bar got beer for free, and while they were sitting at the counter, all the subsequent ones bought it for $ 0.16. And so it goes on from day to day …

Your answer clarified this and saved me from searching for alternatives.
Until we find a cheaper and more spacious “bar” :wink:

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And the last question. The documentation “Netcode for GameObjects” states that the best connection option is considered to be a combination of “Relay” and “NAT Punchthrough” services. Moreover, “Relay” in this scheme is used as a safety net, and the main function will be performed by “NAT Punchthrough”. From all the information I’ve found, nothing says anything about support for mobile builds. Only about desktop applications. Is “NAT Punchthrough” possible in multiplayer on Android? And if so, could you please share a link to the documentation :slight_smile: