Microsoft Azure Pricing in 2024 [Understanding Cloud Prices]
Though Azure pricing is primarily pay-as-you-go, the specifics of certain cloud computing services’ pricing are not as straightforward. As a result, billing can be confusing and users can end up with unexpected charges.
This Microsoft Azure pricing guide takes a deep dive into Azure cloud computing’s pricing pattern, examining the pricing models, how they work, different pricing tiers and the cost of running popular Azure services.
How Does Microsoft Azure Pricing Work?
Microsoft Azure pricing works by charging you for what you use; it is pay-as-you-go. In most instances, the services you use on Microsoft Azure are charged at an hourly rate. However, instances such as Azure Blob Storage and Azure Functions are charged by usage volume.
For instance, in Azure Blob Storage, usage volume is based on the size of data stored, the amount of data transferred and the number of data operations. Moreover, when using Azure Functions, pricing is based on usage details such as the number of executions and the code execution time. Read more about Azure in our Microsoft Azure review.
What Are the Different Microsoft Azure Pricing Models?
The different Microsoft Azure pricing models for Virtual Machines include pay-as-you-go, Azure Savings Plan for Compute, Reservations, Spot, Azure Hybrid Benefit and Dev/Test pricing.
What Are the Different Microsoft Azure Pricing Tiers?
The different Microsoft Azure pricing tiers include a free tier and paid tier. Find out more about what these pricing tiers entail in the descriptions below.
Free Tier
The Azure free tier offers services for free, some of which are always free and others that are free for a limited period (typically 12 months). Services in Azure’s always-free tier include Azure Advisor, API Management, Text to Speech, Visual Studio Code, Azure Virtual Network and Functions.
Note that some of these always-free services are only free within certain usage limits. For instance, you get only one million requests per month for free on Azure Functions.
Azure services that are free for the first 12 months after signup include Azure Files, Azure VPN Gateway, Azure AI Translator, Azure Virtual Machines, Key Vault and Managed Disks. As with always-free services, some of these are free within certain limits. For example, you get only two million characters for free within the 12-month period with Azure AI Translator’s S0 tier.
As part of the free tier, Azure gives you a $200 credit for a 30-day test run when you sign up.
Paid Tier (Pay-As-You-Go)
Azure’s paid tier is pay-as-you-go, so you primarily pay only for what you use. You gain access to free services on the paid tier, but you’ll be charged for anything you use beyond the limits of those free services. Of course, you’ll also be charged for any service you use that isn’t free from the start.
What Are the Prices of Different Microsoft Azure Cloud Services and Products?
Based on factors like usage volume, region and service tier, the prices of Azure cloud services can vary from one situation to another. We discuss the pricing of popular Azure services like Virtual Machines, Blob Storage and Azure Files below.
What Are the Most Expensive Microsoft Azure Services?
Some of the most expensive Microsoft Azure Services include Microsoft Sentinel, Azure DDoS Protection, Azure Kubernetes Service and Memory-Optimized Virtual Machines. These services’ unit rates are some of the highest on Microsoft Azure, but your usage ultimately determines the total bill. Minimal usage of even the most expensive services should not lead to excessive costs.
What Are the Cheapest Microsoft Azure Services?
The cheapest Microsoft Azure services include General-Purpose Virtual Machines, Azure Blob Storage, Azure Container Instances, Azure Disk Storage and Azure App Service. As with the most expensive services, your usage of these services and the service tier ultimately determine how much you pay.
How to Optimize Microsoft Azure Cost
You can optimize Microsoft Azure costs by rightsizing, using autoscaling, disabling idle resources, and using discounted pricing models. Here’s how these practices can help you optimize your Azure costs:
- Rightsizing: Rightsizing involves provisioning resources that are just right to run specific workloads. When you rightsize, you want to ensure the resources are sufficient — not excessive — for running workloads. That way you’re not paying for more expensive, larger resources, and instead pay only for what you truly need.
- Using autoscaling: Autoscaling is the process of dynamically adjusting resources with changing workload demands. Autoscaling ensures your app performs optimally while paying only for what you need.
In times of high demand, autoscaling expands your resources, ensuring your app continues to function as it should. Then, during times of low demand, resources shrink to meet the reduced demand, preventing excessive cost accrual.
