Which term describes a licensing model where you pay for usage as you go?

• A. Subscription
• B. Perpetual
• C. Pay-as-you-go
• D. Volume licensing

Answer: (C)

In this scenario, the focus is on a licensing model based on actual consumption. Pay-as-you-go means you’re billed for what you use, as usage occurs, with costs scaling up or down with activity. This suits variable or unpredictable workloads because there’s no fixed upfront commitment and you pay only for the resources consumed (for example, storage, compute time, or API calls).

The other models are different: a subscription charges a regular, fixed fee for access over a period, regardless of how much you actually use; a perpetual license is a one-time purchase that grants ongoing use without ongoing payments; and volume licensing offers discounts for purchasing many licenses at once, not tied to ongoing usage.