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Understanding billable content requests in Adobe Experience Manager as a Cloud Service

Last update: October 16, 2026

This article explains how Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) as a Cloud Service measures billable content requests, which types of requests are included, and how to analyze usage to optimize and control costs.

Description description

Environment

Adobe Experience Manager as a Cloud Service (all versions)

Issue/Symptoms

Organizations using AEM as a Cloud Service may want to understand and reduce their usage of billable content requests, which are included in their contract. Billable content requests are counted at the CDN (Content Delivery Network) edge and include specific types of requests, such as Page Views (HTML) and API Calls (JSON). Understanding how these requests are counted and which requests are included can help organizations identify opportunities to optimize their usage and manage costs.

  • Need to analyze or reduce billable content request usage.
  • Uncertainty about which requests are included in the billable count.
  • Questions about the impact of CDN caching on billing.

Cause

Billable content requests are measured at the CDN/edge layer. All qualifying requests (Page Views and API Calls) are included in the billing count, regardless of whether they are served from cache or forwarded to the origin. Non-billable requests are excluded according to contract terms.

Resolution resolution

Follow these steps to resolve the issue:

  1. Review the types of requests included in billable content requests:

    • Only Page Views (HTML) and API Calls (JSON) are counted as billable content requests, unless otherwise specified in your contract.
    • Requests are measured at the CDN/edge layer, not at the AEM origin.
    • All requests, including those served from cache, are counted. For example, if the same URL is requested three times, all three requests are counted.

  2. Use available reporting tools or dashboards, such as the License Dashboard in Cloud Manager, if available, to monitor content request usage and the breakdown by type.

  3. Analyze CDN logs to identify high-usage URLs or request types. Focus on Page Views and API Calls because these contribute to the billable total.

  4. Refactor code or adjust the site architecture to reduce unnecessary content requests. For example, optimize API usage or reduce redundant page loads.

  5. If you require a filtered or aggregated extract of billable content requests that excludes non-billable requests, check the available dashboards or reporting tools. If the data isn’t available through self-service, follow your standard support channels to request a data extract for a specific period.

  6. After making optimizations, verify usage through the reporting tools or dashboards to confirm a reduction in billable content requests.

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