- Disabling idle resources: Disabling idle resources will save you from raking in superfluous costs, thereby optimizing your overall Microsoft Azure cost. Azure Advisor is a crucial tool for identifying idle or underutilized resources.
- Using discounted pricing models: Azure offers discounted pricing models, including Reservations, Azure Savings Plan for Compute, Dev/Test and Azure Hybrid Benefit. When applicable, use these pricing models to implement the same resources at markedly cheaper rates.
What Are the Different Microsoft Azure Cost-Saving Options?
The different Microsoft Azure cost-saving options include Azure Reservations, Azure Savings Plan for Compute, Azure Spot Virtual Machines, Azure Hybrid Benefit and Azure Dev/Test pricing.
- Azure Reservations: Azure Reservations can save you up to 72% when you reserve compute capacity and commit to using said capacity for one year or three years. You can set up Azure Reservations for various services, including Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Disk Storage and Azure SQL Database.
- Azure Savings Plan for Compute: Azure Savings Plan for Compute is a cost-saving plan that involves committing to an hourly spend for one year or three years in return for a discount of up to 65% off pay-as-you-go rates.
- Azure Spot Virtual Machines: Azure Spot Virtual Machines offers unused/excess compute capacity at a discount of up to 90% off regular rates. However, it is not suited for running long-term workloads.
- Azure Hybrid Benefit: Azure Hybrid Benefit is a cost-saving offering that can provide up to 80% off when combined with other cost-saving plans. The main requirement for Azure Hybrid Benefit is to bring an existing Windows Server license or SQL Server license to your Azure cloud environment.
- Azure Dev/Test pricing: Azure Dev/Test pricing is an offer available to Visual Studio subscribers for some Azure services. It is ideal for running non-production workloads, especially since it does not come with an SLA. It can provide savings of up to 57%.
What Are the Microsoft Azure Cost Management Tools?
Microsoft Azure cost management tools include Microsoft Cost Management, Azure Advisor, Azure Resource Manager and Azure Policy. Of these four cost optimization tools, Microsoft Cost Management is the most relevant to cost management, as it offers features like cost alerting, analytics, monitoring, budgeting and recommendations.
Azure Advisor is primarily a recommendation service; it recommends optimizations not only for cost but also for security, performance and reliability. Azure Resource Manager comes in handy when tagging resources for collective monitoring, and with Azure Policy, you can define the ambits within which costs accrue in your Azure account.
How Expensive Is Microsoft Azure?
Microsoft Azure is not very expensive; its prices don’t differ much from those of the other two cloud service providers that make up the top three cloud computing platforms (AWS and Google Cloud, plus Azure). That said, the cost of Azure can vary from cheap to very expensive. It all depends on the service, usage, region and features.
Is Microsoft Azure More Expensive Than GCP?
Google Cloud Platform is typically more expensive than Microsoft Azure for running general-purpose and memory-optimized servers. That said, both cloud providers offer many services, so there are variations in the relative costs of Microsoft Azure vs GCP. Read more about GCP in our Google Cloud review.
Is Microsoft Azure More Expensive Than AWS?
Microsoft Azure and AWS usually cost about the same for general-purpose instances, but for memory-optimized instances, Azure is sometimes more expensive than AWS. However, both cloud providers have many services with varying relative costs, so the total cost will depend on your use case.
Final Thoughts
Azure pricing is mainly usage-based. You can get discounts for long-term commitments and existing licenses, but you’ll still pay based on what you use, albeit at lower rates. Furthermore, Azure pricing varies widely across services and depends on factors like the usage tier, instance type and region. Therefore, you may see marked changes in cost between scenarios.
In your experience, is AWS more expensive than Azure? What is the most affordable cloud computing platform? What’s the most you’ve spent on Azure Blob Storage? Have you spent more on object storage elsewhere? Tell us more about your cloud pricing experience by leaving a comment below. Thank you for reading.
FAQ
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Azure can cost as little as a few dollars per month to more than $100 per hour. It all depends on the service you use, the region and the service timer.
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The three main pricing models of Azure include pay-as-you-go, Reserved Instances and Savings Plan for Compute. Azure Spot Virtual Machines is another Azure pricing model.
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AWS is cheaper than Azure when running some memory-optimized instances. However, for some services, like SQL Server, Azure is cheaper than AWS.
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Azure offers services like Azure Cosmos DB and Azure Files free for 12 months. However, services such as Advisor and Azure Maps are always free.